Controversial youth justice reforms that allow children to be sentenced to life in prison have passed the Victorian Parliament, despite strong opposition from legal experts and Indigenous organisations who warn the laws will significantly increase the incarceration of already vulnerable young people without improving community safety.
Modelled on Queensland's "adult crime, adult time" approach, Victoria's "adult crime for violent crime" reforms sharply increase maximum penalties for children aged 14 and over convicted of certain violent offences in adult courts, including life sentences for aggravated home invasions and carjacking.
Critics say the laws lack evidence, disproportionately harm vulnerable children, breach fundamental human rights protections, and are being used as a political tool ahead of next year's election.
"This festive season, while other kids will be opening up their presents with their families at home, our young people will be behind bars," Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Nerita Waight said.
"They are in want of hope, they are in want of a future filled with promise. But Premier Allan has determined that they are unworthy.
"The Premier has stated time and time again that she is listening to victims and that is why they are ramming through these laws; however, she is actively ignoring Aboriginal communities, who have suffered state-sanctioned violence and harm for 237 years of the colonial project. It is dishonourable and insulting that only some victims' voices are listened to."
In a statement, VALS said the Premier — who last month finalised the landmark Treaty bill — has a Christmas wish list that includes the "incarceration of more Black and brown children, children living with disability and mental health issues, and children in out-of-home care".
The reforms amend the Crimes Act, Children, Youth and Families Act, Criminal Procedure Act and Youth Justice Act. Children charged with these offences will now face the County Court rather than the Children's Court.
The Children's Court prioritises rehabilitation, and experts have long warned that early incarceration increases the likelihood of lifelong offending. Adult courts emphasise community safety and victim impact, leading to significantly harsher outcomes. While almost two-thirds of serious offenders in the Children's Court avoid prison, 97 per cent of those sentenced for aggravated home invasion or carjacking in adult courts are jailed.
On Thursday, Youth Justice Minister Enver Erdogan defended the laws in Parliament, saying the government was supporting victims, but he was unable to identify any specific advocacy groups directly consulted before the announcement made last month. He added the laws "change the status quo of youth offending in Victoria" and acknowledged an "expected" increase in the number of children who will be incarcerated.
The reforms follow Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny's admission that the laws are, in part, "incompatible with the human rights set out" in Victoria's Charter of Human Rights.
"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 this week.
View this post on Instagram
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission say the laws are inconsistent with established evidence about child development and disproportionate to the nature of youth offending.
"These changes are unlikely to reduce crime in the long term but are likely to have a significant impact on First Peoples, racialised communities and children with mental health issues who are already overly represented in our detention centres," Commissioner Ro Allan said.
Greens Justice spokesperson Katherine Copsey cited the similarities with the Queensland Government's policy, arguing the government is "importing policies from a conservative Liberal Government interstate that will disproportionately impact First Nations and children of colour rather than listening to what actually works".
The Government has been under pressure from police and the media to respond to rising crime, which has reached its highest level in a decade. Recent data shows children aged 17 and under are responsible for 60 per cent of robberies and nearly half of aggravated burglaries.
This week, Ms Waight said the public debate ignores that many young offenders are themselves victims.
"By the time our kids have entered into the youth justice system, they have already been failed my multiple systems," she said. "Locking them up is not the answer."
A Statement of Advice from Victorian community legal centres — seen by National Indigenous Times — says the reforms dismantle a child-centred, human-rights-based youth justice system by stripping away core principles such as rehabilitation and detention as a last resort.
According to the statement, the changes will lead to harsher sentences, longer incarceration, and greater exposure to the adult courts, while breaching the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Australia's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
