Punishment in Australia#Non-prison punishments

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Indigenous people of Australia - Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders - had their own traditional punishments which they carried out on people who broke tribal customary law. These included:

• Spearing - a corporal punishment where someone is pierced with a spear, often through their leg.{{cite web|url=https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/21.%20Aboriginal%20Customary%20Laws%20and%20Sentencing/aboriginal-customary-laws-and-notion-%E2%80%98puni|title=Aboriginal Customary Laws and the Notion of 'Punishment'|last=Anonymous|date=18 August 2010|website=www.alrc.gov.au|access-date=12 November 2018}}
• Singing - an elder sings, which is believed to call evil spirits/misfortune upon the offender. There are reports of this happening as recently as 2016.
• Duelling
• Public shaming
• Compensation - such as by adoption or marriage.
• Exclusion from the community
• Death - this could be either directly through execution, or indirectly through magic.

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2018}}

{{Main|Convicts in Australia|History of Australia}}

New South Wales, as the founding site for British colonisation Australia in 1788, has had prisons for as long as Australia has had European settlement. The first Australian colony was founded at Port Jackson (now Sydney) on 26 January 1788, and marked the commencement of many decades of convict arrivals from the United Kingdom. Penal colonies were also founded in what is now the states of Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia.

Two penal colonies were briefly founded in the area that is now Victoria. Both were abandoned shortly after. Later, after a free settlement had been established, some convicts were transported to the region.

No penal colonies were located in the areas that have now become South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.

Norfolk Island (an external territory of Australia), the site of two penal colonies from 1788–1814 and 1824-1856,{{cite web |url=http://www.norfolkonlinenews.com/history.html |title=Norfolk Island History and Culture |website=Norfolk Online News |access-date=28 February 2019 |archive-date=12 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712011608/http://www.norfolkonlinenews.com/History.html |url-status=dead}} has no prisons at all in the 21st century. When Glenn McNeill was sentenced in 2007 to 24 years in prison for murder on Norfolk Island, the absence of prisons meant he was imprisoned in NSW.{{cite web |title=McNeill to appeal evidence admissibility |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/mcneill-to-appeal-evidence-admissibility-20070831-gdqzrv.html |website=SMH.com.au |access-date=28 February 2019 |date=31 August 2007}}

Convicts in the 19th century were subject to forced hard labour, such as quarrying sandstone. William Ulthorne, an English Catholic Bishop described convict labourers in the 1830s: “They are fettered with heavy chains, harassed with heavy work, and fed on salt meat and coarse bread, [...] Their faces are awful to behold, and their existence one of desperation.”{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/29/prisons-at-breaking-point-but-australia-is-still-addicted-to-incarceration|title=Prisons at breaking point but Australia is still addicted to incarceration|newspaper=The Guardian|date=27 December 2019}}

Additionally, there was the punishment of young children. John Hudson was reportedly only nine years old when sentenced for burglary and 13 when transported to Australia. He was one of 34 children on the First Fleet in 1788.{{citation|url=https://firstfleetfellowship.org.au/convicts/john-hudson/|title=John Hudson|publisher=First Fleet Fellowship Victoria Inc.|date=October 2015|author=Cheryl Timbury}}

{{Main|Capital punishment in Australia}}

On 3 February 1967 Ronald Ryan was the last individual to be executed in Australia after he killed a prison officer whilst attempting to escape Pentridge Prison.{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/01/20/4165429.htm|title=Ronald Ryan - Australia's last execution|date=2015-01-20|website=ABC Sydney|language=en-AU|access-date=2018-11-05}} A few years later the Federal Parliament passed the Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973, abolishing the death penalty amongst federal law however not prohibiting its use in state or territory law.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nswccl.org.au/australia|title=Australia|work=NSWCCL|access-date=2018-11-05|archive-date=5 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105160503/http://www.nswccl.org.au/australia|url-status=dead}}

The various states and territories all formally legally abolished capital punishment in their laws, with the first being Queensland in 1922 and the last being New South Wales in 1985.{{cite web|url=http://www.nswccl.org.au/issues/death_penalty/australia.php|title=Death Penalty in Australia|date=29 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329145248/http://www.nswccl.org.au/issues/death_penalty/australia.php|archive-date=29 March 2010}}

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty outlining the obligations of its parties to respect and promote the civil and political rights of individuals. Article 6 of the ICCPR states the death penalty may only be used in countries that have not abolished capital punishment for the severest of crimes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx|title=International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights|website=www.ohchr.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-05}} The Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR was created as an accompaniment to the ICCPR and altered Article 6 to ensure the abolishment of the death penalty in all cases worldwide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/2ndopccpr.aspx|title=Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights|website=www.ohchr.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-05}}

In Australia the second optional protocol to the ICCPR has been signed and ratified into domestic law. This is seen through the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition) Act 2010. The act fully abolished the death penalty and effectively ensured no state or territory is able to reintroduce it.

{{See also|Flagellation#Australian penal colonies|School corporal punishment#Australia}}

Flogging (also called whipping, lashing), a form of corporal punishment, was used from 1788 up until 1958. The Australian folk ballad Jim Jones at Botany Bay, dated to the early 19th century, is written from the perspective of a convict wanting to take revenge on those who flogged him.{{cite web|url=http://folkstream.com/050.html|title=Australian Folk Songs - Jim Jones at Botany Bay|website=folkstream.com}} The last men flogged in Australia were William John O'Meally and John Henry Taylor, at Pentridge Prison, Victoria on 1 April 1958 (technically William was flogged second, and so was the last).

