Serial armed robber and prison escapee Brenden Abbott has not given up hope of having a life outside of jail, despite losing an appeal against his extradition to Western Australia where he faces another 16 years behind bars, his lawyer says.

Although Abbott was released on parole in Brisbane in April after 18 years, he remained in custody as WA pursued his return.

They want him to serve another 16 years for breaking out of jail with eight and a half years left for violent armed robbery and break and enter convictions.

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Abbott’s lawyers appealed against the extradition in the Supreme Court in Brisbane, arguing there had been an abuse of process as Abbott had offered in 2002 to serve his WA sentences concurrently while in the Queensland jail.

The 53-year-old had wanted to live with his sister in Cairns but is now due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court within seven days, his lawyer Brendan Nyst said.

Mr Nyst said the extradition was likely to occur in the next two days, and once in WA his client would explore how he could reduce the potential jail time.

“There was some discussion in the hearing about possible legal avenues which allow him to reduce the amount of time he has to spend in prison over there,” he said.

“He is a resilient character.

“He has had to be resilient to make it this far.

“He and his family have not given up hope that he will have a life outside jail.

“He will take it in his stride, he always has.”

Abbott is one of the nation’s most slippery prisoners, having escaped two jails: WA’s Fremantle Prison in 1989 and the Queensland’s Sir David Longland Prison at Wacol in 1997.

He was labelled the Postcard Bandit for allegedly taunting WA Police while on the run, something his lawyer said never actually happened.

After five and a half years, Abbott was eventually found at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast with a large number of weapons, ammunition and $76,000 in cash.

He has spent about 18 years behind bars in Queensland, much of that time in solitary confinement.