Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 14
September 2025
ISSUE NO. 14
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Sections
September 2025

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
‘Navigating a Minefield’: The Mental Health Crisis in Australia’s Prisons
By Denham Sadler

It’s estimated that about a third of all people in prison in Australia have a mental health diagnosis. Despite the huge need for support and care, a lack of staffing across the country has meant that many people in prison have been unable to get help.

ISSUE NO. 14
3 MIN READ
Rethinking Risk Assessments in Prison Settings
What are risk assessments, and how do they work?
Stacey Stokes interviews Emma Russell

When an individual is assigned a risk classification of low, medium, or high risk by corrections, they have been given this classification through a risk assessment.

ISSUE NO. 14
3 MIN READ
Willy Pleasance
Around the Country – August 2025
By About Time

Including WA Federal Government raising concerns with criminal justice reforms, SA prison placement guidelines reviewed, child incarceration rates increasing in NSW and more.

ISSUE NO. 14
6 MIN READ
Ethan Cassidy
Heather Calgaret Inquest: Her Life Was Precious and Her Passing Was Preventable
This is a shortened version of a media release from Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), originally published on the day of the inquest findings

Heather Calgaret was a proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman.

ISSUE NO. 14
4 MIN READ
The Calgaret family outside the Coroner’s Court of Victoria
The Dark Side of Gains
By Ronin Cruise

Australian men are bulking up at alarming rates. But there’s a toxic truth beneath it all: steroid use.

ISSUE NO. 14
2 MIN READ
Victor Freitas via Unsplash
Archive

ISSUE NO. 4

October 2024

Investigation Into Serco’s Actions Following Incident at Clarence Correctional Centre

By About Time and The National Justice Project

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

2 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 4

October 2024

Young People and the Law: Latest Updates

By Meg Tait

The past month has seen several important developments in youth justice legislation and policy across the country.

8 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 4

October 2024

Queensland Becomes First State to Make Painkillers Available in Prison Buy-Ups

By Denham Sadler

Queensland has become the first state to allow people in prison to purchase basic painkillers through the canteen buy-up process, marking a significant step forward in the provision of healthcare in the prison system.

10 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 3

September 2024

The Case of Ron Brierley, Healthcare and Elderly Prisoners

By Sam Harris

Ron Brierley’s case is the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to elderly people and healthcare in prison.

9 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 3

September 2024

Around the Country – August 2024

By About Time

The latest criminal news from around the country, including pressure on WA government to act on ‘systemic failures’ in youth detention following inquest into death in custody of Cleveland Dodd, Victoria backflipping on raising the age of criminal responsibility and all prisons in NSW now having access to ‘virtual’ medical care.

18 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 3

September 2024

'They Really Can’t Afford It’: The Prohibitive Cost of Making Phone Calls in Prison

By Denham Sadler

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.

12 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 2

August 2024

Port Phillip to Close as Australia Turns Away From Private Prisons

By Denham Sadler

Port Phillip Prison will close at the end of next year as part of a growing move away from privately run prisons in Australia.

8 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 1

July 2024

Welcome to Australia’s National Prison Newspaper

By About Time

Australia has never had a regular national prison newspaper. There have been at least 67 prison newsletters and magazines in Australian prison history, but none has been distributed regularly to every cell in the nation. We believe it’s about time that changed.

2 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 2

August 2024

Around the Country – July 2024

By About Time

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.

20 MIN READ

ISSUE NO. 2

August 2024

The History of Australian Prison Publications

By Damien Linnane

It doesn’t feel like it’s already been eight years since I was in prison myself, wishing there was any way that people in custody could express themselves and feel heard. I asked around if there was any kind of prison newsletter or magazine, but nobody had even heard of one.

8 MIN READ
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Help keep the momentum going. All donations will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.

All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.

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

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On This International Literacy Day, Support Australia's National Prison Newspaper

All donations up to $45,000 are being matched, so your donation will be doubled!

For more than 50 years, the world has celebrated International Literacy Day to remind us all of the critical importance of creating a more literate, just, peaceful and sustainable society.

We're asking for your support so that we can continue to provide Australia's incarcerated population with a voice – a platform of expression and hope, of literacy and storytelling.

We're asking for your support so that we can continue to provide Australia's incarcerated population with a voice — a platform of expression and hope, of literacy and storytelling.

All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.