The Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T.) has the lowest per capita use of imprisonment of all Australian jurisdictions. Unconvicted detainees are held at the Belconnen Remand Centre while sentenced prisoners are held in New South Wales (N.S.W.) prisons. Over the past seven years, at any time there were between 30 to 50 persons serving prison sentences in N.S.W. following conviction and sentence by the courts of the A.C.T. This survey aimed to interview as many as possible of these prisoners and their family members in Canberra to ascertain whether or not they experienced particular difficulties in relation to family ties and welfare support. A total of 34 prisoners were interviewed in eight different N.S.W. prisons, and, with the permission of the prisoners, interviews were also conducted with 16 family members.