Victoria's prisons are holding record numbers of people who haven't been sentenced, with more than one in three inmates now behind bars awaiting trial or sentencing — nearly double the proportion from 20 years ago.

Data released by the Sentencing Advisory Council on Tuesday shows Victoria's overall prison population grew 62 per cent in the 20 years to 30 June 2024, largely due to a rise in people held on remand.

"There are many more people in prison, particularly people held on remand prior to trial or sentencing," Sentencing Advisory Council Director, Stan Winford, said.

"As a result, people are receiving shorter prison sentences, many of which are time served prison sentences. But at the same time, people committing serious offences such as murder, rape and other violent crimes are now receiving much longer prison sentences than they did previously."

The number of people on remand climbed to nearly 44 per cent of the prison population in 2019, following the introduction of stricter bail laws — described by a coroner as an "unmitigated disaster" during the inquest into the death of Aboriginal woman Veronica Nelson.

After a brief decline in prison numbers during the pandemic, Victoria's prison population rose again last year, increasing by 700. The state government has acknowledged its new bail laws will see more people held in custody.

"While most countries experienced a reduction in their prison populations at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, they resumed their upward trend shortly after, whereas Victoria uniquely continued that decline in the years that followed," Mr Winford said.

"That trend has, however, changed significantly since 30 June 2024, with considerably more people now in custody in Victoria."

The report found Aboriginal people in Victoria are incarcerated at 18 times the rate of non-Aboriginal people. The imprisonment rate for Aboriginal people rose by 68 per cent over the 20-year period, compared with only 2 per cent for non-Indigenous Victorians.

Impact on Aboriginal communities

The Sentencing Advisory Council linked the growing number of prisoners to the criminalisation of secondary offences, such as breaching bail or parole, noting that one in three sentenced people had already served their time while on remand.

Veronica Nelson's 2020 death in custody, after being denied bail for alleged shoplifting, led to limited reforms to the bail system. The state's former police commissioner admitted the previous bail laws played a key role in her death. However, earlier this year, Premier Jacinta Allan said those changes were wrong and introduced new, tougher bail laws.

"Bail saves lives, yet the new laws show the government has shamefully turned its back on reforms that came into effect after the tragic and preventable death in custody of Veronica Nelson, Human Rights Law Centre First Nations Justice Director Maggie Munn told National Indigenous Times in August.

"These laws are a disaster waiting to happen, and are part of a disturbing trend across the country towards regressive policies that are putting more First Nations people behind bars and driving up the number of untried and unsentenced people in prison."

Expansion amid criticism

The state budget includes funding for almost 1,000 new adult prison beds and 88 additional youth justice places, alongside expanded support services aimed at reducing reoffending.

Earlier this year, the National Indigenous Times reported record lockdowns at Victoria's only maximum-security women's prison due to staff shortages, with several suicide attempts. The government was criticised for appearing to celebrate the growing remand population.

Last week, new bail provisions — including the "high harm/high degree of probability" test and the "two strike/two step" single uplift rule — came into effect. They follow March changes requiring courts to treat children accused of serious offences more like adults when considering bail.

Indigenous and legal advocates condemned the reforms as "knee jerk," warning they will disproportionately affect Aboriginal people and lead to more deaths in custody.

"Being placed in custody represents a break in connection to important rehabilitative responses such as links to family and community, culture, education and other pro-social activities," Victorian Children's Commissioner Meena Singh said.

Earlier this month, Police Minister Anthony Carbines said remand rates had risen by 26 per cent for adults and 46 per cent for young people, with recidivism among teenagers driving much of the increase.

"There were 149 less child offenders in the reporting period, indicating that repeat offenders are driving the arrest numbers," he said.