The emergence of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed all our lives in ways we could never have imagined. Through swift and decisive action on physical distancing and movement restriction, the Federal and Victorian governments seem to have steered us away from the catastrophic situations currently playing out elsewhere in the world. We are very thankful that we seem to have avoided the worst.

But we cannot become complacent. We cannot afford to allow our freedom and privacy to be curtailed by government to such an extent that we will not be able to claw it back.

Liberty Victoria is very concerned about the arrest of one person and the issuing of fines totalling $43,000 to those engaged in a “car convoy protest” on Good Friday outside the Mantra Hotel in Preston, which is holding refugees and people seeking asylum (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-10/coronavirus-easter-victorians-told-to-stay-home-this-week

Liberty Victoria supports and applaud the efforts of government and medical experts at all levels working to take urgent action to save lives and protect our community.  We acknowledge that extraordinary steps are required to meet an extraordinary crisis.  We will continue our role in protecting and defending human rights and civil liberties by monitoring the introduction and enforcement of measures during this time. 

Liberty Victoria joins the 119 Criminal and Legal Practitioners to call for humane decarceration during the COVID-19 pandemic. You cannot social distance in a cramped prison.

Humane decarceration during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In order to preserve human rights and further protect public health we the undersigned are calling on the Victorian Government to release the following class of prisoners:

1. Elderly or immunosuppressed prisoners;

2. Prisoners serving sentence for non-violent offending;

In light of the developing COVID-19 pandemic, Liberty Victoria supports calls from more than 370 lawyers, academics and advocates to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the Australian criminal justice system, especially prisons  -and youth detention centres (see 

In light of the developing COVID-19 pandemic, Liberty Victoria supports calls from more than 370 lawyers, academics and advocates to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the Australian criminal justice system, especially prisons and youth detention centres (see 

Sentencing Amendment (Emergency Worker Harm) Bill 2020

Liberty Victoria is strongly opposed to the Sentencing Amendment (Emergency Worker Harm) Bill 2020 (“The Bill”).

"There is a genuine risk of innocent people being convicted of crimes they have not committed."

Liberty Victoria strongly opposes the Victorian Government’s recently announced reforms to the law of tendency and coincidence evidence, which it has announced will be based on a Bill before the New South Wales Parliament - the Evidence Amendment (Tendency and Coincidence) Bill 2020 (NSW).

Those reforms, if enacted, would amongst other things:

Liberty Victoria welcomes the Victorian government’s announcement that it is committed to introducing a legislated spent convictions scheme. Once a scheme is legislated, this will bring Victoria in line with every other Australian state and territory, including Queensland, which has had a legislated scheme since 1986.

A Victorian spent convictions scheme will transform the lives of many Victorians and put them on an equal footing with citizens of other states and territories.