Schapelle Corby is edging closer to an early release from Bali's Kerobokan jail with officials confirming the process of assessing her for parole is in its final stages.
Corby has been eligible to apply for parole since last August, but her legal team had baulked at lodging an application after the Indonesian government introduced tough new conditions for prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including drug trafficking.
But the governor of Kerobokan jail, Gusti Ngurah Wiratna, has confirmed that corrections officers visited the home of the convicted drug smuggler's sister, Mercedes Corby, in Bali on Tuesday to assess whether it would be a suitable place for her to live.
It's understood the officers also inspected documents relating to Schapelle Corby's parole, including an unprecedented guarantee letter from the Australian government.
If Corby is granted parole she would have to serve out the remainder of her sentence in Bali.
Mercedes, who visited Schapelle on Wednesday, said the family was happy the parole process was under way.
"This is great news. The parole process is running," she told reporters after emerging from the jail.
"She's a step closer to freedom."
Corby, who was caught in 2004 attempting to smuggle more 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali, was sentenced to 20 years in jail, but had her prison term slashed by five years by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
If the 36-year-old fails to win parole, the earliest she could walk free from Kerobokan jail is mid-2015, so long as she continues to win the maximum eight months per year in remissions.
