Karnet Prison Farm is located on Kingsbury Drive, via Serpentine WA 6125. Postal address: PO Box 22, Serpentine WA 6125.
Contact Details
Phone: 08 9526 3200
Fax: 08 9525 2665
About the Prison
Karnet Prison Farm is a minimum-security prison for adult males operated by the Western Australia Department of Justice, with a capacity of 366 prisoners. It is a pre-release facility — access is restricted to prisoners with less than five years remaining to their earliest possible release date. This means everyone held at Karnet is in the later stages of their sentence and is being actively prepared for return to the community.
Karnet holds a notably diverse prisoner population, including a significant cohort of minimum-security rated sex offenders who are housed alongside mainstream prisoners — an arrangement that is unique among WA prisons and one that all prisoners placed at Karnet must agree to before transfer.
What Placement at Karnet Means Legally
Transfer to Karnet signals that a prisoner has reached minimum-security classification and is within the pre-release window — but it does not mean all legal matters are concluded. For many men at this stage, several issues remain live and require attention.
Parole
With release approaching, parole is the most pressing legal concern for the majority of prisoners at Karnet. The Prisoners Review Board makes parole decisions based on risk assessment, rehabilitation evidence, compliance during sentence, and the credibility of post-release plans covering housing, employment, and support networks. A poorly structured application — or one that fails to address the Board’s specific concerns about an offence type or risk profile — can result in parole being deferred, extending time in custody when release was within reach. For prisoners convicted of sexual offences in particular, parole applications require careful preparation given the heightened scrutiny applied by the Board to this cohort.
Sentence Expiry and Licence Conditions
Not all prisoners leave Karnet on parole. Those who reach their full sentence expiry date are released without conditions — but understanding the difference between parole release and unconditional release, and what obligations attach to each, is something many prisoners and their families are unclear about. A lawyer can explain the terms of release, what supervision or reporting requirements apply, and what the consequences of a breach would be.
Appeals
Time limits for lodging appeals against conviction or sentence are strict and do not pause during incarceration. If a prisoner at Karnet believes their conviction was unsafe or their sentence was disproportionate and has not yet explored appeal options, those avenues need to be assessed promptly — some may still be available, others may have closed.
Sex Offender Registration
Prisoners convicted of registrable offences are subject to reporting obligations under the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 (WA) upon release. Failing to comply with registration requirements after release is a serious offence carrying significant penalties. A lawyer can advise on exactly what the registration obligations are, how long they apply, and what the process involves so there are no surprises at the point of release.
Visiting Karnet Prison Farm
All visits are by appointment only and must be booked by 3:00pm on Thursday for the following week. A maximum of three adults and three children are permitted per visit. Visitors must arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled visit time for screening at the Shared Facilities Building at the front car park. The prison is closed to visitors on Good Friday and Christmas Day. All visitors and their vehicles are subject to search including drug detection dogs.
Our criminal lawyers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1300 331 331 for a free first consultation.