{{as of|August 2020}}, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children reports that "Prohibition is still to be achieved in the home in all states/territories and in alternative care settings, day care, schools and penal institutions in some states/territories".{{cite web |title=Australia |website=Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children |date=24 October 2017 |url=https://endcorporalpunishment.org/reports-on-every-state-and-territory/australia/ |access-date=6 August 2020}}

Corporal punishment of school children is legally banned in public schools nationwide, but remains legal in private schools in Queensland.{{cite web | last=Matthews | first=Alice | title=Are teachers still hitting students? Because it's still legal in some schools | website=triple j | date=12 December 2018 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/corporal-punishment-in-queensland-schools/10611274 | access-date=6 August 2020}}

Each state and territory runs its own department to oversee correctional services; for example the South Australian Department for Correctional Services is responsible for prisoners and the provision of the rehabilitation opportunities in South Australia.Services, D. F. (25 October 2017). About us. Retrieved 26 January 2018, from http://www.corrections.sa.gov.au/about

In June 2022, there were 40,591 people imprisoned in Australia, and an incarceration rate of 201 prisoners per 100,000 adult population.

In the 30 years from 1988 to 2018, Australia's incarceration rate per 100,000 adults more than doubled. However, since 2018 it has decreased. The highest rate of increase was seen among prisoners on remand (ie: unsentenced, awaiting trial or sentencing), women and Indigenous Australians. From 2012 to 2017 the number of people in prison on remand grew 87 percent. This might be due to more people being refused bail, and a backlog of cases in the courts.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-14/australias-booming-prison-population-in-three-charts/8616876|title=Australia's booming prison population in three charts|date=14 June 2017|access-date=12 November 2018|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|website=www.abc.net.au}}

In 2017 males made up 91.9% of prisoners, despite males only being roughly half the adult population.

The number of female prisoners in Australia rose 47% between 2009 and 2019. They are often victims of crime themselves, such as domestic violence and assault. The majority are jailed for relatively minor, non-violent crimes which are often related to poverty and homelessness. In addition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the statistics.{{cite web | title=Sisters Inside: How Debbie Kilroy went from prisoner to protector of women's rights |website=She Defined |date=7 March 2021 | url=https://shedefined.com.au/international-womens-day/sisters-inside-how-debbie-kilroy-went-from-prisoner-to-protector-of-womens-rights/ | access-date=26 October 2021}} Until amendments to legislation were introduced in 2020, many women in Western Australia were imprisoned for non-payment of fines. The amendments were partly the result of recommendations of the coronial inquest into the death of Ms Dhu, who died in police custody.{{cite web |url=https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2020/06/Parliament-passes-comprehensive-reform-package-to-WAs-fine-enforcement-regime.aspx |title=Parliament passes comprehensive reform package to WA's fine enforcement regime [media statement] |first=John |last=Quigley |author-link=John Quigley (politician) |publisher=Government of Western Australia |date=17 June 2020 |access-date=26 October 2021 |archive-date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026110835/https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2020/06/Parliament-passes-comprehensive-reform-package-to-WAs-fine-enforcement-regime.aspx |url-status=dead}}

In 2021 the female imprisoned population in Australia was 7.7% of the total adults who are incarcerated. The percentage of the total female prison population rose from 7.2% of the population in 2000 to 12.8% in 2021 (from 1,385 to 3,302 per 100,000), based on the national population (with these figures approximately doubling if based on the national female population).{{cite web |title=Australia |website=World Prison Brief |url=https://www.prisonstudies.org/country/australia |access-date=26 October 2021}}

Debbie Kilroy, founder of Sisters Inside, is a well-known advocate for prison reform for female prisoners, who has noted several ways in which the current criminal justice system has failed in its mission to punish and rehabilitate women.{{cite web |last=Gleeson |first=Hayley |title=Debbie Kilroy's friend was murdered in front of her in jail. Now she's freeing other women |website=ABC News |date=15 February 2019 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-15/debbie-kilroy-fight-of-her-life/10802538 |access-date=26 October 2021}}

{{Main|Indigenous Australians and crime|Aboriginal deaths in custody}}

From 2008 to 2017 there was an increase in the rate of Indigenous people imprisoned, from 1.8% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population to 2.43%.{{cite web|url=http://www.crimestats.aic.gov.au/facts_figures/3_corrections/A4/|title=Prisoners in Australia by Indigenous status|publisher=Australian Institute of Criminology|website=Crime Statistics Australia|access-date=12 November 2018|archive-date=14 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114083328/http://www.crimestats.aic.gov.au/facts_figures/3_corrections/A4/|url-status=dead}}

In 2017, Indigenous people were over 15 times more likely than non-Indigenous people to be imprisoned.{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by+Subject/4517.0~2017~Main+Features~Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+prisoner+characteristics~5|title=Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoner characteristics, 2017|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|website=www.abs.gov.au|date=8 December 2017 }} As of June 2022, the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia aged 18 years and over was approximately 2%, while Indigenous prisoners accounted for 32 percent of the adult prison population.{{cite web | title=4517.0: Prisoners in Australia, 2018: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prisoner Characteristics | website=Australian Bureau of Statistics | date=6 December 2018 | url=https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0~2018~Main%20Features~Aboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20prisoner%20characteristics%20~13 | access-date=7 June 2020}} {{as of|August 2022}}, 40 per cent of women in prison in the state of New South Wales are Indigenous women.

