Children living with a parent in prison – Living with Mum program

The Living with Mum Program (LWM) allows for some infants and pre-school children to live with their parent in custody. The program is only available at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC) and Tarrengower Prison.  

LWM also provides pre-birth and post-birth health services for pregnant people and people who have just given birth in prison.  

The laws that allow for children to live with a parent in prison come from section 31 of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic) and Regulations 34 to 38 of the Corrections Regulations 2019 (Vic). 

Commissioner’s Requirement 3.4.1 is about the Living with Mum Program. It talks about the different laws and rules that apply to the program. 

The Requirement acknowledgse section 17 of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights – which is about the right to protection of families and children. Section 17 says: 

• Families are the fundamental group unit of society and are entitled to be protected by society and the State.  

• Every child has the right, without discrimination, to such protection as is in the child’s best interests and is needed by the child by reason of being a child.  

DPFC and Tarrengower both also have Local Operating Procedures that relate to the LWM Program. 

Important: Having your child with you in custody doesn’t happen automatically. You need to apply to Corrections Victoria to be in the Living with Mum Program. 

Use the links on the left side of this page for move information about the Living with Mum Program: 

• Who can apply for the LWM Program? 

• Applying for the  LWM Program  

• What to expect in the LWM Program 

• Making a complaint about the LWM Program