Experts and advocates from Victoria’s legal and human rights sector have gathered this morning to condemn the Victorian Government’s second set of ‘tough’ bail laws as dangerous and discriminatory, as the ‘Bail Further Amendment Bill’ was introduced to Parliament today.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) and Flat Out, with support from the Federation of Community Legal Centres (FCLC) and the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), hosted an emergency snap rally on the Victorian Parliament Steps to urge the Victorian Government to not go ahead with the proposed second set of bail amendments and instead reconsider.
The system already cannot cope with the influx of people on remand since the first set of Premier Allan’s bad bail laws came into effect in March this year. People are being held on remand in police custody for up to 10 days at a time – this is unacceptable.
As at today, there are 44 Aboriginal people that are languishing in police station cells across the state, which is double the number from last year, the most VALS have seen in years. Conditions in police cells are not equitable to substandard conditions in prisons. The Victorian Government must invest in community-based supports, which are rehabilitative and actually work in preventing reoffending.
Since March 2025, there has been a 100% increase in the number of children on remand in youth prisons, meaning there are now more young people in prison for offences they have not been found guilty of than those who have.
Placing more people on remand does not achieve community safety, nor does it prevent reoffending. It causes more harm and trauma, increasing the likelihood of recidivism. The Victorian Government must take accountability for the abhorrent conditions in prison, which are a result of their own disastrous bail laws. They must not proceed with the second set of these laws.
Quotes Attributable to Ali Besiroglu, Director of Legal Services, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS):
“It is a disgrace that we had to be here today speaking out about these regressive, discriminatory laws. Prisons are dangerously understaffed and overrun with people who are yet to found guilty of a crime. People are spending countless hours in solitary confinement as routine lockdowns are the Department’s solution to grossly understaffed facilities. The State is failing its duty of care and with all of that – this government wants to expose even more vulnerable people to prison custody. Where is the justice?”
Quotes Attributable to Sheena Colquhoun, Chair of the Flat Out Board:
“Every time the Allan Government talks about ‘the broader community,’ it’s drawing a line, deciding whose safety matters, and whose doesn’t. These bail laws don’t make us safer. They punish the same people who are already most at risk of homelessness, criminalisation, and dying behind bars.”
Quotes Attributable to Louisa Gibbs, CEO of the Federation of Community Legal Centres:
“We urge the Government to reflect on the evidence that shows keeping people incarcerated on remand without rehabilitation or access to social services increases their chances of reoffending. A true commitment to community safety involves serious investment in early intervention and prevention – in health, education and social services that support our communities to thrive.”
Community legal centres work with victims of crime, people in or at risk of entering the criminal legal system, people experiencing structural disadvantage and racism, people living with disabilities, and Aboriginal clients. This frontline works gives us clear visibility of policies that work and policies that exacerbate problems, and to us it is unanimously and abundantly clear – that tightening bail laws fails to reduce crime in the long term and puts the lives and wellbeing of the human beings locked up at risk.”
Quotes Attributable to Maggie Munn, First Nations Director of the Human Rights Law Centre:
“Bail saves lives, but the Allan Government’s dangerous and discriminatory laws will put even more untried and unsentenced people behind bars and deeply harm Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Allan Government should abandon these laws and instead implement Poccum’s Law in full to make Victoria’s bail laws safer and fairer for everyone.”