The Attorney-General for Australia commissioned the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in October 2016 to examine the factors leading to the disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian prisons, and to look at ways of reforming legislation which might ameliorate this "national tragedy". The result of this in-depth enquiry was a report titled Pathways to Justice – Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, which was received by the Attorney-General in December 2017 and tabled in Parliament on 28 March 2018.{{cite web | title=Incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples | website=ALRC | date=1 December 2016 | url=https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/incarceration-rates-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/ | access-date=13 June 2020}} The report listed 13 recommendations, covering many aspects of the legal framework and police and justice procedures, including that fine default should not result in the imprisonment.{{cite book|url=https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/pathways-to-justice-inquiry-into-the-incarceration-rate-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-alrc-133-summary/|title=Pathways to Justice – Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ALRC 133 Summary)|author=Australian Law Reform Commission|date=December 2017|isbn= 978-0-9943202-9-2|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia| access-date=13 June 2020|pages=1–42}} [https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/summary_report_133_amended.pdf Summary report PDF]{{cite book|url=https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/pathways-to-justice-inquiry-into-the-incarceration-rate-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-alrc-report-133/|title=Pathways to Justice – Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: Final report (ALRC 133)|author=Australian Law Reform Commission|date=December 2017|isbn= 978-0-9943202-8-5|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia| access-date=14 June 2020|pages=1–524}} [https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/final_report_133_amended1.pdf Full report PDF]

Various programs in New South Wales have been having a positive effect on keeping Indigenous people out of prison. In Bourke, a project called Maranguka Justice Reinvestment has police officers meeting with local Indigenous leaders each day, helping to identify at-risk youth, and includes giving free driving lessons to young people. There have been reductions in domestic violence and juvenile offending (such as driving without a license), and an increase in school retention. Project Walwaay in Dubbo sees an Aboriginal youth team help to build relationships and engage young people in activities on a Friday night, which is now the second lowest day of crime, compared with being the busiest day before. The activities are also a pathway to the Indigenous Police Recruitment Delivery Our Way (IPROWD), an 18-week program run through TAFE NSW, which encourages young people to become police officers. This was first run in Dubbo in 2008 and has now been expanded to other locations across the state.{{cite web | title=Three projects linking Aboriginal communities and police that are helping to stop more Indigenous people going to jail |first1= Simon Leo |last1=Brown| first2=Chris |last2=Bullock|first3= Ann|last3=Arnold| website=ABC News (ABC Radio National)|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=9 July 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-10/indigenous-incarceration-rates-programs-community-police/12433372 | access-date=28 August 2020}} Since 2021, yarning circles have been introduced in men's and women's prisons across NSW, starting with Broken Hill Correctional Centre, in a bid to connect Indigenous inmates with their culture, and reduce reoffending and the high rates of incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.{{cite web | last=Ormonde | first=Bill | title=Yarning circles in NSW prisons aim to reduce Indigenous incarceration rates | website=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=8 August 2022 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-08/yarning-circles-nsw-prison-indigenous-incarceration-rates/101307076 | access-date=9 August 2022}}

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of June 2022, the number of adult prisoners according to each state and territory were as follows:

†Note that Indigenous Australians make up 25% of the Northern Territory's population, compared to under 5% in all other states and territories, and 2.8% nationally.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-40416350|title=Five takeaways from Australia's census|work=BBC News |date=27 June 2017}}

As of June 2022, the Northern Territory had by the country's highest incarceration rate at 1,027 per 100,000 adult population, which is over five times the incarceration rate of the country overall and an increase from 2017, when the territory's incarceration rate was 878 per 100,000. With the exception of the Northern Territory and Queensland, all other states and territories saw a decrease in incarceration rate over the same time period.

{{Main|Crime in Australia|Illicit drug use in Australia}}

The Australia Bureau of Statistics classifies prisoners (sentenced and unsentenced) according to the "most serious" crime with which they are charged. In 2022, statistics for charges were as follows:

• Acts intended to cause injury: 10,557 individuals (26.0% of all prisoners)
• Sexual assault and related offences: 6,446 (15.9%)
• Illicit drug offences: 5,515 (13.6%)
• Unlawful entry with intent: 3,305 (8.1%)
• Homicide: 3,257 (8.0%)
• Offences against justice procedures: 2,891 (7.1%)
• Robbery/extortion: 2,586 (6.4%)

;Federal prisoners

Federal prisoners are persons sentenced under commonwealth (federal) law, or transferred from another country to serve their sentence in Australia. In June 2022 there were 1,390 federal prisoners serving sentences in Australia.

Overall, foreign-born people are less likely to be imprisoned than people born in Australia. In 2017, foreign-born people were 35% of the adult population, but only 18% of the prison population.{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0~2017~Main%20Features~Country%20of%20birth~9|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|title=Prisoners in Australia, 2017|access-date=12 November 2018}}

The incarceration rate differed depending on country of birth. People born in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Samoa, Afghanistan and Tonga all had incarceration rates higher than the national average. Meanwhile people born in China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, South Africa, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Germany, Taiwan, South Korea and Fiji had incarceration rates lower than the national average.{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4517.02017?OpenDocument|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|title=Prisoners in Australia, 2017 - Prisoner Characteristics - Table 22|date=8 December 2017 |access-date=12 November 2018}}

However, these rates are not age-standardised, meaning they do not account for the fact that different groups tend to be younger or older on average. This matters, because teenagers and young adults are much more likely to commit crime than older adults. For instance the Sudanese-born population tends to be much younger on average, and this can help to explain their over-representation in the prison population.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-05/fact-check-sudanese-gangs-victoria/10187550|date=6 September 2018|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|title=Fact check: Do Sudanese people account for only 1 per cent of crimes committed in Victoria?|access-date=12 November 2018}}

{{main|Life imprisonment in Australia}}

In Australia, life imprisonment is of indeterminate length. The sentencing judge usually sets a non-parole period after which the prisoner can apply for release under parole conditions, or in the case of a criminal who has committed particularly heinous crimes, the sentencing judge may order that the person is "never to be released".

