From the start of February, people in prison in Victoria will now be charged 25c per minute to make a mobile phone call, down from the previous 57c per minute rate.
This means that the cost of a maximum-length, 12-minute phone call is now $3, down from the previous cost of $6.85.
It takes the cost of prison phone calls in Victoria from being the most expensive in Australia to being among the cheapest out of all the states and territories.
The ACT government also reduced the cost of prison phone calls late last year, with the introduction of a new detainee telephone system bringing costs down from 44c per minute to 18.7c per minute to call both landlines and mobiles.
This reduces the cost of a 12-minute phone call from a prison in the ACT to $2.25.
“The new detainee telephone system is an upgrade from the previous system, which had reached its end of life and incurred higher costs than the current system,” a spokesperson for ACT Corrective Services told About Time.
The price reductions come after years of strong advocacy and campaigning from people in prison and a range of civil and human rights groups, with many of these organisations now calling on states and territories to make prison phone calls free entirely.
The Victorian government announced last year that it would move to subsidise the cost of prison phone calls in the short-term as it renegotiates a contract with the private company that operates the prison telephone system.
The state government has indicated that it has informed all people in prison in Victoria of the price reduction, and that they do not need to do anything to access these cheaper calls as their phone credit will be charged the lower amount automatically, with no connection fee to be imposed either.
“For most in custody there are family, friends and loved ones on the outside,” said Victorian Minister for Corrections Enver Erdogan. “As the Minister for Corrections I have heard from many family members of people in custody, and many of them tell me a similar story.
“For anyone, a conversation with your children, parent or partner can provide reassurance and connection. That call can be even more important for people with a loved one in custody.
“This brings those costs more in line with the costs faced in the community and makes Victoria one of the cheapest in the nation.”
The news has been welcomed by Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission, which heard evidence about the impact of the high price of prison phone calls on First Nations people.
“The reduction of the cost of prison phone calls is a welcome step in the right direction and shows the Victorian government has listened,” Yoorrook deputy chair Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter told About Time.
“However, the job is not done. The next step is to implement Yoorrook’s recommendation in full by ensuring that all prisoners, whether on remand or under sentence, including Aboriginal prisoners, can make telephone calls for free or at no greater cost than the general community.”
“Yoorrook has heard concerning evidence that the exorbitant cost of phone calls from prison was preventing First Peoples from having regular contact with loved ones and staying connected to their culture and community.”
Vacro, a Victorian not-for-profit organisation focused on reducing the impact of crime on individuals and communities, has been campaigning for prison phone calls to be made cheaper for several years. The organisation has welcomed the state government’s move, but said it will continue to push for these phone calls to be made entirely free.
“This announcement is a positive step forward, and we commend the government for funding it,” Vacro CEO Marius Smith said. “But the new reduced cost is still expensive, and the next step must be fully subsidised phone calls.
“We know that strong family connections reduce the likelihood that a person will reoffend, and that their kids will end up in the justice system themselves. That’s an outcome worth investing in. Family connection is often the golden thread that links people in prison to a successful life in the community after their release.”
From the start of February, people in prison in Victoria will now be charged 25c per minute to make a mobile phone call, down from the previous 57c per minute rate.
This means that the cost of a maximum-length, 12-minute phone call is now $3, down from the previous cost of $6.85.
It takes the cost of prison phone calls in Victoria from being the most expensive in Australia to being among the cheapest out of all the states and territories.
The ACT government also reduced the cost of prison phone calls late last year, with the introduction of a new detainee telephone system bringing costs down from 44c per minute to 18.7c per minute to call both landlines and mobiles.
This reduces the cost of a 12-minute phone call from a prison in the ACT to $2.25.
“The new detainee telephone system is an upgrade from the previous system, which had reached its end of life and incurred higher costs than the current system,” a spokesperson for ACT Corrective Services told About Time.
The price reductions come after years of strong advocacy and campaigning from people in prison and a range of civil and human rights groups, with many of these organisations now calling on states and territories to make prison phone calls free entirely.
The Victorian government announced last year that it would move to subsidise the cost of prison phone calls in the short-term as it renegotiates a contract with the private company that operates the prison telephone system.
