Convict in the context of "Government of Australia"

Between 1788 and 1868 the British penal system transported about 162,000 convicts from Great Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia.

The British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. After trans-Atlantic transportation ended with the start of the American Revolution, authorities sought an alternative destination to relieve further overcrowding of British prisons and hulks. Earlier in 1770, James Cook had charted and claimed possession of the east coast of Australia for Great Britain. Seeking to pre-empt the French colonial empire from expanding into the region, Great Britain chose Australia as the site of a penal colony, and in 1787, the First Fleet of eleven convict ships set sail for Botany Bay, arriving on 20 January 1788 to found Sydney, New South Wales, the first European settlement on the continent. Other penal colonies were later established in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1803 and Queensland in 1824. Western Australia – established as the Swan River Colony in 1829 – initially was intended solely for free settlers, but commenced receiving convicts in 1850. South Australia and Victoria, established in 1836 and 1850 respectively, officially remained free colonies. However, a population that included thousands of convicts already resided in the area that became known as Victoria.

A penal military unit, also known as a penal formation, disciplinary unit, or just penal unit (usually named for their formation and size, such as penal battalion for battalions, penal regiment for regiments, penal company for companies, etc.), is a military formation consisting of convicts mobilized for military service. Such formations may consist of military prisoners convicted under military law, civilian prisoners convicted in civilian courts, prisoners of war who have chosen to side with their captors, or a combination of these groups.

Service in penal military units is generally considered a form of punishment, discipline, or penal labour, used in lieu of, or offered as an alternative to, imprisonment or capital punishment. Penal units have historically been used as disposable cannon fodder, treated poorly or with little regard and used in compromising or dangerous situations (commonly suicide missions such as demining or forlorn hope advance parties), as march battalions that maintain replacement personnel as reserves, or kept in the rear for military operations other than war or menial labour relating to the war effort, guarded and overseen by regular military units, military police, or barrier troops to ensure they do not attempt to escape, retreat, or mutiny. However, this is not always the case: some penal units are treated the same as regular units and, depending on military organization, a dedicated penal unit may not exist at all, with convicts instead being placed in a regular unit. Rewards and incentives for convicts to serve in a penal unit vary—often expungement, commutation, stay of execution, or a pardon—though penal units used as punishment typically lack those by nature.

Penal transportation (or simply transportation) was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their destination. While the prisoners may have been released once the sentences were served, they generally did not have the resources to return home.

The New South Wales Marine Corps was a battalion-sized unit of the British Marine Forces created to guard convicts aboard the First Fleet to Australia, and to preserve "subordination and regularity" in the colony of New South Wales. Established in 1786, the unit served in New South Wales from 1788 to 1792, and was instrumental in establishing the colony's rule of law. Study of the complete New South Wales Marine complement indicates they were chosen from the Plymouth and Portsmouth Divisions, with only one exception. Beginning with guards arriving with the 2nd and 3rd fleets but officially with the arrival of HMS Gorgon on 22 September 1791, the New South Wales Marines were relieved by a newly formed British Army regiment of foot, the New South Wales Corps.