Prison Conditions

I had no money for the June activity buy-up, and just enough to order thermal underwear (bottom/top) and a beanie for the July activity buy-up. Then I was told it wouldn’t arrive till the end of August! Winter will be over!

In June 2025, a new policy was implemented affecting the low classification placement of inmates in Queensland on offences of manslaughter and attempted murder.

It’s a huge safety issue. The steps are metal with no grip tape on the step, so if you slip you could injure yourself.

We are not sure who to write to or who we can talk to about theses matters. We are hoping someone reads our letter and can point us in the right direction to have our voices heard.

The following is in response to the article by Denham Sadler titled “Sweltering Behind Bars: Stifling Heat in Australian prisons”.

It is not a pleasurable experience. It is very difficult to face all those emotions and reflect over the course of your whole life.

While corrections departments around the country report that more than 80 per cent of people in prison are working, in reality only about half actually have employment while in custody. This is because of how these departments are reporting the rate of employment and who is counted as being “eligible”.

People in prison will be paid as little as $1 per hour to work on the state’s roads to free up maintenance crews to fix Victoria’s potholes under a plan the state government will take to the upcoming election.

There are many groups around the country that inspect prisons and provide feedback and recommendations to governments. These often involve visiting prisons and talking directly to people in custody.

This is what they’ve been up to in the last month.

Including suppression orders being banned for some offenders in VIC, good character to be scrapped in sentencing in WA, major changes made to remand processes in NSW and more.

Including a man being unlawfully kept in prison for months after his release date in SA, the findings from the Capricornia Inspection in QLD, upcoming inspections in WA and more.

Including prison policy changes being tracked online in the ACT, concerns in the NT over a lack of a forensic mental health unit, new gym equipment coming to Western Plains in VIC and more.

A standalone legal service is needed to address the “significant unmet needs” of people in prison, particularly women, trans and gender diverse people, according to a new report.

Prison management can now limit incarcerated people’s access to time in the open air for a number of reasons, such as the management, good order or security of the prison.

After decades of campaigning by advocates and the Western Australian custodial inspector, air-conditioning was finally installed at Roebourne Regional Prison mid-last year.

Western Australia’s prison system is “nearing functional collapse”, with continual lockdowns, people sleeping on mattresses and a significant increase in violent incidents, an independent inspector has found.

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.

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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.

There are a number of groups around the country that inspect prisons and provide feedback and recommendations to governments. These often involve visiting prisons and talking directly to people in custody.

Australia’s biggest prison is so “grossly understaffed” in mental health services that people with acute needs should not be held there, the NSW prison inspector has found.

Cells at the courts are so full that people can’t be taken there from prison to attend their hearings.

In October last year, thousands of New South Wales prison officers also went on strike, plunging incarcerated people into abrupt and extended lockdowns.

Australia is in the midst of an epidemic of prison lockdowns. There is often little or no warning that these lockdowns are going to happen, leaving many people in virtual solitary confinement for hours or days.

There are no nation-wide policies or guidelines for managing extreme heat in Australian prisons, or for the regular measurement of temperatures within prison buildings and cells.

A remote WA prison holding mostly First Nations people is “unfit for purpose”, with people sleeping on the floors and cockroach infestations.

Including smoking being banned in WA prisons, a death in custody at Mary Hutchinson in TAS, a painkiller trial hailed as a success in QLD and more.

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.

Including an ACT prison receiving funding for education, changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act being paused in QLD, NSW introducing “open clinics” to improve healthcare in prisons and more.

Following a number of complaints from inmates, the NSW Ombudsman investigated Serco’s response to an assault at Clarence Correctional Centre.

The latest criminal news from around the country, including a boost in investment to the criminal justice system, criticism around new footage of treatment of children in custody and an inquest into the death of Justin James Cordy.

Inspectors and ombudsmen regularly go to prisons and publish reports on what they find and what they think needs to be improved. They also complete reports on issues such as access to healthcare or the use of segregation.

With people in prisons across the country being subjected to an “epidemic of prison lockdowns”, it is important to note that bare minimum safeguards exist in law, in most jurisdictions, that purport to guarantee at least some time ‘in the open air’ each day for people behind bars.