The state government has indicated that it has informed all people in prison in Victoria of the price reduction, and that they do not need to do anything to access these cheaper calls as their phone credit will be charged the lower amount automatically, with no connection fee to be imposed either.
“For most in custody there are family, friends and loved ones on the outside,” said Victorian Minister for Corrections Enver Erdogan. “As the Minister for Corrections I have heard from many family members of people in custody, and many of them tell me a similar story.
“For anyone, a conversation with your children, parent or partner can provide reassurance and connection. That call can be even more important for people with a loved one in custody.
“This brings those costs more in line with the costs faced in the community and makes Victoria one of the cheapest in the nation.”
The news has been welcomed by Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission, which heard evidence about the impact of the high price of prison phone calls on First Nations people.
“The reduction of the cost of prison phone calls is a welcome step in the right direction and shows the Victorian government has listened,” Yoorrook deputy chair Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter told About Time.
“However, the job is not done. The next step is to implement Yoorrook’s recommendation in full by ensuring that all prisoners, whether on remand or under sentence, including Aboriginal prisoners, can make telephone calls for free or at no greater cost than the general community.”
“Yoorrook has heard concerning evidence that the exorbitant cost of phone calls from prison was preventing First Peoples from having regular contact with loved ones and staying connected to their culture and community.”
Vacro, a Victorian not-for-profit organisation focused on reducing the impact of crime on individuals and communities, has been campaigning for prison phone calls to be made cheaper for several years. The organisation has welcomed the state government’s move, but said it will continue to push for these phone calls to be made entirely free.
“This announcement is a positive step forward, and we commend the government for funding it,” Vacro CEO Marius Smith said. “But the new reduced cost is still expensive, and the next step must be fully subsidised phone calls.
“We know that strong family connections reduce the likelihood that a person will reoffend, and that their kids will end up in the justice system themselves. That’s an outcome worth investing in. Family connection is often the golden thread that links people in prison to a successful life in the community after their release.”
Teegan Hartwick, a member of Vacro’s lived experience panel, said that the ability to make phone calls while incarcerated is crucial.
“In prison all you sit with is hope that life will be better when coming home,” Hartwick said.
“The work, however, starts inside, with continued contact with loved ones […] connection is so important to foster these relationships. I am so happy that people in prison will have a chance to afford their phone calls.”
The change brings Victoria largely in line with New South Wales when it comes to the cost of phone calls, and cheaper than the Northern Territory. Western Australia still offers the cheapest prison phone calls in the country, with a charge of 10c per minute.
In the Northern Territory, prison phone calls cost 40c, and a spokesperson for the NT Department of Corrections told About Time it “does not currently intend to reduce the cost of prisoner phone calls”.
The Queensland government is currently upgrading its prison telephone system, and a spokesperson for Corrective Services told About Time that an aim of this upgrade will be to “deliver cheaper rates for prisoners to call family and friends”.
The cost of prison phone calls in Tasmania was reduced in mid-2021, with calls to mobile phones currently priced at 36c per minute, to local landlines at 25c per minute and to mainland Australia costing 15c per minute.
“The Department of Justice will review its telephony services arrangement during the next contract renewal period to ensure our prison is receiving the best market value from available service providers,” a spokesperson for Corrective Services Tasmania told About Time.
In NSW prisons, those who are yet to be sentenced receive three personal local calls per week for free, and sentenced inmates receive one. A spokesperson for Corrective Services NSW told About Time said that making all calls from prison free would “create a significant cost to taxpayers and is something that requires careful consideration”.
In Victoria, the state government is currently looking to sign a new contract with a provider to deliver telephone services in its prisons.
Comsec TR, a private company, currently has a six-year, $26 million contract to deliver these services which will come to an end midway through 2025.
The Victorian government has promised to explore “longer-term solutions” to the high cost of prison phone calls, outside of the subsidy, as part of these negotiations.
While the price of making these calls is coming down in some Australian states and territories, it is still much higher than it is in the community, and staggeringly high compared to the wages paid to those working while in prison.
In Victoria, people in prison earn between $3.55 and $9.60 per working day, and must also budget for items from the canteen, toiletries and other essentials.