File:Fremantle Prison in Western Australia.jpg]]

{{See also|list of prisons in Australia}}

{{Main|Supermax prison#Australia}}

For extremely high-risk offenders, Australia operates several supermax prisons.

;History and statistics

In 2018, 18.4% of prisoners in Australia were held in private prisons.

Modern prison privatisation began in the U.S. and Australia followed shortly thereafter.{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Pages/privatisation-of-prisons.aspx|title=Privatisation of Prisons|website=www.parliament.nsw.gov.au}} On 2 January 1990, Borallon Correctional Centre opened as the first private prison in Australia, located in Queensland. Borallon was managed by the Corrections Company of Australia{{Cite news |url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/successful-qld-prison-tenderers-announced/2007/09/04/1188783213917.html |title=Successful Qld prison tenderers announced |access-date=12 November 2018|date=4 September 2007 |work=Brisbane Times |publisher=Fairfax Media }} (which was owned by John Holland Group, Wormald International and Corrections Corporation of America).{{cite web|url=https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi36|title=Private prisons in Australia|first=Richard|last=Harding|date=3 November 2017|website=Australian Institute of Criminology}} In 2007 Serco won the bid to take over the prison. In 2012 Borallon closed.{{cite web|url=https://www.qt.com.au/news/borallon-to-stay-shut-despite-prisoner-surge/2078967/|title=Borallon to stay shut despite prisoner surge|last=Cowen|publisher=The Queensland Times|website=www.qt.com.au|date=9 November 2013|access-date=12 November 2018}} In 2016 it reopened as a government-operated prison.{{cite web|url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/borallon-prison-reopens-as-training-centre-jail-20160315-gnj60h.html|title=Borallon prison re-opens as 'training centre' jail|first=Tony|last=Moore|date=15 March 2016|website=Brisbane Times}}

In 1992, the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre opened, as the second private prison in Queensland, managed by GEO Group Australia.

In 1993, New South Wales became the second Australian state to privatise prisons after Queensland, when Junee Correctional Centre was opened.

As of November 2018, there were no private prisons located in Tasmania, the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory.

;Violence and overcrowding

In June 2018, an investigation by the ABC revealed high rates of inmate violence, prison guard brutality and overcrowding at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in Queensland. At that time, the contract for the prison was up for tender. In 2016, the rate of prisoner assault at the prison was more than double the next highest prison.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-20/inside-arthur-gorrie-correctional-centre/9837260|title=Inside Australia's 'powder keg' private prison|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=20 June 2018|access-date=12 November 2018}}

;Arguments for and against

A 2016 article by Anastasia Glushko (a former worker in the private prison sector) argues in favour of privately operated prisons in Australia. According to Glushko, private prisons in Australia have decreased the costs of holding prisoners and increased positive relationships between inmates and correctional workers. Outsourcing prison services to private companies has allowed for costs to be cut in half. Compared with $270 a day in a government-run West Australian jail, each prisoner in the privately operated Acacia facility near Perth costs the taxpayer $182. Glushko also says that positive prisoner treatment was observed during privatisation in Australia by including more respectful attitudes to prisoners and mentoring schemes, increased out-of-cell time and more purposeful activities. As Australia’s prison population has grown and existing facilities have aged, public-private partnerships have provided opportunities to build new correctional centers while enabling governments to defer much needed cash flow. Glushko points out that at Ravenhall Prison in Victoria, the operator is compensated on the basis of the recidivism rate, and this strategy may make the operator more concerned about the wellbeing of its inmates after prison which in return would benefit the entire Australian correctional system.{{cite news|title=Doing Well and Doing Good: The Case for Privatising Prisons|first=A.|last=Glushko|publisher=Policy|issue=1|volume=32|date=Autumn 2016|url=https://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/2016/04/32-1-glushko-anastasia.pdf|pages=19–23}}

Conversely, a 2016 report from the University of Sydney found that in general, all states of Australia lacked a comprehensive approach to hold private prisons accountable to the government. The authors said that of all the states, Western Australia had the "most developed regulatory approach" to private prison accountability, as they had learnt from the examples in Queensland and Victoria. Western Australia provided much information about the running of private prisons in the state to the public, making it easier to assess performance. However the authors note that in spite of this, overall it is difficult to compare the performance and costs of private and public prisons as they often house different kinds and numbers of prisoners, in different states with different regulations. They note that Acacia Prison, sometimes held up as an example of how private prisons can be well run, cannot serve as a general example of prison privatisation.{{cite web|title=Prison Privatisation in Australia: The State of the Nation. Accountability, Costs, Performance and Efficiency|url=https://sydney.edu.au/business/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/269972/Prison_Privatisation_in_Australia-_The_State_of_the_Nation_June_2016.pdf|access-date=10 November 2018|date=2016|publisher=University of Sydney}} {{dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}

Additionally, community corrections orders have been argued to be cheaper and equally as effective as public or private incarceration. See the section on community corrections for more details.

