A group of around 30 people are seated around a room, facing a small, elevated stage. Above the stage a digital screen displays the words ‘Lived experience voices Q&A.’

The meeting chair invites several people from the audience onto the stage.

There is little to distinguish them from anyone else in the room. They look like the kind of people you might pass on the street without a second thought — someone walking their dog in your neighbourhood, someone returning to the office after a lunch break.

How these people are unique is in their personal experiences of the prison system, and what happened after they left it.

Among them is Emily.

Emily's story

Having previously spent time in prison, Emily now works supporting women through QuiHN's Peer Q-Nect, a Queensland-based, peer-run phone service that provides support and advocates for people who use drugs or are experiencing issues with substance use.

Sitting on the stage in a room full of healthcare providers, community organisations and government representatives, Emily speaks about the challenges faced the moment many people walk out of a corrections facility (prison).

Her journey from incarceration to community-based support work offers a powerful perspective on both the barriers to reintegration and the opportunities for recovery when the right supports are in place.

Having that lived experience means Emily understands the stigma and the social exclusion that many people face when integrating back into the community.  That understanding is something impossible to replicate and it underpins how people with lived or living experience are integral to the successful planning and delivery of healthcare services.

Emily Cooper, Support and Advocacy Lead at QuIVAA

Seeking healthcare often competes with the more immediate need for food and safe shelter

Listening to the stories of the people with lived experience, it becomes clear that for those building their lives after prison, finding healthcare is a competing priority. Securing accommodation, meeting parole requirements and finding work will often take priority over seeing a doctor.

Drawing on her own experience, Emily describes some of the complexity of managing drug addiction within the prison environment. Access to appropriate treatment can be inconsistent, and support options are often limited. This can leave individuals in a vulnerable position upon release, particularly when they are motivated to seek recovery but face immediate gaps in care.

One of the most critical challenges, she explains, is accessing opioid treatment after leaving prison. Delays in connecting with prescribing doctors or treatment programs can lead to relapse, especially during the high-risk period immediately following release.   

"For many, this gap in care is not just a setback—it can have life-threatening consequences"

Emily Cooper

The consequences Emily describes are familiar to Dr Juergen Landmann, a general practitioner (GP) working across private practices, urgent care clinics and correctional facilities in Queensland.

He also runs an unfunded weekly drop-in clinic at South Brisbane's Emmanuel City Mission, Australia's largest homeless drop-in centre, where many patients have recently been released from custody.

Through this work, Dr Landmann sees firsthand the complex and often unmet health needs that many people carry with them when they leave prison. For Dr Landmann, continuity of care remains one of the biggest challenges.

‘Many present with chronic conditions in prison who have been inconsistently managed, alongside undiagnosed/untreated mental health concerns, substance use disorders, and limited access to medications. For many, the transition out of custody does not mark a fresh start, but the beginning of another cycle of instability,’ says Dr Landmann.

Dr Juergen Landmann, General Practitioner

"Patients frequently leave correctional facilities without clear pathways to ongoing healthcare, and often without the necessary documentation, prescriptions, or referrals to support their next steps. As a result, they may delay seeking care until issues become acute, placing further strain on both the individual and the broader health system."

Dr Juergen Landmann

What may appear to be a personal struggle is often the result of a fragmented system

Emily and other people with lived experience agree those gaps in care are inseparable from the broader pressures people face when they leave prison, with access to stable housing being one of the most pressing.

Emily describes the experience as a system that can feel punitive rather than reformative.

Upon release, individuals are often required to meet strict conditions about their accommodation. However, with limited housing options and long waitlists, meeting these requirements can be extremely difficult. Failure to do so can result in a return to custody, creating a cycle that is difficult to break.

‘The expectation feels like you have to rebuild your life straight away,’ she explains, ‘but without housing, without knowing where you can get healthcare, and without the support to find it, it can feel impossible.’

These challenges, she says, contribute to a sense that the system is not designed for successful reintegration into the community.

Dr Landmann confirms that for many people navigating the primary healthcare system, common challenges are exacerbated by broader social determinants of health. 

‘Many individuals are navigating homelessness, financial hardship, and social isolation. These are factors that can make attending appointments or prioritising health nearly impossible,’ he said.

Without stable foundations, he explains, even the most basic healthcare interventions can be difficult to sustain, with consequences extending beyond individual health outcomes.

He also highlights how the system, in its current form, can unintentionally contribute to recidivism (a person going back to prison). 

‘When health needs go unmet, particularly mental health and addiction, individuals may find themselves returning to circumstances that increase their risk of reoffending. In this way, gaps in healthcare access are not only a medical issue, but a broader social and justice concern,’ he said.

A whole of system-approach to making positive changes

People with lived experience of the corrections system, healthcare providers, community organisations, and not-for-profits, including representatives from Brisbane South PHN see the value in working together to examine practical ways of addressing barriers to care for adults transitioning out of prison.

‘When barriers further prevent someone who has left prison from accessing critical (or even basic) physical and mental healthcare and social support, it impacts their ability to successfully reintegrate into the community,’ says Susan Lingard, Health Access and Equity Senior Program Development Coordinator at Brisbane South PHN.

Through collaboration and partnership, the aim is to help strengthen transition pathways between correctional health services, primary care and community supports by improving communication, continuity of care and service accessibility.

Central to that work is ensuring people with lived experience help shape the solutions.

‘Their insights are helping to inform practical, person-centred approaches that reflect real-world challenges,’ said Susan.

"‘The advice and guidance of people who have seen the gaps in the system firsthand are core to healthcare reform and improvement.’ "

Susan Lingard, Brisbane South PHN

For Dr Landmann, improving these pathways back into community-based healthcare services is ultimately a matter of equity.

‘If we want people to successfully reintegrate into the community, we need to ensure they have access to the same standard of healthcare as everyone else,’ he says.

‘Without that, we’re setting people up to struggle. We need to move beyond boutique programs for reintegration and capture people most at risk, the people who were not adequately diagnosed or medically treated in prison.’

Back in the room the discussion continues.

Over the past 18 months, the participants—individuals with lived experience of incarceration and representatives from government and non-government organisations spanning the justice, health and community services sectors—have met through a series of roundtable forums to build a deeper understanding of the local challenges behind this identified service gap.

Together, they are working to improve the transition experience for adults leaving prison, recognising that supported access to healthcare delivers benefits that extend well beyond individual health outcomes.

‘Supporting healthier transitions from prison, reduces inequities, and contributes to safer, stronger communities,’ says Susan.

‘Because helping someone access healthcare after prison is about more than a medical appointment. It is about stability. It is about housing. It is about recovery. It is about reducing pressure on hospitals, lowering the likelihood of recidivism and creating genuine opportunities for people to rebuild their lives,’ she said.

The experiences of Emily and Dr Landmann were captured at a local roundtable meeting on post-corrections service navigation, held in February 2026.

Primary healthcare clinicians working in the Brisbane South or West Moreton catchment areas who have an interest in post-corrections initiatives, and/or prisoner health and wellbeing, are invited to reach out to Brisbane South PHN.

To learn more, contact  accessandequity@bsphn.org.au. 

Brisbane South PHN is an independent, not-for-profit organisation funded by the Australian Government. We work with health professionals and local communities to improve the heath outcomes of everyone in our region. Learn more at our website: bsphn.org.au

Mandy Lifeboats

Funding acknowledgement
While the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has contributed to the funding of this material through Brisbane South PHN, it does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government and is not advice that is provided, or information that is endorsed by the Australian Government.

Les Moore