ISSUE NO. 20
MARCH 2026

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

Around the Country – February 2026

By About Time

Including a death in custody at Acacia prison in WA, Victoria spending the most on youth detention, remand numbers skyrocketing in NSW and more.

ISSUE NO. 20
10 MIN READ
Ethan Cassidy

‘She Is Me’: Stories By Us, For Us

By Stacey Stokes and Tahlia Isaac

Project: herself is an organisation I set up to advocate and support women to have self-determined lives. We do that through a couple of things – including storytelling advocacy and frontline service delivery.

ISSUE NO. 20
4 MIN READ

Our Voices at the United Nations: A Joint Fight for Human Rights

By Sisters Inside, National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, Scarlet Alliance and Asian Migrant Sex Worker Advisory Group

In July 2025, four organisations came together to make sure the truth about prisons, policing and criminalisation in Australia was heard on the world stage.

ISSUE NO. 20
2 MIN READ
Jonathan Ansel Moy de Vitry via Unsplash

Archive

ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Cleveland’s Death Was Preventable, Predictable and Predicted: Coroner

By Denham Sadler

The death of a 16-year-old First Nations teenager in a notorious youth unit of an adult prison in Western Australia was preventable and predictable, and the result of “serious longstanding deficiencies in the system, a Coroner has found.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Palliative Care in Prison and the Push for Change

By Sophie Lawson

End-of-life care, also known as palliative care, is a healthcare process that aims to improve the quality of life and reduce the suffering of those who are terminally ill. Being incarcerated can make this stage of life even more complicated.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Around the Country – December 2025

By About Time

Including a Victorian man suing for his right to have Vegemite in prison, a new framework for rehabilitation being launched by NT Corrections, a QLD Watchdog calling separation rooms in youth prisons ‘inhumane’ and more.

8 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Impacts of Proposed New Freedom of Information Laws

By Daniel Vansetten

Obtaining information from federal agencies is about to become subject to stricter rules under the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 (Cth).

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

United Nations Visit Australian Prisons

By Stacey Stokes

In early December, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Australia. Their purpose was to provide guidance on how international human rights standards apply to prisons and places of detention.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 17
December 2025

Holiday Messages from Loved Ones on the Outside

By About Time

We put a call out for messages from loved ones of people in prison across the country, and more than 100 people responded. We hope these brighten your day.

4 MIN READ

Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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