The Forest is a public health model that addresses the underlying causes of incarceration (time spent in prison). It is led by people who use drugs, for people who use drugs.
The Forest aims to end cycles of reincarceration for people who use drugs by supporting them when they leave prison to rejoin the community. It is a safe place where people leaving prison can go to access a comprehensive network of services, engage in meaningful activities, and find care and community.
The Forest is voluntary and peer-led. It operates independently of the criminal legal system.
Economic modelling predicts that The Forest would generate savings of around $300 million over a 4-year trial.
View the full proposal here, or read on for more information.
Watch the video to learn more
Click on the button to hear from those with lived experience, and Burnet's project team.
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Reducing high rates of reincarceration
Australia has one of the highest rates of reincarceration in the world. 53% of people in prison have previously been incarcerated.
Repeated time in prison makes the underlying causes of poor health worse for people who use alcohol and other drugs. This leads to a higher risk of homelessness, mental ill-health and death from preventable causes such as overdose and suicide.
Incarceration causes long-term negative health and social consequences for families as well as individuals. Over-investment of public money into policing and prisons means whole communities suffer from a lack of well-funded community-based health services.
Co-designing with people who use drugs
Burnet Institute has a proud history of working to end the health harms of incarceration. As global leaders in public health research and practice, we understand that how we conceptualise a problem informs the way we solve it. Recognising that people who use drugs are the experts in their own lives, we co-designed The Forest with them, placing their stories, experiences and expertise at the centre of the model.
Welcome to The Forest
The Forest integrates public health research, lived experience and community-led design.
It is a safe place where people leaving prison can go to access a comprehensive network of services, engage in meaningful activities, and find care and community.
Read The Forest proposalHow it works
The Forest is a physical site where people leaving prison can access an integrated and person-centred network of services, activities and engagement opportunities to help them reintegrate into the community. The Forest will help people who use drugs to break the cycle of reincarceration through offering peer navigation, support and mentoring which increases likelihood of engagement and reduces the number of people in crisis.
Support will begin prior to release and be tailored to the non-linear nature of the reintegration journey. This will be provided holistically by multidisciplinary teams, allowing participants to engage long-term or episodically, according to their own priorities and needs.
Foundation partners with a strong understanding of the existing system will position The Forest to streamline processes and service delivery, reducing pressures on mainstream services. Where people need to access services external to The Forest (e.g. drug treatment), the team will be positioned to support people in the interim, preventing emergency presentations to other services like hospitals and crisis accommodation.
Offered for the first time within one location:
- Peer navigation, support and mentoring: guidance from people who have been through the system and understand the challenges
- Health and social support: primary health, allied health, mental health, family support, legal support, harm reduction
- Housing: accessible housing support, with one- and two-bedroom units available
- Education and activities: including recreation, belonging, social connection, transformation
- Employment and social enterprise: including skills development, on-the-job training
Clicking on the image opens it in a new window. See detailed description of diagram on this page.
The cost of incarceration is growing unsustainably
- There's been a 74% increase in the cost of prisons in Victoria, from financial years 2014-22.
- More than $1.8 billion in public funds were invested in prison infrastructure between 2020-24.
- Repeatedly reincarcerating people costs 20 times more than successfully reintegrating people into the community.
Benefits of The Forest
We aim to establish The Forest as a unique flagship initiative of Burnet and bring together Flat Out, SHARC and Launch Housing to implement a 4-year community trial.
Rigorous economic modelling from Insight Economics predicts that, during a 4-year community trial, The Forest would produce a benefit-cost ratio of 3:1, at a minimum. Investment could generate up to $2.3 billion in savings.
The Forest represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It fulfils the health and social policy agenda of the Victorian Government by improving social connectedness, social inclusion, family function, workforce participation and resilience.
Over a 10-year implementation, we expect to see at least:
1,400 fewer people reincarcerated
3,300 fewer episodes of incarceration
1,300 more people in stable housing
400 more people employed each year.
More information
For more information, please contact amy.kirwan@burnet.edu.au or jade.lane@burnet.edu.au.
Burnet project team
Meet the project team. Together, we are translating research into better health, for all.
Detailed description of diagram
The diagram illustrates the different components of The Forest and how they come together. It shows that support begins before prison release with transitional support workers. The diagram highlights the following benefits to this approach:
- People are supported comprehensively, including while waiting to access external services.
- Earlier intervention with peer navigation streamlines service delivery and reduces pressure on mainstream services.
Five services within The Forest physical site are represented underneath transitional support workers. One service pictured in the middle is called Peer navigation, support and mentoring. Surrounding it are 4 other services:
- Health and social support. Includes a two-way exchange between this support and residential drug treatment.
- Housing. Includes private rental via head leasing arrangement.
- Education and activities. Includes skills development and qualifications.
- Employment and social enterprise. Includes mainstream employment pathways.
The diagram highlights social connection as a key component, noting:
- increased engagement due to peer model leads to better health and social outcomes
- reductions in reincarceration changes lives and communities.