Around the Country – May 2026
Including funding for more prisons in the NT, families protesting outside Risdon prison in TAS, a man being returned to prison in NSW after being mistakenly released and more.
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.

Including funding for more prisons in the NT, families protesting outside Risdon prison in TAS, a man being returned to prison in NSW after being mistakenly released and more.
In April 2025, The Alternative First Responder campaign officially launched in Australia, calling for alternative first responses to police that centre care and dignity.
A judge in Victoria has ruled that a lack of stable housing in the community shouldn’t be used as a reason to deny someone bail, particularly when it involves a First Nations person.
The state government introduced legislation to Parliament last week that allows for people in prison’s legal right of one hour in the open air every day to be limited due to a range of reasons.
Staff at a Canberra prison pepper sprayed a First Nations inmate who was self-harming and then handcuffed and strip searched her, an investigation has found.
New informal voting data reveals there is still a long way to go to ensure the prison population is provided with proper information and education.
Nearly one in three people incarcerated in Queensland are eligible for parole but yet to be released, a new report has found.
A support service transporting First Nations people from prison to treatment facilities will shut down after it ran out of funding.
Including Victoria increasing jail time for posting crimes online, ACT raising the age of criminal responsibility, WA calling for internet access for those studying on the inside and more.

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, as well as those with lived experience of prison and reintegration.

People who’ve been incarcerated have a unique and valuable perspective. Remember – lived experience can open doors to meaningful employment once you’re released. It could be a fulfilling job filled with community, purpose and support.

Nearly 10,000 people in prison voted in the recent federal election – a massive increase from previous polls.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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”.


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