Keeping in touch with someone in prison can be costly, both financially and emotionally. For those having to travel long distances the impact can be even greater. The service aims to ease the difficulties of long-distance travel by contributing to some of the travel costs incurred by people visiting a prison that is a significant distance from home. You can claim for one visit every 12 weeks.
We may be able to provide some limited financial contribution towards costs for travel and accommodation to people on a low income, such as Centrelink, or who are experiencing financial hardship.
Travel assistance can be provided for fuel or public transport by train or bus, and where these are unavailable, taxi. If you are planning to travel by air, please contact us first. Where travel time between your home and the correctional centre is more than three hours, you can claim a contribution towards one night’s accommodation.
We provide this service in recognition of the importance of maintaining family ties and connection during a period of imprisonment. It is not intended for the purpose of transporting the person in custody home upon their release. If you live more than 100km from the prison and are experiencing financial hardship, then you may be eligible for this support.
CRC no longer provides a visitor bus service to any NSW prison. You will need to organise your own travel and accommodation through the usual methods. You can visit Corrective Services NSW to see travel and contact information for every correctional centre in NSW. We recommend you check this information before planning your trip.
Important to know:
Specific eligibility criteria apply. Please read the guidelines and see the application form for more information.
We need tax receipts for everything you wish to claim for. In general, these are receipts that include the date, name of the business, their ABN and the amount spent. For more information on tax receipts, please visit the ACCC website.
If travelling to Junee Correctional Centre, please contact them directly on (02) 6924 3222 to ask about their travel assistance arrangements.
Funding: This service is funded by Corrective Services NSW
To apply: Download and complete the Travel and Accommodation Assistance form and either:
- Post the completed form, invoices and receipts to: PO Box 258, Canterbury NSW 2193 or,
- Email the completed form, invoices and receipts to: info@crcnsw.org.au
Questions: If you have questions about the eligibility criteria, would like to discuss your circumstances or confirm with us that your travel will be eligible please contact us on (02) 9288 8700, 9am–5pm Monday to Friday.
