In early 2025, we brought this message directly to the NSW Government. We held a high-level roundtable with:
Following this engagement, we held a series of follow-up meetings with senior advisors and agency staff from across several portfolios, including housing, women’s safety, and community services.
As a direct outcome of the roundtable, KWOOP was invited to present to the NSW Social Policy Senior Officers’ Group (SPSOG) to further progress cross-portfolio solutions to reduce women’s incarceration in NSW.
Our message was well-received: The situation of women’s incarceration in NSW requires urgent attention.
Across NSW, evidence-based programs are already creating real change:
However, many of these programs are small and community-based, leaving large areas of NSW with little to no access to these critical services.
Women’s incarceration presents challenges that extend beyond any single department, requiring a coordinated response across government. To address this effectively, we recommend establishing a collaborative inter-agency forum that connects justice, housing, health, and communities. This initiative should be adequately resourced and structured with shared accountability measures to ensure meaningful progress.
The challenges associated with a criminal record can present significant barriers to employment opportunities. We encourage NSW Government agencies to consider leading by example by creating pathways for women with lived experience to access suitable employment.
We also propose practical, pre-release identification support, including:
These actions help set women up for immediate success in reconnecting with family, services, and community life.
We see housing as a central issue and have compelling evidence that a lack of stable and secure housing is a key factor trapping women in the criminal legal system. Our recommendations include supporting the continuation of tenancies during remand periods, working toward ensuring access to safe accommodation for the initial 30 days following release, and considering housing options suitable for mothers with children. Stable housing can be significant in positive life transitions.
Consider enhancing programs that have shown positive results in supporting women in community settings, while investing in culturally appropriate services. We strongly advocate expanded utilisation of Section 26 (post sentence) and Section 11 (pre-incarceration) of the NSW Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act to enable women to be diverted to and supervised in the community, as well as of Sec 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act (NSW) to divert women with mental and/or cognitive disability to treatment and support in the community. These approaches should be supported by a strategic reallocation of funding from incarceration facilities to community-based diversion and support programs, which evidence shows deliver better outcomes at lower cost.
First Nations women now make up over 40% of the female prison population in NSW, despite being just 3% of the general population. Many have been in out-of-home care, juvenile detention, and have experienced violence, racism, trauma and poverty from a young age.
Reform must be culturally safe, in genuine partnership with and led by Aboriginal communities, and aimed at dismantling systemic disadvantage — not reinforcing it.
Most women’s lifecourse pathways to arrest, court, prison and back again are complex cycles of disadvantage, childhood abuse, early introduction to alcohol and drugs, disrupted and poor education, lack of mental health, disability and parenting support, poor housing and health care, domestic and family violence, gender and race discrimination and economic insecurity.
A gender-informed approach acknowledges these realities: supporting family connections between mothers and children, addressing housing needs, and developing meaningful opportunities for employment and recovery, creating virtuous rather than vicious cycles.
This gender perspective has informed several effective programs in NSW, demonstrating the potential benefits of systems that are responsive to women’s specific needs and circumstances.
KWOOP’s high-level discussions with Ministers and Departmental staff reinforces our understanding that community safety benefits from comprehensive approaches beyond incarceration.
Meaningful progress comes from addressing the underlying factors associated with women’s contact with the justice system, including economic disadvantage, past trauma, discrimination, experiences of violence, and housing insecurity, through practical, community-informed and driven initiatives.
Our advocacy draws on both personal insights and research evidence. We’re seeing that when governments direct resources toward effective approaches, positive outcomes can emerge for individuals and systems alike.