;List of private prisons in Australia

;Former private prisons

• Borallon Correctional Centre - Australia's first private prison, currently a government operated prison.
• Wandoo Reintegration Facility - Opened in 2012 on former site of Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre. Managed by Serco until 2018 when it came back into public hands. Now a women's drug rehabilitation facility.{{cite web|url=https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2017/08/WAs-first-rehab-prison-to-open-as-Wandoo-returns-to-public-hands.aspx|title=Media Statements - WA's first rehab prison to open as Wandoo returns to public hands|first=Department of the Premier and|last=Cabinet|website=www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au|access-date=10 November 2018|archive-date=5 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705003042/https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2017/08/WAs-first-rehab-prison-to-open-as-Wandoo-returns-to-public-hands.aspx|url-status=dead}}
• Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre - Management transitioned to Queensland Corrective Services in 2020. {{Cite web |title=About |url=https://geogroup.com.au/about/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=The GEO Group Australia Pty Ltd. |language=en-US}}
• Southern Queensland Correctional Centre - Private management contract with Serco was revoked as a result of higher levels of assaults, with Queensland Corrective Services taking over control in July 2021.{{Cite web |date=2021-07-07 |title=Southern Queensland Correctional Centre transition complete |url=https://corrections.qld.gov.au/southern-queensland-correctional-centre-transition-complete/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=Queensland Corrective Services |language=en-AU}}

In 2016-17, Australia spent {{AUD|3.1 billion}} on prisons.

{{see also|Juvenile detention|Juvenile detention in the Northern Territory|Age of criminal responsibility in Australia}}

The age of criminal responsibility in Australia is 10 years old, meaning children under 10 cannot be charged with a crime. In 2018, law experts called for the age to be raised to 16 and the various Attorneys General decided to investigate the matter.{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/experts-back-call-to-raise-age-of-criminal-responsibility-to-16|title=Experts back call to raise age of criminal responsibility to 16|date=22 November 2018}} Calls to increase the minimum age have increased in recent years.{{cite web |last=Cunneen |first=Chris |title=Ten-year-olds do not belong in detention. Why Australia must raise the age of criminal responsibility |website=The Conversation |date=22 July 2020 |url=http://theconversation.com/ten-year-olds-do-not-belong-in-detention-why-australia-must-raise-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility-142483 |access-date=6 August 2020}} Doctors, lawyers, and a range of experts have called for the minimum age to be raised to 14.{{cite web |title=age of criminal responsibility |website=RACP |url=https://www.racp.edu.au/news-and-events/media-releases/doctors-lawyers-experts-unite-in-call-to-raise-age-of-criminal-responsibility |access-date=6 August 2020}} Among other bodies, the Australian Human Rights Commission has submitted a report to the Council of Attorneys-General Age of Criminal Responsibility Working Group.{{cite web |title=Review of the age of criminal responsibility (2020) |website=Australian Human Rights Commission |date=26 February 2020 |url=https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/submission/review-age-criminal-responsibility-2020 |access-date=6 August 2020}} [https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/ahrc_20200226_submission_cag_working_group_macr_2.pdf PDF]

In August 2020 the Legislative Assembly of the ACT voted to increase the age of criminal responsibility to 14 in line with UN standards,{{cite web | title=Why Australia is facing calls to stop jailing 10-year-olds | website=BBC News | date=21 August 2020 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53858663 | access-date=23 August 2020}} a move welcomed by Indigenous advocates.{{cite web | last=Allam | first=Lorena | title=Australian Capital Territory votes to raise age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 | website=The Guardian | date=20 August 2020 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/aug/20/australian-capital-territory-votes-to-raise-age-of-criminal-responsibility-from-10-to-14 | access-date=23 August 2020}} The support is in principle only, and dependent upon the Labor government being re-elected in October.{{cite web | title=Criminal responsibility age to be raised from 10 to 14 if ACT Labor re-elected, after Government endorses reform - ABC News | website=ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) | date=20 August 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-21/act-criminal-responsibility-children-reform-if-labor-relected/12580696 | access-date=23 August 2020}}{{cite web | last=Jenkins | first=Keira | title=ACT agrees to raise age of criminal responsibility | website=NITV | date=20 August 2020 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/08/20/act-agrees-raise-age-criminal-responsibility | access-date=23 August 2020}}

According to a 2018 SBS article, around 600 children under 14 are locked up in Australian prisons each year.

On an average night in June 2019, there were 949 minors imprisoned in Australia. Of these:

• 90% were male;
• 83% were aged 10–17 (the remainder 18–20);
• 63% were unsentenced;
• 53% were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander youth.

In the year ending 30 June 2020, there were almost 600 children aged 10 to 13 in detention in Australia.{{cite web | title=Quick Facts: The age of criminal responsibility in Australia and youth incarceration|date=30 July 2020|first1=Simon |last1=Creek |first2= Siobhan|last2= Nims | website=Welcome to Mondaq | url=https://www.mondaq.com/australia/crime/971112/quick-facts-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility-in-australia-and-youth-incarceration | access-date=6 August 2020}}

From June 2015 to 2019, the Northern Territory had the highest rate of young people in detention on an average night.

{{Further|Juvenile detention in the Northern Territory}}

In 2016 the ABC aired a Four Corners report which revealed abuse of youth occurring at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in the Northern Territory. This included an incident where, in 2015, Dylan Voller, then a minor, had his face covered with a spit hood and was strapped into a mechanical restraint chair for 2 hours. As a result the Australian government established the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-21/nt-royal-commission-on-youth-detention-has-failed-children/9174860|title=The royal commission into NT youth detention has failed children|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=21 November 2017}}

