Notorious bank robber and prison escapee Brenden Abbott has failed in a legal attempt to win his freedom, with WA's highest court dismissing his latest appeal against a jail term which runs until 2033.

Abbott, who was dubbed "the postcard bandit", is currently serving a 16-year sentence in WA for offences committed in the 1980s, including armed robberies and burglaries.

It was while serving an original 10-year term at the now defunct Fremantle Prison in 1989 that he was involved in a riot, for which he was sentenced to an additional six years' jail.

He later escaped from the prison by dressing up as a guard.

He became known at as the "postcard bandit" after false claims he taunted police by sending them postcards while he was on the run.

In fact Abbott mailed pictures of himself to his friends and family, and these made their way into the hands of the police.

Abbott eventually ended up in jail in Queensland, where he served 18 years of a 25-year sentence for a string of bank robberies and escapes he committed in that state.

On his release from prison in Queensland he was extradited to Perth in May 2016 to serve the remainder of the sentences he had received for his original crimes in the 1980s.

These prison terms would mean he would not be eligible for release for another 14 years.

He challenged the sentence in the Court of Appeal, arguing it was unfair to keep him behind bars after he had spent so much time in custody in Queensland.

Brenden Abbott while on the run in the 1990s. ( ABC News )

But today three appeal judges unanimously dismissed his attempt for an earlier chance at freedom.

In its judgment, the Court of Appeal said the original sentences imposed on Abbott were "appropriate" and it "was not at liberty to intervene" in them on the basis of "mercy" — and even if it was, it would not.

"The appellant consciously and deliberately chose to engage in the criminal conduct which led to the sentences that were imposed upon him in Queensland," the judgment read.

"When he escaped legal custody in Western Australia, he must have known that, if he was apprehended, he would be required to serve the unexpired portion of his sentence.

"While he was an escapee, and until the time of his arrest in Queensland, he committed a number of very serious armed robberies. Each of them involved a modus operandi not dissimilar from the armed robbery offence he committed in Western Australia."

While the jail sentence runs until 2033, he will become eligible for parole in 2026.

Abbott was not in court for the decision.