Nearly half of the 67,000 people released from prison each year return within two years, and the national correctional budget is projected to exceed $7 billion by 2030.
To address this social and economic burden - Flinders University will lead a prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Prisoner Reintegration (CEPR), backed by $35 million in Australian government funding over the next seven years, that drives world-class research into reducing reincarceration rates.
CEPR will for the first time unite leading international expertise to transform how prisoner reintegration is understood and tackled in Australia with the aim of reducing recidivism, advancing social cohesion and community wellbeing.
The collaborative centre based at Flinders will have additional cash and in-kind support from 41 partners, including three other universities – University of Western Australia, University of Technology Sydney, and Monash University. Other partners include government departments and First Nations organisations, and international researchers and agencies from the UK, US, Canada and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, providing $70 million of total value.
Flinders University Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Romy Lawson said the ARC Centre of Excellence aims to become a global leader in social innovation and justice reform.
"Flinders is proud to spearhead this national initiative on prisoner reintegration with the establishment of our first ARC Centre of Excellence.
"For the first time, CEPR will unite world-leading expertise to transform how those leaving prison best supported so they experience success at being reintroduced back into society and not re-offending," said Professor Lawson.
"This is a transformative opportunity to uncover the root causes of incarceration and repeat offending, drive bold legislative and community reforms, and deliver reintegration programmes that truly change lives."
With worsening incarceration rates for Indigenous Australians, CEPR will join forces with First Nation organisations to break the cycle of reincarceration in Indigenous communities, prioritising culturally responsive frameworks that embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worldviews, lores, and cultures.
Flinders University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Raymond Chan, said the CEPR, which is led by Laureate Professor Mark Halsey, will adopt a strengths-based, First Nations-led and industry-engaged approach to reducing reoffending and supporting long-term social reintegration.
"CEPR is about enabling more people released from prison to more consistently reconnect with their families and communities, rebuild their lives and become positive and productive members of society."
"The Flinders Wicked Problems Report showed that crime is one of the most pressing concerns in our communities, and Flinders is acting on this by coming up with world-first solutions to these concerns in collaboration with government and industry."
Centre Director, Professor Mark Halsey, said CEPR will focus its efforts on 32 correctional sites, as well as 16 communities across four jurisdictions, to develop innovative and stronger pathways for prisoner reintegration.
"By combining research and industry collaboration, the centre will oversee the creation of a national baseline for defining and measuring success and a reintegration database for embedding best practice among correctional agencies for prisoner reintegration," says Professor Halsey, awarded an ARC Industry Laureate in 2024.
"We will also develop a network of reintegration champions capable of providing employment and other supports for ex-prisoners, as well as several bespoke community hubs capable of meeting people's basic and more complex needs.
"These strategies will work alongside non-traditional research outputs, including documentaries, podcasts, and opportunities for the public to witness ex-prisoners' civic engagement activities, in order to change public attitudes about prisoners and their struggles to desist from crime."
South Australia's Minister for Correctional Services, Rhiannon Pearce, said the $35 million investment was critical in undertaking vital research in reducing reoffending.
"The most effective criminal justice systems are those that invest in research and rehabilitation.
"This is a fantastic collaboration between the State and Federal Government which will deliver significant results for a safer community."
CEPR will focus on five key groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those on short custodial stays of six months or less; first time prisoners with a focus on young people aged 18 to 25 years; those with 10 or more incarceration episodes and people whose offending is directly attributable to drug and/or alcohol dependence.
Chief Executive of South Australia's Department for Correctional Services David Brown says, "South Australia has, for many years, demonstrated a strong commitment to reducing reoffending through our flagship 10by20 Strategy and, more recently, the 20by26 Strategy. These initiatives reflect our ongoing dedication to meaningful reform in the justice system.
"We remain firmly focused on evidence-based practice, supported in large part by the valuable contributions of leading academics in our field.
"The Department for Correctional Services in South Australia and Flinders University sit at the forefront of efforts to reduce crime through effective rehabilitation and improved reintegration outcomes. We look forward to learning more about the Centre as it becomes established.
"I would also like to congratulate Professor Mark Halsey, whose leadership and advocacy have been central to progressing this submission."