In 2022, a Tasmanian Government inquiry revealed that 55 workers at Ashley Youth Detention Centre had been accused of child sex abuse by former child detainees. One former worker was accused of abusing 11 children over the course of 3 decades. Another former staff member was accused of using sexual violence and intimidation, including forced masturbation, against 26 former child detainees. The alleged crimes span from recent years back to the 1970s.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-06/inquiry-told-55-workers-at-controversial-youth-detention-centre-/100806768|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|author=Mahmood Fazal|title=Inquiry told 55 workers at controversial youth detention centre were alleged sexual abusers|date=6 February 2022|access-date=6 February 2022}} In September 2021, it was announced that Ashley Youth Detention Centre would close within three years, and be replaced by two new facilities.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-09/ashley-youth-dentention-centre-tasmania-to-close/100447184|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|author=Alexandra Humphries|title=Ashley Youth Detention Centre in Tasmania's north to close down and be replaced by two new facilities|date=9 September 2021|access-date=6 February 2022}}

In 2013-2015, there were 149 deaths in custody in Australia, the majority occurred in prison while a minority occurred in police custody. The majority of prisoners who died in prison and police custody were male, over 40 years of age and non-Indigenous.{{cite web|url=http://crimestats.aic.gov.au/NDICP/|title=National Deaths in Custody Program - Crime Statistics Australia|publisher=Australian Institute of Criminology|website=crimestats.aic.gov.au|access-date=12 November 2018|archive-date=6 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106222248/http://www.crimestats.aic.gov.au/NDICP/|url-status=dead}} For deaths in immigration detention, see the section on immigration detention facilities.

{{Main|Aboriginal deaths in custody}}

Indigenous Australians are highly over-represented among deaths in custody, they were only 3.2% of the general population in 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australia-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-population-summary|publisher=ABS|title=Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population summary|date=1 July 2022|access-date=16 February 2023}} This led the government to establish a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1987, which delivered its report in 1991. However, in general there has been a lack of action on reports into deaths, including a failure to implement the recommendations of the 1987 royal commission, and Indigenous deaths in custody remain disproportionately high as a proportion of the general population.{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Helen |last2=Allam |first2=Lorena |last3=Wahlquist |first3=Calla |last4=Evershed |first4=Nick |title='People will continue to die': coroners' 'deaths in custody' reports ignored |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/31/people-will-continue-to-die-coroners-deaths-in-custody-reports-ignored |work=Guardian Australia |date=30 August 2018 |language=en}}

From 2008-2018, 56% of Indigenous people who died in custody had not been found guilty. They were on remand, died while fleeing police or during arrest, or were in protective custody. A majority were suspected of non-indictable offences, which typically carry sentences of less than five years.{{cite news |last1=Wahlquist |first1=Calla |last2=Evershed |first2=Nick |last3=Allam |first3=Lorena |title=More than half of 147 Indigenous people who died in custody had not been found guilty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/30/more-than-half-of-147-indigenous-people-who-died-in-custody-had-not-been-found-guilty |access-date=29 August 2018 |work=The Guardian|date=29 August 2018 |language=en}}

Of the 34 deaths that occurred in police custody in 2013-2015, 50% resulted from gunshot wounds. Of those, 13 were police shootings while 4 were self-inflicted.

7 of the 34 occurred during motor vehicle pursuits, while 6 occurred in sieges and 2 in raids. 10 were listed as "other".{{cite web|url=http://crimestats.aic.gov.au/NDICP/2_police-custody/|title=Police custody and custody-related operations - Crime Statistics Australia|publisher=Australian Institute of Criminology|website=crimestats.aic.gov.au|access-date=12 November 2018|archive-date=3 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103064607/http://www.crimestats.aic.gov.au/NDICP/2_police-custody/|url-status=dead}}

From 1989-1991 until now, people aged 25–39 have been overall the most represented group in police deaths, followed by people aged under 25, then 40-54 year olds, then people aged 55+. However, as noted above, in 2013-2015 the majority of deaths were people aged over 40. Furthermore from 1989-1990 to 2014-2015, the overall most common situation for deaths in police custody to occur, was during a motor vehicle pursuit.

7/10 prison deaths were due to natural causes, and 1/3 of those were due to heart disease. The rate of deaths per 100,000 prisoners was 0.16 for sentenced prisoners (ie prisoners who were convicted and serving a sentence) and 0.18 for unsentenced prisoners (ie: in prison awaiting trial).

In 1979-1980, there were only 15 deaths in prison custody. This increased until in 1997-1998 there were 80 deaths in prison custody. Deaths then decreased sharply to 28 in 2005-2006, before rising again to 54 in 2013-2014 and 61 in 2014-2015. In the late 1990s there was a large disparity between the rate of death (per 100,000 prisoners) for sentenced and unsentenced prisoners, peaking at 1.18 for unsentenced prisoners to 0.28 for sentenced.{{cite web|url=http://crimestats.aic.gov.au/NDICP/1_prison-custody/|title=Deaths in prison custody - Crime Statistics Australia|publisher=Australian Institute of Criminology|website=crimestats.aic.gov.au|access-date=12 November 2018|archive-date=3 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103075057/http://crimestats.aic.gov.au/NDICP/1_prison-custody/|url-status=dead}}

Prison deaths by state/territory:

{{Main|Immigration detention in Australia#Deaths in detention}}

From 2000-2018 there have been dozens of deaths in immigration detention, many from suicide. Additionally, some people have died after being released, for reasons connected with being detained.{{cite web|url=https://arts.monash.edu/social-sciences/border-crossing-observatory/australian-border-deaths-database/|title=Australian Border Deaths Database|publisher=Monash University|date=September 2018|access-date=12 November 2018}}

