Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 15
October 2025

News and Investigations

Each edition contains news articles and investigative pieces. These are topical stories that are usually about prisons and criminal justice.

We also summarise the latest criminal justice news around the country.

Latest
Parole Undermined
By Daniel Vansetten

Ideally, parole should enhance rehabilitation and reintegration. In the recent decade, however, rules restricting the granting of parole and a lack of housing options undermine these intended benefits.

ISSUE NO. 15
3 MIN READ
About Time
Wrongful Convictions May Be Happening Undetected
By Denham Sadler

Kathleen Folbigg walked free from a prison in New South Wales in 2023 after serving 20 years in jail following a wrongful conviction.

ISSUE NO. 15
3 MIN READ
Willy Pleasance
About Time Launches in Western Australia
By About Time

People in prison in Western Australia will soon have access to Australia’s national prison newspaper for the first time, with About Time launching in the state in October.

BREAKING
2 MIN READ
Ethan Cassidy
Around the Country – September 2025
By About Time

Including overcrowding impacting service delivery in youth prisons in the ACT, prison officers going on strike in the NT, a second set of bail reforms passing in VIC and more.

ISSUE NO. 15
6 MIN READ
Ethan Cassidy
Mental Health Services in Prison Successfully Billed to Medicare
By Damien Linnane

Earlier this year, in what may be an Australian first, over-the-phone mental health appointments from prison were arranged and bulk-billed under Medicare.

ISSUE NO. 15
2 MIN READ
Willy Pleasance
Pentridge Prison’s Hidden Music History Unearthed
By Allison Harding

Did you know the bluestone walls of Pentridge Prison once reverberated with the sounds of reggae, punk, pop and country?

ISSUE NO. 15
3 MIN READ
Image supplied by Footscray Records
Reports of Unsafe Drinking Water in Prisons Across Australia
By Denham Sadler

While access to clean drinking water is a basic human right for people in prison, there have been a number of recent reports of dirty and metallic-tasting drinking water in prisons around the country, raising concerns over the health impact of consuming such water.

BREAKING
3 MIN READ
Willy Pleasance
What are Drug Courts?
By Stacey Stokes

Drug Courts are specialist courts that can provide an alternative to imprisonment for those who have offended due to drug dependency.

ISSUE NO. 15
4 MIN READ
Entrance to Drug Court at Dandenong
Archive

ISSUE NO. 13

August 2025

Ask for Naloxone Before Release – It Could Save Your Life

By Denham Sadler

Naloxone is a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of an overdose on opioids.

4 MIN READ

BREAKING

About Time at the Reintegration Puzzle Conference 2025

By About Time

In June, people from across the country gathered in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) for the 18th Reintegration Puzzle Conference — an annual event for those working in justice reform and those with lived experience of prison and reintegration. 

4 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 12

July 2025

Ice Cube Drops Wisdom on Jailbreak Radio

By Kate Pinnock

The godfather of hip hop, rapper, and filmmaker Ice Cube from Los Angeles spoke exclusively to prison radio show ‘Jailbreak’  about his own experiences in the American prison system.

4 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 12

July 2025

An Unexpected Exclusive with Australian Fugitive, Markis Turner

By Damien Linnane

Markis is the alleged ‘mastermind’ behind a scheme to import more than 71 kilos of cocaine to Australia. He fled the country while on bail, and was caught after two years on the run in the Philippines. That was 2017. He’s been detained here ever since.

5 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 12

July 2025

Around the Country – June 2025

By About Time

Including an inspection of court custody centres in WA, Victoria enforcing the nation's strictest machete ban, Tasmanians returning to the polls and more.

2-3 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 12

July 2025

Money, Money, Money

By Stacey Stokes

A report by Financial Counselling Australia said this is a form of “double punishment”, with people leaving prison in a worse financial position than when they entered it because the system is “stacked against them”.

3 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 12

July 2025

Locked Down But Not Forgotten

By Denham Sadler

The regular use of lockdowns across the Australian prison system has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with governments under pressure to address the growing issue that is having a devastating impact on those inside.

4 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 11

June 2025

Knitting in Prison: Great Balls of Fibre!

By Sam

No-one’s life pans out quite the way they might expect, but it should never be too late to try and get back on course.

2 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 11

June 2025

Rethinking Justice: Inside Victoria’s Therapeutic Court System

By Stacey Stokes

While hardline responses to crime are constantly pushed by politicians and the media, other approaches – such as “therapeutic justice” models – are often overlooked.

4 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 11

June 2025

Around the Country – May 2025

By About Time

Including WA Government pledges to improve crisis care in prisons, Victoria announcing a $700m investment in prisons and officers, an ACT prison inspector flagging understaffing issues and more.

2-3 MIN READ
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