Australian Prison Foundation

The Australian Prison Foundation is a non profit organisation dedicated to providing assistance to those touched by prisons in Australia. We are interested in the following areas:

• supporting and assisting research into Australian prisons,
• providing information and support to prisoners, prisoners families, and people working in the corrections field
• forming partnerships of support with other prison groups

We seek to create:

• a database of prison support organisations and individuals
• a library of research and information
• links between communities and prisons 

As a new organisation we seek volunteers to assist us by providing local information and/or support to others. Please contact us if:

• you are a student or researcher conducting research in Australia which involves prison/s or prisoner/s or ex-prisoner/s or other prison stakeholders
• you are a member of an organisation who currently provides support services to prisoners and/or prison stakeholders
• you work within a prison service in Australia and can assist with providing information on your prison
• you are a current prisoner, ex-prisoner or family member of a prisoner or ex-prisoner

You can contact us on prisonfoundation@email.com or write to PO Box 490, Chadstone, VIC 3148.

We are happy to hear from potential sponsors and anyone seeking to assist the foundation through financial donations or donations of time and assistance. Become a member today, click here for more information on membership.

Miriam Scurrah is the President of the Australian Prison Foundation and founded the organisation in 2008 with support from other board members and her family. Her interest in prisons began after the incarceration of a family member and this led her to discovering her passion for prison research. She holds an Honours Degree in Adult and Vocational Education - the title of her thesis was "Learning on the Inside in Risdon Prison", a Masters in Business and Technology and a Graduate Certificate in Human Resources. Believing in lifelong learning, she is currently studying a Graduate Certificate in Criminology and pursuing a PhD which will focus on stakeholder perspectives of prisoner learning. She works as a Training and Development Designer at Kmart.