This means that someone earning the lowest salary will need to work a full day in order to afford a 12-minute phone call with a loved one in the community.
Considering the disparities to the community and the benefits of phone calls to rehabilitation, many prison rights advocates are now campaigning for free phone calls. In many US states and cities, including California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York City and San Diego, prison phone calls are now free.
“Across the world, contact between incarcerated people and their loved ones is increasingly understood as a right that governments must uphold without passing on the cost, and Victoria is lagging behind,” Vacro senior policy and advocacy advisor Abigail Lewis said.
“Years of staunch advocacy led by currently and formerly incarcerated people has achieved this wonderful outcome and will continue from here.”
Teegan Hartwick, a member of Vacro’s lived experience panel, said that the ability to make phone calls while incarcerated is crucial.
“In prison all you sit with is hope that life will be better when coming home,” Hartwick said.
“The work, however, starts inside, with continued contact with loved ones […] connection is so important to foster these relationships. I am so happy that people in prison will have a chance to afford their phone calls.”
The change brings Victoria largely in line with New South Wales when it comes to the cost of phone calls, and cheaper than the Northern Territory. Western Australia still offers the cheapest prison phone calls in the country, with a charge of 10c per minute.
In the Northern Territory, prison phone calls cost 40c, and a spokesperson for the NT Department of Corrections told About Time it “does not currently intend to reduce the cost of prisoner phone calls”.
The Queensland government is currently upgrading its prison telephone system, and a spokesperson for Corrective Services told About Time that an aim of this upgrade will be to “deliver cheaper rates for prisoners to call family and friends”.
The cost of prison phone calls in Tasmania was reduced in mid-2021, with calls to mobile phones currently priced at 36c per minute, to local landlines at 25c per minute and to mainland Australia costing 15c per minute.
“The Department of Justice will review its telephony services arrangement during the next contract renewal period to ensure our prison is receiving the best market value from available service providers,” a spokesperson for Corrective Services Tasmania told About Time.
In NSW prisons, those who are yet to be sentenced receive three personal local calls per week for free, and sentenced inmates receive one. A spokesperson for Corrective Services NSW told About Time said that making all calls from prison free would “create a significant cost to taxpayers and is something that requires careful consideration”.
In Victoria, the state government is currently looking to sign a new contract with a provider to deliver telephone services in its prisons.
Comsec TR, a private company, currently has a six-year, $26 million contract to deliver these services which will come to an end midway through 2025.
The Victorian government has promised to explore “longer-term solutions” to the high cost of prison phone calls, outside of the subsidy, as part of these negotiations.
While the price of making these calls is coming down in some Australian states and territories, it is still much higher than it is in the community, and staggeringly high compared to the wages paid to those working while in prison.
In Victoria, people in prison earn between $3.55 and $9.60 per working day, and must also budget for items from the canteen, toiletries and other essentials.
This means that someone earning the lowest salary will need to work a full day in order to afford a 12-minute phone call with a loved one in the community.
Considering the disparities to the community and the benefits of phone calls to rehabilitation, many prison rights advocates are now campaigning for free phone calls. In many US states and cities, including California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York City and San Diego, prison phone calls are now free.
“Across the world, contact between incarcerated people and their loved ones is increasingly understood as a right that governments must uphold without passing on the cost, and Victoria is lagging behind,” Vacro senior policy and advocacy advisor Abigail Lewis said.
“Years of staunch advocacy led by currently and formerly incarcerated people has achieved this wonderful outcome and will continue from here.”
Including tough bail laws being introduced in Victoria, the South Australian Government ruling out raising the age of criminal responsibility, a new parole board president appointed in Queensland and more.
The Australian Federal election is coming up. This is about voting for the Prime Minister and other federal politicians. It will be held on 3 May 2025.
“We can’t get information about how a party or candidate’s policies must impact prisoners,” Kelly told About Time. ‘Prison officers also will not provide us with any information as it is seen as political.”
Prison work differs across the country.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
Your browser window currently does not have enough height, or is zoomed in too far to view our website content correctly. Once the window reaches the minimum required height or zoom percentage, the content will display automatically.
Alternatively, you can learn more via the links below.
Leave a Comment
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere. uis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.