Prisoners have been trying to break out of Australian prisons since William Buckley fled authorities in 1803 and coined the term "Buckley's chance".

Since then criminals have hatched elaborate — John Killick's helicopter escape — and brilliantly simple plans to break free.

Here are some of the most audacious Australian jailbreaks.

1. Chopper as getaway ride

In 1999, John Killick made perhaps the most daring prison escape in Australian history.

Killick's lover Lucy Dudko held up a helicopter pilot with a shotgun and forced him to land in the middle of Sydney's Silverwater prison.

Killick spent 45 days on the run before being captured.

He served the remainder of his sentence and was released earlier this year.

Convicted bank robber John Killick escaped from Sydney's Silverwater jail in 1999 by flying out in a helicopter. ( AAP )

2. A good disguise

A police mugshot of George Savvas. ( NSW Police )

George Savvas walked out of Sydney's Goulburn Prison in 1996 while serving a 25-year sentence for drug importation.

And all it took was a good disguise.

Wearing a fake moustache and hairpiece, and after changing into civilian clothes, Savvas walked to freedom from the jail's visiting area.

He was apprehended eight months later at a restaurant in Kent Street.

It was revealed he was only at Goulburn after being moved there following a failed plan to escape from Maitland.

3. 'Mad Dog' slowly chiselled way to freedom

Russell "Mad Dog" Cox made several attempts to escape prison. He was successful in 1977 when he fled from Sydney's Long Bay jail.

In an escape that was just like the movies, Cox used a hacksaw to chisel away at a metal bar in the facility's exercise yard and create a gap in the fence.

He asked a guard if he could return to the yard to retrieve his shoes and fled.

It was 11 years before he was captured. He was released from prison in 2004.

4. Window escape day after prison re-opens

The Kirkconnell Correctional Facility was closed in 2011 but reopened on July 31 and prisoner Kyle Ashley Dale Baker escaped the following day.

It is believed Baker forced a window open and fled during lock down.

He was captured after presenting to Penrith's police station on August 4.

5. Postcard Bandits

An April 23, 1998 police photo of Brenden Abbott, also known as the postcard bandit. ( Queensland Police )

While escapees Brenden Abbott and his accomplice Aaron Reynolds gained notoriety for taunting detectives by sending them photos of themselves at different locations — including police stations — while on the run, the pair's jailbreak was relatively simple.

The men made fake guard uniforms in the prison tailor shop and then jumped the wall of the Fremantle Prison.

An undated photo of the Fremantle prison in Perth, Western Australia. ( ABC News )

6. The prank call

In 1972, a plan hatched over 12 months involved three prisoners Owen Hooper, William Cabalt and Stanley Stone. Hooper was employed by prison authorities for his skills in electronics.

The prisoners asked for a cell at the top of the builder so their equipment could read a French weather balloon without interference.

The trio broke through the building's roof and made a prank call to the facility's guard house reporting suspicious activity at another location in the prison.

They then used a homemade telephone cable fashioned into a ladder to escape.

7. 'You've got Buckley's chance'

Arguably the original Australian prison escapee, William Buckley, fled from authorities in 1803 and lived with Aboriginal people in the bush for 32 years to avoid capture.

He presented to a camp site in 1835. He was pardoned and given the position of interpreter of the natives.

Buckley died in 1856.