Family issues trouble you the most while you are in the custody. Maybe you have a spouse or children. Or you may have close relationship with some members of the family. Some of us might have children in different states or overseas.

We are encouraged to maintain contact with our support people, our wives, our families, and our friends. This upcoming price increase will reduce the amount of contact we will be able to have with our supports.

I have read in quite a few issues that other inmates have been feeling the same sting of phone charges that I was.

Whilst I appreciate that this issue only affects 0.01% of the prison population, I do find it hard to believe that this issue hasn’t been highlighted previously.

The true cost of phone calls in prison has been revealed for the first time.

An Ombudsman investigation has found people in Canberra’s only prison paid nearly $125,000 to make phone calls across two years when this should have been free.

While for the most part calls to mobiles are becoming cheaper, we clearly still have a long way to go.

There are renewed hopes that phone calls in Australian prisons will soon be more affordable or completely free, with campaigns advocating for the change ramping up around the country.

Inside prison, days can feel endless and sometimes the only thing that keeps you going is the thought you might get to hear the voice of someone you love.

I am a prisoner at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and have been since February 2022. I have no family in Melbourne that can visit me in person. Nor do they drop off property or top up my account with money. I solely rely on my wages from working a full-time job inside the prison.