Renae Lawrence ready to walk free from her Bali jail

A large contingent of Indonesian, Australian and international media has gathered out front of the small prison where she is currently incarcerated, ready to capture the first images of the convicted drug smuggler walking to freedom.

The convicted drug smuggler will then be taken to Denpasar airport in a convoy of police vehicles and she will be deported by Indonesian authorities, though she may have to spend a few hours in an immigration detention centre while she collects her passport.

Her flight back to Australia is expected to leave at about 9pm local time (midnight AEDT) on Wednesday.

Five members of the Bali Nine are serving life sentences, with little prospect of release in the shot term.

Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen are both still in Bali's notorious Kerobokan prison, where Lawrence was initially held. Scott Rush is in Bali's Karangasem prison, while Michael Czugaj and Martin Stephens are being held in a jail on the island of Java.

Bali Nine ring leaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were both executed on April 29, 2015, while Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in June this year.

Norman told Fairfax Media on Tuesday that he wished his friend and fellow Bali Nine member "all the best of luck" on her release, and that he still held out hope he too would one day be released.

University of NSW legal expert Melissa Crouch, who specialises is south-east Asian legal systems, said that Lawrence was being released because of a series of remissions, which are handed out twice a year in the Indonesian legal system to prisoners who are serving a fixed term in jail.

"Lawrence received a combination of general remission and special remissions," she said.

"General remission depends on the length of the sentence served and is granted on Independence day, 17 August. At least twice in recent years, Lawrence had her sentence reduced by 6 months through the general remission process."

"She also received special remission on several occasions, such as at Christmas in 2013."

Unlike fellow convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, who had to remain in Bali after her release, Lawrence didn't apply for conditional release so she is free to return to Australia upon release.

"Lawrence's release is indeed good news, and one small ray of light at the end of the Bali Nine saga for her. Although no doubt returning to Australia and re-adjusting to life here will have its own significant challenges."