VALS strongly condemns the Victorian government’s introduction of inhumane youth legal reforms which will see tougher sentencing laws including children being sentenced to life. It is clear the government holds no hope for young people who make mistakes and instead require targeted support at a critical time to change the trajectory of their young lives.
Under the Allan Labor government, children aged 14-17 years old found guilty of committing aggravated burglary or aggravated carjacking could be sentenced to life in prison. This sentencing is equivalent to murder. The government also plan to send children who allegedly commit offences including aggravated and non-aggravated home invasion and carjacking to the County Court rather than the Children’s Court. This means children will not be seen by magistrates who have specialisation in child development.
It is with heavy hearts that we think of the young people that will be caught up with these sweeping and ill-informed legislative reforms. Young people with disability, young people who have been coercively forced to engage in risk taking and offending behaviours, young people who are, and who’s families are entrenched in poverty, young people who have been removed from their family’s care, who have been failed by the state at every step in their lives.
Victoria is in a race to the bottom. “Adult time for adult crime”, the Liberal catch cry of the Queensland election has arrived early in Victoria, a vote scoring aim with ill-informed and dangerous outcomes for our young people. These reforms will see sentencing considerations changed to prioritise ‘community safety’ and to remove detention as a penalty of last resort. This will breach children’s rights that are protected under the Convention of the Rights of the Child, specifically article 37 alongside limiting s23 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act which requires nation states to ensure a child is treated by the courts in a way that is appropriate for their age.
We have seen the disastrous impact the recent bail laws have had on Aboriginal people. Since these laws were introduced in March this year we have seen a 46% bail refusal rate for Aboriginal people, compared to a 6% rate for non-Indigenous people. Our dedicated youth legal practice, Balit Ngulu, has seen a 233% increase since June last year of bail being refused for our young clients. We anticipate that these sentencing reforms will have a similarly devastating impact and only lead to further entrenched criminalisation. This is an appalling situation, where the Victorian state government appears intent on implementing punitive legislation rather than addressing inherently complex social issues.
When a government cuts funding to housing and homelessness supports, AOD, mental health and family violence supports and interventions, dedicated youth support programs, intensive bail and parole programs, the outcomes are inevitable but no less devastating. The majority of kids involved in youth justice have also experienced child protection intervention, where is the accountability of the state for not acting as a good parent should and protecting and caring for these kids?
Supporting early intervention and diverting more children away from the criminal legal system is the answer and will create better outcomes for children, their families and communities as a whole. Responses to concerning or risk-taking behaviours must be trauma-informed, self-determined and centred in addressing the wellbeing of the child. There needs to be substantial and proper investment in early intervention and prevention through family supports and education. It is not too late for the government to reconsider their position and work closely with VALS, the Koorie Youth Council, the Aboriginal Justice Caucus and the legal sector more broadly to develop a considered approach.
Failing policy after failing policy is having irreparable harm on our young generations. At a time where they should be forging a new path in a post Treaty era, a time where the wrongs of the violent colonial past can be addressed – through truth and transformative change.
Quotes Attributable to Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service:
“Today as we are signing Victoria’s first Treaty, at the same time the Premier wants to sign kids’ lives away who make a mistake. Shame on this government, shame on the Premier and shame on this cabinet for allowing your leader to push this agenda on our kids. Victoria is a cruel and unforgiving state where children cannot make a mistake. Punishing trauma is not the answer.”
“The Premier explains away this announcement speaking as a parent, but we need a leader. A leader that understands what policy and programmatic interventions address the underlying causes of offending behaviour. Youth Justice centres are already overwhelmed, conditions will continue to deteriorate, and it is only a matter of time until we are mourning the loss of a child at the hands of the state.”
“Moving children to adult courts will achieve one thing, further entrenchment of criminalisation. The government needs to invest in self-determined and trauma informed prevention, early intervention programs. Specialist youth courts are part of the solution and recognises the unique needs and rights of children at law.”
Quotes Attributable to Associate Professor Crystal McKinnon, Chairperson of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service:
“It has been a year of hasty justice related reforms, and this government is giving no time to see whether their policy responses actually work. They simply keep compounding more punitive measures in the hope that it will make a difference, but the evidence is very clear. We have had ample inquiries into youth justice and child protection to know that locking children up is not the answer.”
“VALS has been fighting to protect our community from the racist, colonial legal system for over 50 years and we will continue the struggle in the face of ineptitude and ill-informed policy.”
Quotes Attributable to Negar Panahi, Principal Managing Lawyer, Balit Ngulu of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service:
“Our young people deserve better. They deserve leaders who make informed policy decisions, not ram through dangerous laws that will see more young people locked up and lose their futures for mistakes. This is not about kids being held accountable for their actions, this is about locking away “the problem”. Every single young person in youth justice will one day be released, whether it’s a matter of days, weeks or years, so the government should be investing in self-determined, trauma informed, therapeutic intensive services and supports that work with the young people and their family so they can learn from their mistakes, heal and thrive. Prisons are a costly and ineffective measure to complex social issues.”
“I am proud of the work we do at Balit Ngulu because we work with the young person to change their life’s trajectory, to understand what they would like to achieve and support them to make the necessary steps to start their journey to thrive. We walk alongside them because we believe in the capacity of young people to make good decisions with the right support. This government’s policy response is cruel, it’s inhumane and it’s a moral failure. The state has a duty of care, and they are failing dismally.”
MEDIA RELEASE 12 November 2025