Prisoners in Australia are expected to work while in custody.{{cite web |url=https://www.corrections.vic.gov.au/prisons/going-to-prison |title=Going to Prison |publisher=Victorian Government |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225195237/https://www.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Corrective%20Services/families-handbook_chapter%202.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Corrective%20Services/families-handbook_chapter%202.pdf |title=Chapter 2 : Going to Prison |publisher=NSW Government |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016010108/https://www.corrections.vic.gov.au/prisons/going-to-prison |archive-date=16 October 2021 |url-status=live}} Inmates typically earn between $0.80 and $3.00 per hour.{{cite news|url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/bed-linen-and-boomerangs-the-surprising-products-made-by-prisoners/news-story/d9cfbb0e9414fd00c0ef764ce8002982|title=Bed linen and boomerangs — the surprising products made by prisoners|publisher=news.com.au|date=28 March 2017}} No prison worker is paid superannuation, and their employers do not pay payroll tax. Prison workers are not legally considered workers, and as such are not entitled to workers' compensation if injured.{{cite web |url=https://queenslandlawhandbook.org.au/the-queensland-law-handbook/offenders-and-victims/prisons-and-prisoners/compensation-claims-whilst-in-prison/ |title=Compensation Claims whilst in Prison |work=Caxton Legal Centre |date=2 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322155923/https://queenslandlawhandbook.org.au/the-queensland-law-handbook/offenders-and-victims/prisons-and-prisoners/compensation-claims-whilst-in-prison/ |archive-date=22 March 2021 |url-status=live}}

;Victoria

In Victoria prisoners fabricate metal and make timber products. Both male and female inmates also pack airline headsets for Qantas. Other jobs for female prisoners include sewing Australian flags and making bed linen.{{cite web |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/in-victoria-s-prisons-women-pay-for-men-s-violence-20190628-p5226v.html |title=In Victoria's prisons, women pay for men's violence |last=Poole |first=Melanie |date=29 July 2019 |work=The Age |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325102828/https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/in-victoria-s-prisons-women-pay-for-men-s-violence-20190628-p5226v.html |archive-date=25 March 2021 |url-status=live}}

;Queensland

In Queensland inmates make tents, chairs, coffee tables, doonas and doors. Female prisoners cut up used clothes to turn into rags.{{cite AV media |url=https://omny.fm/shows/newcastlelibrariesreal/broken-chains-prisoners-unlocking-potential-mode-1 |title=Broken Chains: Modern Slavery | people=Linnane, Damien (host) |date=7 September 2021 |work=Broken Chains |publisher=City of Newcastle}}

;New South Wales

In New South Wales, prisoner work is organised by Corrective Service Industries (CSI), an arm of the state justice department. Prisoners sew national and state flags and ambulance flags, and paint boomerangs. CSI said in 2017 that 84.9% of NSW inmates who can work, do so. In 2017, NSW prisoners were paid from $24.60 to $70.55 for a 30-hour work week.{{cite web |url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/5156748/what-do-nsw-inmates-spend-their-money-on/ |title=What tops the grocery list of NSW inmates? |last=Leeming |first=Lachlan |date=8 January 2018 |work=Newcastle Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523070840/https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/5156748/what-do-nsw-inmates-spend-their-money-on/ |archive-date=23 May 2021 |url-status=live}} This is about $0.82 to $2.35 per hour, compared to the Australian minimum wage of $17.70 per hour. CSI made $113 million revenue and $46.6 million profit in 2016. CSI said that prison work helped prisoners pass time, and that 1% of their sales went to the Victims Compensation Levy (a government compensation fund for crime victims).

In 2019, about 20 prisoners at Dawn De Loas Correctional Centre were assembling computers. The identity of the company using this labour was unknown, but CSI overseer Jasvinder Oberai said that the program provided inmates with work experience, that PC parts came from government donations and the assembled PCs were given back to government departments.{{cite news|url=https://www.crn.com.au/news/sydney-pc-assembler-using-prison-labour-526829|title=Sydney PC assembler using prison labour|publisher=crn.com.au|date=20 June 2019}}

;Northern Territory

In the Northern Territory, prison labour is overseen by Northern Territory Correctional Industries (NTCI) and their Advisory Panel.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-21/the-business-behind-bars-alice-springs/7183966|title=The Northern Territory $20 million prison workforce business|publisher=ABC News|date=21 February 2016|access-date=23 June 2019}}

In 2015, NTCI made $20 revenue and $2 million profit. In 2016, concerns were raised that prison labour in the NT was competing unfairly with private businesses and taking jobs away from free people. NT lawmaker Robyn Lambley said "we have been told numerous times that the products that are made by NTCI are sold at a competitive price in the open market. But you're not paying all the overheads of employing people; you're not paying superannuation, you're not paying insurance, you're not paying payroll tax, you're not paying all those expenses associated with employing someone and that is a big saving." The NT Corrections Commissioner Mark Payne denied that prison labour is competing with local businesses, and that if they think they are competing, they stop doing that work.

In 2013, NT prisoners were working at a salt mine in remote center of the NT. The prisoners earned about $16 per hour, compared to $35 for a regular union employee. 5% of earnings went to the Victims Compensation Fund and some funds were deducted for board, and the prisoners had $60 spending money per week. The mining union United Voice said that this was akin to "slave labour", that these workers were undercutting other workers, and that if anyone is working in the mines they should be paid at a market rate. Territory Correctional Services Minister John Elferink said the work provided inmates with valuable work experience, because otherwise they would be sitting in a "concrete box".{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-12/union-says-prisoners-working-at-nt-salt-mine-27like-slave-labo/4952642|publisher=ABC News|title=Union says prisoners working at NT salt mine 'like slave labour'|date=12 September 2013|access-date=23 June 2019}}

Community Corrections is the term used for various punishments and court orders in Australia that do not involve prison time. Types of community corrections include:

• Home detention
• Suspended sentence
• Good behaviour bond
• Community service order
• Parole
• Non-conviction bond - where a person is found guilty, but does not get a criminal record provided they go for a certain period without committing another crime

;Statistics

In the June 2018, there were 69,397 people in community corrections, an increase of 1,406 (4%) from June 2017. 55,867 (81%) were male and all of the remainder were female{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4512.0Main+Features1June+quarter+2018?OpenDocument|title=Corrective Services, Australia, June quarter 2018 - Summary of findings|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|website=www.abs.gov.au|date=6 September 2018}} (Australia allows people to legally register as X/third gender on some identity documents).{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/15/australian-passports-third-gender-option|title=Australian passports to have third gender option|last=Staff and agencies|date=15 September 2011|website=The Guardian}}

In June 2013 there were 57,354 people in community corrections. From 2013 to 2018, females serving community corrections orders increased by 40% compared to males by 26%.

