Sending letters to a person in prison
Sending money to a person in prison
Sending property to a person in prison
Inspecting and censoring mail
If a person moves to a different location
Get help
On this page
People in Victorian prisons can receive letters, property and money from friends and family.
If you would like to send postal mail to your family member or friend in prison, address your letter directly to the prison they are in. Mailing addresses are included on the prison profile page of each prison, which can be found via the list of prisons in Victoria.
If you do not know which prison someone is in, you can address your mail to Corrections Victoria and it will be forwarded to them.
Contact a person in prison without knowing their location
If you do not know which prison someone is in, you can contact them by writing to Corrections Victoria. We will forward your mail to them.
Post your mail to:
[Person’s first name and surname]
c/- Corrections Victoria
GPO Box 123
Melbourne VICTORIA 3001
AUSTRALIA
In your letter, you could ask them:
- to tell you which prison they’re in, so you can post them letters, send them property or email them
- to add you to their visit list, so you can visit them or send them money
- to add your phone number to their phone list, so they can call you from prison.
If you are already on their visit list, you can call 1300 191 835 (External link) to confirm which prison they are currently in.
Sending letters to a person in prison
There are restrictions on the types of letters that people in prison can receive. You cannot put anything in a letter that threatens the safety and security of a prison, or the safety and welfare of anyone in the prison.
Restrictions vary depending on the prison and can include things such as:
- musical cards
- stickers
- glitter and beads
- currency
- tools
- pens and highlighters
- needles and syringes
- computer software and hardware, including computer peripherals
- optical disk storage media
- medication
- letters that contain threatening or abusive language, or indecent or confronting images.
Contact the specific prison for more information about what you can and cannot send to people in that prison. Contact information for each prison can be found in the list of prisons in Victoria.
Legal correspondence
Legal practitioners are able to send and receive correspondence with persons in prison, and that correspondence is exempt from inspection by staff, as long as it is clearly marked as legal mail.
Costs to send letters
Posting mail to and from a person in prison costs the same as posting mail to anyone else in Australia.
Refer to Australia Post for letter delivery options and prices (External link).
Sending money to a person in prison
People in prison may receive money from friends and family in accordance with prison guidelines.
You must be on the person’s visit list before you can send money to them. Money may be accepted by people not on a visit list if the person has been in prison for less than seven days.
Visit list
A visit list is the list of people who are approved to visit a person in prison.
You must be on a visit list before you can:
- visit a person in prison
- have a video visit with a person in prison
- send money to a person in prison, except if prior approval has been granted.
To get on a visit list, write to the person in prison and ask them to add you.
To send money to a person in prison, you can:
- drop off cash, a bank cheque or a money order at the prison
- post a bank cheque or money order
- transfer money online using Secure Payment Services (External link).
When posting a money order or a bank cheque to the prison, please:
- write the person’s full name and Corrections Reference Number (CRN) (if known) on the front of the envelope
- write your full name and address on the back of the envelope.
Restrictions on sending money
People in prison can receive up to $150 per calendar month. Another $70 per month may be credited directly to the person’s phone account.
Anything over $150 will be automatically put towards the person’s phone account. For example, if someone receives $220, the extra $70 will be credited to their phone account.
Anything over $220 per month will not be accepted, or will be held over for the following month’s allowance.
Funds will be processed as soon as practicable and in most cases will be made available to the person on the following business day.
Learn more about money in prison.
Costs to send money to a person in prison
Money orders cost $13 from Australia Post.
Fees for bank cheques vary from about $5 to about $15, depending on the bank. If your bank offers it, it is usually cheaper to order a bank cheque online than going into a branch.
Fees and charges for using Secure Payment Services vary depending on the amount you want to send. As an example, it costs about $13 in fees and charges to send $100. Details are available on the Secure Payment Services website (External link).
Sending property to a person in prison
People in prison can have property posted to them or dropped off at the prison.
When posting property, please include your return address on the package. This is in case it needs to be returned to you.
Restrictions on sending property
The type and number of items that you are allowed to send varies from prison to prison.
Check the approval process and what items are allowed at each prison by going to the prison's profile page. Find the prison’s profile page via the list of prisons in Victoria.
Costs to send property to a person in prison
The cost of posting property varies depending on the size of the package being sent.
Refer to Australia Post to calculate postage costs (External link).
Inspecting and censoring mail
Mail is inspected, and may be censored, except for mail to and from exempt people and organisations.
You must not send any prohibited items (contraband) to a person in prison.
The prison may censor a letter if:
- it includes content that risks the security and good order of the prison
- it is threatening or harassing.
If a person moves to a different location
If someone is transferred to another prison or is in hospital for an extended period, their mail will be forwarded to them.
Get help
If you have questions or need help with posting mail to a person in prison, contact the specific prison. Contact information for each prison can be found via the list of prisons in Victoria.