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Prisoner Release Process

Prisoners are advised of their estimated release date within 48 hours of arriving at the prison. Should the estimated date change at any time, the prisoner is informed.

Preparation for Release

Corrections Victoria recognises the need to prepare prisoners for reintegration into society. This preparation gives prisoners the best opportunity to positively re-establish themselves and reduces the risk of reoffence.

The Pre-Release Planning Process begins six to eight weeks prior to the discharge date. This process involves the prisoner sitting down with a nominated officer to address:

• identification: prisoners are assisted in gathering relevant forms of identification, for instance applying to obtain their birth certificate
• accommodation: prisoners are assisted in securing accommodation prior to release, including referrals to housing services where necessary
• financial/Centrelink: prisoners are provided with current information and application forms for any social security payments they may qualify for, and help to fill in these forms, including identification of those eligible for a crisis payment
• employment: details of employment agencies/services are provided to prisoners and referrals to agencies where necessary
• legal matters: any outstanding legal matters (including breaches of Community Correctional Orders under the Sentencing Act 1991) are followed up and prisoners assisted in accessing legal advice
• drug and alcohol issues: information regarding drug and alcohol treatment options in the community is made available to prisoners, and focus is given to harm minimisation. Prisoners are provided with literature on tolerance levels. For those prisoners being released on probation or any instance where a Treatment Order is involved then an appointment for pre-release drug and alcohol assessment is made, and follow up appointments set with the prisoner
• medical: where a prisoner has ongoing medical needs, then medications on discharge from prison and any referrals necessary are arranged
• Community Correctional Services (CCS): prisoners who are released under a Community Correctional Services Order (CCSO) are given information about their Order and the CCS location they will report to. An induction appointment is arranged for the prisoner with their supervising Community Correction Officer (CCO) prior to discharge
• transport: on release, where a prisoner does not have family or friends collecting them, they may be provided with transport to the nearest railway or bus station. Where required, prison management may offer further assistance to pay fares to the prisoner's home address including regional Victoria.

Seven days before release, prisoners are given the opportunity to inspect their clothing and have it cleaned and repaired.

Sentence Management and Prison Programs

The Sentencing Act 1991 sets out five purposes for sentencing offenders, one of which is rehabilitation. The management of a prisoner's sentence is directed toward their eventual release, and includes the goal that prisoners under higher security, through good behaviour, should move toward lower security classification and less supervision to demonstrate readiness to be released back into society.

Further, programs in prison aim to equip prisoners with skills that enable them to better cope with life outside prison, such as anger management, consequential thinking, parenting skills, budgeting or addressing use of alcohol, drugs or gambling.