Free Phone Calls in NSW Prisons
Petitioner:
Ms Sue Higginson
| Member:
Leong, Jenny
| No. of Signatories:
432
| Date closed:
07/03/2025
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, This petition of citizens of NSW states that:
• On 18 September 2024, Sue Higginson MLC tabled a petition in the Legislative Council signed by over 1,000 incarcerated inmates in the State of NSW calling for free and readily available phone calls.
• Studies show that regular phone and video calls and maintaining connection with loved ones and friends while in prison can significantly decrease rates of reoffending.
• Despite this, in June 2023 the NSW Labor Government scrapped a service providing a low-cost option for inmates, effectively raising the price of a ten minute phone call from $0.25 to $2.60, or around 15% of an inmate’s average weekly income.
• This change has put enormous financial strain on inmates and their families simply trying to maintain a connection.
• We all deserve the right to communicate freely and securely with our loved ones, and this increase in the cost of phone calls by the NSW Government is harmful to the rehabilitation of inmates.
We, the undersigned petitioners ask the Legislative Assembly to call on this Government to scrap the cost of connection on inmates and their families, and provide free phone and/or video calls to inmates in the state of NSW immediately, and at the very least reinstate the low cost Engine Numbers program.
