A letter is one of the few things a person in prison can keep. They can reread it at night and answer it in their own time. But prison mail has rules, and a letter that breaks one can be sent back, held or destroyed before it reaches them.
Here's what each state and territory's corrections service says, checked on 26 October 2026. Rules differ between prisons and change, so check the prison's own page before you post.
Before you write
- Find out which prison they're in. Each state has its own way to ask, below. Some tell only people on the person's visit list.
- Get their prisoner number. Most states give each person one, and want it on the envelope under their name.
- Check you're allowed to write. If an intervention order or AVO stops contact, the letter won't be delivered, and sending it may breach the order.
At a glance
| State | Address it to | Their number |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | The prison's postal address, or c/- Corrections Victoria, GPO Box 123, Melbourne VIC 3001 | CRN, if you know it |
| New South Wales | The correctional centre's Locked Bag or Private Bag | MIN |
| Queensland | The prison's postal address | IOMS number |
| Western Australia | The prison's postal address | Not stated |
| South Australia | The prison's postal address, or c/- DCS, GPO Box 1747, Adelaide SA 5001 | Date of birth, if sent c/- DCS |
| Tasmania | The prison, with your details on the back | Not stated |
| ACT | Locked Bag 7775, Canberra BC ACT 2610 | Not stated |
| Northern Territory | PO Box 1066, Howard Springs NT 0835 (Darwin), or PO Box 56, Alice Springs NT 0870 | IJIS number |
Victoria
Address the letter to the prison they're in. Each prison's page on the Corrections Victoria website gives its postal address. If you don't know which prison, send it to them c/- Corrections Victoria, GPO Box 123, Melbourne VIC 3001, and it will be forwarded. If you're on their visit list, 1300 191 835 can tell you where they are.
Mail is opened and inspected, and may be censored. Since 2021 a prison may photocopy a person's mail and destroy the original, in colour where practicable. Stickers, glitter, beads and musical cards may be refused, depending on the prison.
New South Wales
Write their name, their MIN (Master Index Number) under it, and the correctional centre's Locked Bag or Private Bag, from Find a correctional centre on the Corrective Services NSW website. The Inmate Location Line, (02) 8346 1000, tells you which centre they're in, once you confirm who you are and give their date of birth or MIN.
Every letter is opened and photocopied in colour, and the copy is what they get: the original is shredded. Photos can be no larger than 6 × 4 inches (10 × 15 cm), with no Polaroids. A letter with no sender details is destroyed if staff can't work out who it's for.
Queensland
Address it to them at their prison, with their IOMS number and your return address. Queensland Corrective Services' search for prisoners form, on qld.gov.au, tells you where they are.
All mail is searched, and may be censored. Photos must show people fully clothed, and a photo of a child needs a statutory declaration from the child's parent or guardian.
Western Australia
Each prison has its own postal address, such as Locked Bag 111, Canning Vale WA 6970 for Hakea. To find out where someone is, use the Department of Justice's access prisoner information form or call 08 9264 1711.
Officers open and read all mail except legal and privileged mail, and record the sender's name and address. Anyone can ask not to receive a prisoner's mail with a Request for No Mail form.
South Australia
Send it to the prison, or with their full name and date of birth c/- the Department for Correctional Services, GPO Box 1747, Adelaide SA 5001, which checks for intervention orders and forwards it. The department doesn't say where someone is over the phone.
You must include a return address. Only postage stamps may be stuck on: a letter with stickers is returned to the sender.
Tasmania
Write their name on the front of the envelope and your name and address on the back. The Tasmania Prison Service's visits and contact team, on (03) 6165 7400, option 3, can help with enquiries.
Any letter may be opened and read. Up to 5 photos, no larger than 6 × 4 inches. Highly perfumed mail is returned, and cards with stickers, glitter or glued items aren't allowed.
ACT
Everyone at the Alexander Maconochie Centre gets mail at Locked Bag 7775, Canberra BC ACT 2610. Your name and address must be on the back of the envelope.
All mail is x-rayed. Staff read any letter with no sender address, and anonymous mail is seized. Letters are returned with anything stuck on other than a stamp, or with glitter, lipstick or correction fluid. So are Polaroids, laminated items, musical or blank cards, and paper larger than A4.
Northern Territory
Write their name and IJIS number, then PO Box 1066, Howard Springs NT 0835 for Darwin Correctional Centre, or PO Box 56, Alice Springs NT 0870 for Alice Springs. You can't hand-deliver mail.
All mail is read and censored, except legal mail. No stickers, address labels, tape, glitter, lipstick or perfume, and photos no larger than A4 and not laminated.
What gets a letter sent back
The details vary, but most states refuse these:
- Anything stuck on the letter or envelope other than a stamp: stickers, labels, tape, glitter or glue.
- Perfume and lipstick, including a kiss on the page.
- Musical cards, Polaroids and laminated photos.
- Cash. Send money the way the prison's page says, not in a letter.
- Threats, abuse, explicit images or code.
- No sender details, in the states that require them.
What to write
- Assume it will be read. Staff can open and read any letter except legal mail. Leave their case to their lawyer.
- Write about ordinary life. What the kids did, the footy, the dog, the weather at home. Small news keeps them part of it.
- Ask questions they can answer, and say when you'll write next.
- Number your letters, so they know if one is held or lost.
- Don't expect a quick reply. They usually pay for their own stamps, with a few free letters a week or month, depending on the state.
Sending a typed or printed letter
None of the corrections services we checked bans typed or printed letters. Type it, or write it by hand and scan it with your phone, then upload it as a PDF, Word file or photo.
Put their number on the envelope. In Send to, enter their full name, choose Add second name, and type their number there, such as MIN 123456. Then add the prison's postal address.
Use your own name and return address. It's written on the envelope, and the states that require sender details need yours.
Leave Stapled off. Loose pages are easier for the mailroom to copy and check.
Choose regular post, $10. It's tracked, for up to 12 pages, folded on plain white A4. We write the address on the envelope by hand.
Tracking ends at the prison. Australia Post shows the letter as delivered when it reaches the mailroom, and staff then check it before it's handed over, which can take a few days.
Questions
Can I send a typed or printed letter to someone in prison?
Yes. None of the Australian corrections services we checked bans typed or printed letters. In New South Wales, and for some people in Victorian prisons, the person gets a colour photocopy of your letter rather than the original.
How do I address a letter to someone in prison or jail?
Write their full name, their prisoner number under it, such as a MIN in New South Wales or an IOMS number in Queensland, then the prison's postal address. Put your own name and return address on the envelope.
Will prison staff read my letter?
They can. Every state opens incoming mail to check it, and staff may read it, except legal and other protected mail that is clearly marked as such.
Can I send photos to someone in prison?
Usually, within limits: no Polaroids or laminated photos, people fully clothed, and in some states no larger than 6 × 4 inches or no more than 5 at a time. Check the prison's own rules first.
The short version
Find the prison and their number, put both on the envelope with your own return address, and leave out stickers, perfume and cash. Write as if it will be read, and we print and post it, tracked, from $10.
Sources
Each corrections service's own pages, as read on 26 October 2026:
- Corrections Victoria: send letters, money or property
- Corrective Services NSW: letters and parcels
- Corrective Services NSW: find an inmate
- COPP 8.1 Inmate mail
- Queensland Government: contact a prisoner
- Department of Justice WA: access prisoner information
- COPP 7.1 Prisoner communications
- Department for Correctional Services: writing to a prisoner
- Tasmania Prison Service: mail and photos
- ACT Government: connect with a detainee at the AMC
- NT Government: send and receive mail in prison