When someone leaves prison, their sentence may be over, but the challenges aren't.
For a person living with acquired brain injury (ABI), disability, mental health challenges, substance use, unstable housing or limited social support, returning to the community can mean navigating a complicated web of services and systems — often without the stability needed to manage them.
At Circle SC, we support people with complex circumstances, including people transitioning from the justice system. This gives us a close understanding of how important coordinated support can be when someone is trying to rebuild their life in the community.
With Western Australia's prison system currently under significant pressure, it's worth looking beyond the prison walls and asking a broader question:
What support is available when someone comes out?
A prison system under pressure
Australia's prison population has been growing.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there were an average of 49,295 people in custody across Australia in the March quarter of 2026, a 7% increase from the same quarter in 2025.
The national imprisonment rate was 225 people per 100,000 adults, while Western Australia's rate was considerably higher at 360.1 per 100,000 adults.
The pressure on WA's prison system has also become increasingly visible.
A recent ABC News report highlighted overcrowding across WA prisons, with up to 200 adult prisoners having slept on mattresses on the floor during 2026, alongside triple-bunking in more than 250 cells.
The report also noted that WA's prison population had increased by 37% since early 2023, without a corresponding increase in cells or prison staff.
These conditions raise important questions about safety, rehabilitation and access to appropriate services while people are incarcerated.
But there is another part of the picture that deserves attention:
What happens after release?
Disability and acquired brain injury are part of the conversation
People in prison are not a homogenous group. Many enter the system with significant health and disability-related needs.
One particularly important issue is acquired brain injury.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports that the estimated prevalence of acquired brain injury among people in prison is 40–90%.
ABI can affect memory, attention, information processing and mood regulation — all of which can have a significant impact on a person's ability to navigate everyday life.
The AIHW also found that almost 2 in 5 prison entrants (38%) reported a history of a head injury resulting in loss of consciousness. Of those who reported a head injury, 59% experienced noticeable symptoms afterwards, while 51% were still experiencing symptoms.
These figures are significant because the effects of brain injury can extend well beyond the prison environment.
Someone may struggle to remember appointments, understand complex information, regulate emotions, make decisions, communicate effectively or manage day-to-day responsibilities.
It is important to be clear that having an ABI does not mean someone will offend or reoffend. The high prevalence of ABI among people in prison instead highlights the importance of recognising and responding to disability and support needs as part of rehabilitation and community reintegration.
Leaving prison is only the beginning
For someone leaving prison, the practical challenges can be significant.
They may need somewhere safe to live. They may need to reconnect with health services, manage medication, rebuild relationships, find employment or education, access community programs and establish appropriate disability supports.
They may also need to navigate multiple government agencies, providers and legal obligations at the same time.
For someone with cognitive impairment or ABI, these tasks can become even more difficult.
This is why the transition from prison to community should not be viewed as a single event. It is a process that can require planning, coordination and ongoing support.
The recent ABC reporting also highlighted concerns that overcrowding can affect access to services intended to address the issues underlying offending. The Law Society WA noted that when people cannot access appropriate rehabilitation services while incarcerated, some of the issues underlying offending may remain unaddressed when they are released.
This raises an important point: rehabilitation doesn't stop at the prison gate.
What does returning to prison tell us?
One way of understanding the challenges following release is to look at rates of people returning to prison.
According to the Sentencing Advisory Council, 43% of people released from prison across Australia in 2021–22 returned to prison within two years.
In Western Australia, the figure was 30.8%.
These numbers should be interpreted carefully.
A return to prison can happen for many different reasons, and these statistics do not tell us the circumstances behind each individual case. They should not be used to suggest that inadequate support is the sole reason someone returns to prison.
What they do show is that the transition from prison back into the community can be difficult — and that the period after release deserves attention.
For people with disability and complex support needs, successful reintegration may involve much more than simply having somewhere to go.
Building a life beyond the justice system
At Circle SC, we understand that complex circumstances rarely fit neatly into one service or system.
For people transitioning from the justice system, there may be multiple moving parts: NDIS supports, housing, health services, community organisations, employment, relationships, legal requirements and other government services.
Specialist Support Coordination can help bring those pieces together.
The role isn't to make decisions for a participant or solve everything overnight. It is about understanding the person's circumstances, identifying barriers, coordinating with relevant services and helping build a support network that works towards their goals.
For someone living with ABI or another disability, this may also mean considering how information is communicated, how decisions are supported and what practical adjustments may help them participate more effectively in their own supports.
Ultimately, a person's criminal history is only one part of their story.
If we want better outcomes beyond the prison system, we need to look at the person returning to the community — their disability, their circumstances, their goals and the support available to them.
Leaving prison is a significant milestone. But building a stable life beyond it is the bigger journey.
And for people with complex needs, having the right support around them can be an important part of that journey.
