The number of women in Australian prisons is rising faster than the prison population as a whole. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that female prisoners increased by 12% to 3,831 in the year to 30 June 2025, while the total number of adult prisoners grew by 6% to 46,998.
For the women among them who menstruate, getting pads or tampons and a little privacy depends on prison rules and on how staff apply them. This guide to periods and prisons in Australia looks at what the rules promise and what independent inspectors have actually found.
Quick answer: On paper, women entering custody in NSW should receive several pads or tampons in their first hygiene allocation. In practice, the state's custodial inspector found gaps at reception, during quarantine and after transfers, and recommended that sanitary items be given to women the moment they arrive at any correctional centre.
What hygiene items do women receive on entering a NSW prison?
Corrective Services NSW policy sets out a minimum allocation of personal hygiene items for women coming into custody. The table below is taken from the NSW Inspector of Custodial Services' Inspection of Silverwater Women's and Dillwynia Correctional Centres 2022, published in November 2023.
| Item | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Soap | 1 |
| Toothbrush | 1 |
| Toothpaste | 1 |
| Comb | 1 |
| Disposable razor and shaving soap | 1 |
| Sanitary pads or tampons | Several |
| Towel | 2 |
Deodorant is not on that list. The inspector has raised this before, particularly for women new to custody or on remand without funds to buy hygiene items.
Where did women miss out on period products?
The problems clustered around the first days in a new prison. At Dillwynia, the packs handed to arriving women contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a plate, a bowl, a cup and a roll of toilet paper, but not pads or tampons. Women instead had to get sanitary products from officers once they had moved into their units.
At Silverwater, women in quarantine needed to request sanitary items from officers whenever they needed them, which the inspector said was not appropriate. Corrective Services NSW argued that women could buy basic hygiene items through the buy-up system. The inspector rejected that as a solution, since items ordered that way can take weeks to arrive.
Privacy was another concern. In some units, women shared a cell with an in-cell toilet that had no privacy screen. Inspectors had flagged in 2017 how humiliating that would be, especially during menstruation, and by 2022 no screens had been fitted.
Which standards apply to women in custody?
International standards exist as well as state policy. The NSW inspector's page marking the 10th anniversary of the Bangkok Rules describes them as the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010.
The same page notes that on 21 February 2021 there were 902 women in custody in NSW, less than 7% of everyone held by Corrective Services. Housing and money pressures outside prison can make periods harder too, as our article on periods and homelessness in Australia explains.
Frequently asked questions
Are period products free in NSW prisons?
Women entering custody in NSW should be issued several pads or tampons as part of a standard hygiene allocation. Beyond that, the prison service told inspectors that women could purchase basic hygiene items through the buy-up, while reception staff may hand out extra products at their discretion to women without the money to buy them.
What is the buy-up in an Australian prison?
It is the weekly or monthly system through which people in NSW custody order items to buy, such as deodorant. The 2022 inspection found women were expected to use it for some hygiene products, and judged it an inadequate way to supply them because orders can take weeks to come through.
What are the Bangkok Rules?
They are the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders. The UN General Assembly adopted these rules in December 2010, and the NSW Inspector of Custodial Services marked their tenth anniversary with a page on its website about women in custody in the state.
How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are in prison?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 11% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, or 1,833 people, were female at 30 June 2025. The national female imprisonment rate was 35 per 100,000 adult female population at that date, up from 32 a year earlier.
Access to period care says a lot about how a community treats people. For your own cycle, the Lunette period cup is a reusable menstrual cup made in Finland from 100% medical-grade silicone, built to last up to 10 years with proper care. Work out whether Size 1 or Size 2 suits you in our period cup size guide.
General information only, based on published government statistics and inspection reports; it is not legal or medical advice. Practices in individual correctional centres may differ from what a report describes.
