As a young boy, Oscar* was removed from his family home and placed in out-of-home care, moving repeatedly through placements that worsened his trauma, before eventually settling in a safe, stable and supportive environment.
When charged as a juvenile with aggravated carjacking and aggravated burglary, his Balit Ngulu lawyers — the youth justice arm of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) — successfully argued for his matter to remain in the Children's Court. His sentence therefore reflected his age, trauma and circumstances.
He has not reoffended.
Under the Victorian "adult crime for violent crime" laws set to pass Parliament on Thursday, Oscar — still a child — would instead be tried in the County Court and face the prospect of life imprisonment.
In another case, Lily* was charged with aggravated burglary and aggravated home invasion, despite only acting as the 'look out' during the incident. Balit Ngulu lawyers secured a reduction of the charges and a non-custodial outcome, and she too has not returned to the criminal justice system.
Under the new laws, Lily — also a child — would be tried in the County Court and exposed to potential life imprisonment, with the trauma of navigating an adult legal environment compounding vulnerabilities already common among children in the youth justice system.
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Cases such as these have alarmed justice advocates, who argue the reforms — which the government concedes breach its own Human Rights Charter — are being justified as necessary to curb youth crime.
"What is lost in the government narrative and media cycle is that so often the kids who are caught up in the youth justice system are victims themselves," VALS CEO Nerita Waight says.
"They have experienced abuse and harm, they have been removed from their families and their culture. They have disengaged from education. So, by the time our kids have entered into the youth justice system, they have already been failed by multiple systems. Locking them up is not the answer."
Modelled on Queensland's "adult crime, adult time" approach, the reforms would sharply increase maximum penalties for children convicted of certain violent offences in adult courts, including life sentences for aggravated home invasions and carjacking.
Critics argue they lack evidence, disproportionately harm vulnerable children, violate core human rights protections and are only being used as a political cudgel to blunt the opposition before next year's election.
The government says they are needed to curb the growing rate of youth crime in Victoria, which has begun appearing daily on the front page of newspapers.
"I think this is what the community expects. This is what the community deserves," Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said. "We know that when these crimes and these offences are in the adult court, it is much more likely there will be a jail term, and it is much more likely the jail term will be longer."
Harming children in the name of politics
A Statement of Advice from Victorian community legal centres — seen by National Indigenous Times and sent to the Victorian Government — urges the withdrawal of the laws, saying they are "actively removing fundamental tenets of the justice system for our children".
Prepared by VALS, the Federation of Community Legal Centres, the Human Rights Law Centre and Youthlaw, the Statement warns the laws will seriously harm a large cohort — especially First Nations children, children with disability, those in out-of-home care, and those experiencing trauma or family violence.
Last month, 2024 NAIDOC Person of the Year, Muriel Bamblett, said the laws would "do nothing to divert children from crime," arguing they would instead "ensure they are trapped in the justice system for life".
"I am horrified by the idea of a 14-year-old being sentenced to life in prison. What do we lose as a society when a 14-year-old could spend their life behind bars?" she asked.
The legal organisations say the Bill abandons a child-centred, human-rights-based youth justice system by removing key principles such as rehabilitation and detention as a last resort. They argue it will result in harsher sentences, longer incarceration, and greater exposure to adult courts, whilst also being in breach of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Australia's obligation under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In a notable admission this week, Ms Kilkenny acknowledged these concerns, stating the laws are partly "incompatible with the human rights set out" in the Charter.
"The measures in the Bill constitute significant limits on the fundamental rights of children who are by their nature a vulnerable cohort, which require a very high standard of justification in order to be compatible with rights," she said in the compatibility statement accompanying the bill.
"While it is my strong view that the Bill is necessary to address compelling and pressing community safety concerns brought about by unprecedented incidents of serious and violent offending by children, my acknowledgement of incompatibility accepts the inherent difficulty in meeting this high standard of justification."
The Opposition has criticised the Bill for not going far enough, but they say they'll support it regardless, guaranteeing its passage through the Legislative Council on Thursday.
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The legal centres identify three critical amendments needed: retaining the principles of rehabilitation and detention as a last resort; creating a separate, age-appropriate test for uplifting offences involving 14-year-olds; and narrowing the new knife offence to avoid overcharging and further criminalising disadvantaged people.
"It should be possible for a 14-year-old's matter to remain in the Children's Court jurisdiction, to reflect their stage of development, lower level of maturity and greater need for a therapeutic approach," the Statement says.
They also call for delaying the Bill until September 2026 and legislating de novo appeals so children uplifted to the County Court retain the right to a full rehearing.
"This is not about kids being held accountable for their actions; this is about locking away 'the problem'," Balit Ngulu Principal Managing Lawyer, Negar Panahi, said this week.
"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."
*Names changed to protect identity
