On 12 November 2025, the Allan Government announced that certain crimes allegedly committed by children aged between 14 and 17 will be subject to trial and potential sentencing in the County Court of Victoria, and that these crimes will also be subject to increased penalties. The Government stated that the intention of the legislation would be so “courts will treat these children like adults, so jail is more likely, and sentences are longer”. The Government also stated that it would remove “the rule that jail for children is the ‘last resort’ – because for some crimes, it shouldn’t be”.
Today, on 2 December 2025, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Community Safety) Bill 2025 (the Bill) was introduced to Parliament. We understand that debate on the Bill will be guillotined at 5:00pm, when there will be a forced vote. The failure to consult with the legal community and civil society organisations is very disappointing.
If enacted, the amendments proposed by the Bill are highly likely to be challenged in the Courts. That, in combination with its sweeping effects, makes the Bill’s rushed introduction, absence of consultation, and restricted debate very concerning. This represents an erosion of democratic safeguards.
In short, the Bill reflects a significant departure from the principles that have underpinned the Victorian youth justice system for decades.
The Bill fails to give sufficient weight to the well-recognised principles that:
- Children are immature and prone to ill-considered or rash decisions, and may lack the degree of insight, judgment and self-control that is possessed by an adult and do not fully appreciate the nature, seriousness and consequences of their criminal conduct;
- Children are able to be rehabilitated, and such rehabilitation is one of the great objectives of the criminal law; and
- Incarceration will more likely impair, rather than improve, a child’s prospects of rehabilitation.
Amongst other things, if enacted the Bill will result in many children being sentenced as adults in the Higher Courts, and exposed to lengthier sentences. It would repeal from the Youth Justice Act 2024 (Vic) the principle that “efforts to support rehabilitation and positive development are the most effective ways to reduce reoffending”.[1] It would also repeal from the YJA the principle that “a custodial sentence [should be] imposed as a last resort and for the minimum period appropriate and necessary”.[2]
The proposed amendments in the Bill are contrary to the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (the Charter) and Australia’s obligations under international law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Amongst other things, they fail to protect the best interests of the child, and they fail to adhere to the foundational principle that the detention or imprisonment of a child shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
Indeed, in the Statement of Compatibility to the Bill, the Government has now acknowledged that the proposed amendments are incompatible with the Charter. Astonishingly, that means that the amendments cannot be “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom”.
The amendments will not make Victorians safer. They will expose many more children to lengthy periods of detention and imprisonment. Because of the criminogenic effects of detaining children, this will make us all less safe in the long run.
The proposed amendments will have a disproportionate impact on First Nations children and other children of colour. It should be noted that many representatives of the Government gave evidence before the Yoorrook Justice Commission and acknowledged these kinds of effects.[3]
These matters may result in the Supreme Court issuing a declaration of inconsistent interpretation pursuant to s 36(2) of the Charter because the amendments are incompatible with the human rights of children.
Further, the proposed amendments may breach s 10 of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) because of their disproportionate impact on minorities, including First Nations peoples. This may result in the proposed amendments being inoperative to the extent of the inconsistency between State and Federal laws.
This Bill should not be rushed through Parliament. It needs to be carefully and properly considered. It reflects a punitive and populist approach that ignores the best evidence as to how to make our community safer.
[1] Cl 12.
[2] Cl 13.
[3] Yoorrook for Justice Report into Victoria’s Child Protection and Criminal Justice Systems 2023, pp 20 and 238 and 239. See, for example, the evidence of the Hon Enver Erdogan MP, Minister for Corrections, Youth Justice and Victim Support, who said that “[a]s we know, the younger the cohort, the more likely they will grow out of the behavioural issues they are displaying and you’ve got the best chance at turning their trajectories around”. See further the evidence of the Hon Jaclyn Symes, the then Attorney-General.