Australia incarcerates approximately 45,000 people per night — one of the highest incarceration rates in the developed world. The cost is staggering: over $450 per prisoner per day, adding up to $6.8 billion annually. Despite this investment, reoffending rates are high — approximately 50% of released prisoners return to custody within two years. Grant funding supports the programmes that reduce this failure: education, mental health, reintegration support, and the wraparound services that help people transition from prison to stable community life.
Scale and cost
Key issues
Corrective services (state)
Prisons are primarily state-funded — corrective services departments fund:
- Prison education programmes
- Vocational training in custody
- Drug and alcohol programmes
- Mental health services
- Reintegration services
Commonwealth
Commonwealth funds some prisoner-related programmes through:
- DSS community services
- Employment programmes for ex-prisoners
- Housing for people leaving prison
Throughcare
Transitional support from custody to community — usually state-contracted to NGOs.
Jesuit Social Services
JSS is one of Australia's most respected rehabilitation organisations — with significant prison and reintegration programmes.
The Salvation Army
Addiction and reintegration support through bridge and community programmes.
Mission Australia
Reintegration, housing, and employment support for people leaving custody.
St Vincent de Paul Society
Prisoner visitor programmes, material aid, and reintegration support.
The Anne and Victor Darroch Trust and similar
Some foundations specifically fund prison rehabilitation and rehabilitation alternatives.
Education in custody
Substance use programmes
Mental health in custody
Reintegration and throughcare
Housing
People leaving prison often have nowhere to go:
- Transitional housing post-release
- Specialist housing for people with complex needs
- Prevention of homelessness on release
Employment
Employment dramatically reduces reoffending:
- Pre-release job preparation
- Employer education (hiring people with criminal records)
- Social enterprises employing ex-prisoners
- Employment case management post-release
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programmes
The Indigenous overrepresentation makes Indigenous-specific programmes critical:
- Cultural connection in custody
- Elders and cultural mentors in prisons
- ATSILS legal support
- Community-controlled transition support
- Return to Country support
Women in prison
Women's prison population is growing fastest — and has specific needs:
- Children of incarcerated mothers (significant harm)
- Domestic violence history (most women in prison have DV histories)
- Mother-child visiting programmes
- Post-release family reunification
Youth in adult custody
Young adults (18-25) in adult prisons:
- Education and training
- Mentoring
- Diversion from adult system where possible
- Preventing entrenchment in criminal identity
Family connection
Maintaining family relationships during custody improves post-release outcomes:
- Family visiting programmes
- Video calling support
- Children's programmes (visiting children in prison)
- Parenting programmes for incarcerated parents
Evidence on what reduces reoffending
The evidence base is clear — education, employment, stable housing, family connection, and treatment of addiction and mental health significantly reduce reoffending. Applications aligned with this evidence are more compelling than intuitive but unevidenced approaches.
Partnership with corrective services
Working inside prisons requires relationships with corrective services — show these relationships and any relevant memoranda of understanding or contracts.
Throughcare model
Effective rehabilitation spans custody and community — the transition point is where people most commonly fail. Show continuity of support from pre-release through the critical first months in the community.
Non-judgmental practice
People who have been to prison have often experienced trauma, disadvantage, and significant stigma. Show strength-based, non-judgmental approaches.
Aboriginal self-determination
Indigenous reintegration must be community-controlled — Aboriginal organisations working with Aboriginal people, using culturally grounded approaches.
Tahua's grants management platform supports criminal justice funders and rehabilitation organisations — with programme participant tracking, reoffending outcome measurement, reintegration data, and the reporting tools that help justice funders demonstrate their investment in reducing reoffending and helping Australians transition from prison to stable, contributing community life.