In June 2006, there were 52,212 persons in community-based corrections in Australia.

In June 2018 most common type of community corrections orders were, in order:

• Sentenced probation
• Parole
• Community service

Please note that people may receive two or more different corrections orders at the same time.

;Cost and effectiveness

In 2016-2017 financial year, Australia spent $500 million ($0.5 billion) Australian dollars on community corrections.

An article in The Age, citing a report by the Institute of Public Affairs (a conservative think tank) as well as other figures, said community correctional orders are argued to be significantly cheaper than the cost of private or public incarceration (roughly 10% of the cost of putting people behind bars), "16 per cent of offenders who completed a CCO returned to corrective services within two years" compared to the nearing 50% in traditional prisons. Community-correctional orders CCOs are increasingly commonplace in Victoria and show that crime rates can be meaningfully affected.{{cite web|title=Call to pay convicted criminals to work to cut high recidivism rate|author=Adam Carey|publisher=The Age|website=www.theage.com.au|date=13 May 2018|access-date=12 November 2018|url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/call-to-pay-convicted-criminals-to-work-to-cut-high-recidivism-rate-20180510-p4zekq.html}}

Additionally, a June 2018 report from the Australian Institute of Criminology also found that in the short term, for a certain kind of prisoner (comprising roughly 15% of prisoners in Victoria), dealing with them via community corrections orders had similar outcomes to prison but was 9 times cheaper.{{cite news|title=How much does prison really cost? Comparing the costs of imprisonment with community corrections.|url=https://aic.gov.au/publications/rr/rr5|first=A.|last=Morgan|journal=Aic Reports. Research Report Series|date=25 June 2018|access-date=12 November 2018|publisher=Australian Institute of Criminology|issn=2206-7280}}

These include:

• Monetary fines{{cite web|url=https://www.australia.gov.au/content/pay-your-fines|title=Pay your fines - australia.gov.au|first=Digital Transformation|last=Agency|website=www.australia.gov.au}}
• Confiscation of property (eg: impounding cars used in offences, confiscating contraband) etc.{{cite web|url=https://www.police.wa.gov.au/Traffic/Offences/Impounded-vehicles|title=Impounded vehicles|first=Western Australia|last=Police|website=Western Australia Police}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-rules/penalties/vehicle-impoundment|title=Vehicle impoundment|last=VicRoads|date=26 October 2018|website=www.vicroads.vic.gov.au}}
• Apprehended violence order (a type of injunction or restraining order){{cite web|url=http://www.domesticviolence.nsw.gov.au/get-help/apprehended-violence-orders-avos|title=Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) - Domestic Violence|website=www.domesticviolence.nsw.gov.au}}

File:FremantlePrisonCell.jpg]]

Former Australian prisons which are now open to the public as museums.

• Old Dubbo Gaol
• Boggo Road Gaol
• Fremantle Prison
• Fannie Bay Gaol
• Gladstone Gaol
• J Ward
• HM Prison Geelong
• Adelaide Gaol
• Mount Gambier Gaol
• Redruth Gaol
• Maitland Gaol
• Wentworth Gaol
• Old Melbourne Gaol
• HM Prison Beechworth

• HM Prison Fairlea
• HM Prison Geelong
• HM Prison Sale
• HM Prison Morwell River
• HM Prison Pentridge

Many films and television shows have depicted the punishment of early convicts and bushrangers in Australia.

;Television

• Prisoner was a soap opera which ran from 1979 until 1986 and depicted life in a fictional women's prison in Australia.
• Wentworth is a drama that started broadcasting in 2013. It is a contemporary re-imagining of Prisoner.
• Underbelly is a drama series which depicts the lives of Australian criminals, including many prison scenes.

;Film

• Stir is a 1980 prison film written by former prisoner Bob Jewson, based on his own experiences.
• Ghosts of the Civil Dead is a 1988 drama film set in a fictional Australian prison in the desert.
• The Hard Word is a 2002 heist film partly set in an Australian prison.

• Crime in Australia
• Crime in New South Wales
• Crime in Queensland
• Crime in South Australia
• Crime in Tasmania
• Crime in the Australian Capital Territory
• Crime in the Northern Territory
• Crime in Victoria
• Crime in Western Australia
• Health of prisoners in Australia
• Justice Action

• Australian immigration detention facilities

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal|url=https://www.correctiveservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/research-and-statistics/sp47-nsw-inmate-census-2018.pdf|title=NSW Inmate Census 2018: Summary of Characteristics|first1=Simon|last1=Corben|first2=Helen|last2=Tang|issn=2207-0850|journal=Statistical Publication|issue=47|publisher=NSW Government. Corrective Services NSW |date=August 2019}}

{{Crime in Australia}}

{{Law enforcement in Australia}}

{{Incarceration}}

Category:Penal system in Australia

Australia