Repeat offenders in the Premier's sights as new bail law proposals unveiled

Premier Jacinta Allan announced proposed changes to bail laws on Wednesday, which she claimed would put “community safety above all” in bail decisions for alleged offenders of all ages.

What are the proposals?

The laws would create a new test to target repeat offenders of the “worst crimes” and also introduce the offence of “committing an indictable offence while on bail”.

The State Government would start this work by introducing the first Tough Bail Bill into the Victorian Parliament next Tuesday.

Allan said the action was a result of continued community demands for harsher bail laws, including a petition launched by radio personalities Fifi Box and Brendan Fevola, which received more than 100,000 signatures.

“I have listened and I have acted,” said Allan, who claimed they were the “toughest bail laws ever for serious offences”. 

How bad is crime in Victoria?

In the year to September 2024 there were 13,127 alleged offences committed by boys aged 15 to 17. This represented a 24.6 percent increase. 

The number of alleged offences committed by young people aged 10 to 17 were at their highest level in more than 15 years, at 23,810 incidents - a 16.9 percent annual increase.

In the year to September 2024, our LGAs saw the following increases in recorded offences overall:

• Knox - 10,996 (up 10.3 percent);

• Manningham - 5,491 (up 20.9 percent)

• Maroondah - 8425 (up 14.4 percent);

• Monash - 14,066 (up 6.6 percent), and;

• Whitehorse - 10,808 (up 18.3 percent).

How has the reaction been so far?

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) condemned the proposals, blaming the government’s harsh bail laws for the 2019 death of Indigenous woman Veronica Nelson in her cell at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Ravenhall. Nelson had been refused bail after being accused of shoplifting, and when she took ill her cries for help were not acted upon.

“The Victorian government has prioritised their political agenda and votes,” VALS chief executive Nerita Waight said.

“We know these rushed measures will lead to more Aboriginal people, especially women and children experiencing poverty, family violence and mental illness, being unnecessarily locked up. The impact on our Aboriginal communities will be profound and devastating.”

Victoria Legal Aid criminal law executive director Kate Bundrock said the proposed changes would be a “backwards step” for the state.

“We need to take meaningful action to reconnect children to their communities and education, and to address the underlying causes of crime,” she said.