Human rights groups say the new bail laws passed in Victoria on Tuesday don't meet "minimum human rights standards".

The laws have come about in part due to the advocacy of the family of Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Marie Nelson, who died in custody in January 2020.

The state's bail laws were initially strengthened after the Bourke Street terror attacks in 2018.

The coronial inquest into Ms Nelson's death in January 2023 found the bail laws in Victoria were "a complete and unmitigated disaster".

Coroner Simon McGregor said the bail laws discriminate against Aboriginal people, are incompatible with Victoria's Human Rights Charter, and should be changed urgently.

The family have called for changes including removing the presumption against bail, and granting access to bail unless the prosecution shows that there is a specific and immediate risk to the safety of another person; a serious risk of interfering with a witness; or a demonstrable risk that the person will flee the jurisdiction and removing all bail offences.

They, along with 74 health, human rights, legal and Indigenous groups, have called for the Victorian government to implement these overarching changes in the next three months.

They have also asked for the legislation to be labelled Poccum's law - after the nickname Veronica was given as a child.

In August, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) chief executive Nerita Waight said the inquest was a "traumatic process" that exposed the failings of the Victorian bail laws.

"You can't clean up a disaster with small changes, we need the big changes asked for by Veronica's family in Poccum's Law," she said.

On Tuesday, the new legislative reforms passed Victorian parliament.

Changes to the current laws include additional court considerations for Aboriginal people applying for bail, the removal of some bail offences, and a statutory review of the legislation in two years' time.

Earlier this month, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the laws were "sensible, proportionate and necessary" and struck a balance between protecting the community and supporting those "accused of minor, non-violent offending".

The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) says the Allan government's new bail laws, despite some positive changes, means people, including children, will be "needlessly" funnelled into prisons.

They added the changes implemented today were down to the advocacy of the Nelson family.

"Reverse onus provisions will remain, as will the offence of 'failing to answer bail', which pushes people further into the criminal legal system. People who are unlikely to be sentenced to imprisonment will continue to wait for a court hearing behind bars," they said in a statement.

HRLC Acting Managing Lawyer Amala Ramarathinam said the new laws don't meet the calls from Ms Nelson's family to implement Poccum's law or the changes recommended by the coronial inquest into her death.

"The changes don't go far enough to stop the Allan Government from inflicting preventable harm on people, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women experiencing disadvantage, or to prevent a death in custody," she said.

"The changes have also left children and young people behind."

The government has vowed to introduce a separate Youth Justice Bill next year, with Ms Symes saying separating the current bail laws and Youth Justice Bill made more sense to the public.

Ms Ramarathinam said Ms Nelson's family had led the calls for bail reform with "tremendous strength" and must be listened to.

"Victoria's bail laws will continue to fail to meet minimum human rights standards under the Victorian Charter. To get bail reform right, the Allan Government must deliver further changes to properly implement Poccum's Law," she said.

"The promised reforms to bail laws for children and young people must also be delivered early next year."

The 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommended incarceration be a last resort for First Nations people.

More than one third (37.4%) of people currently in detention in Victoria are not sentenced, a figure which is even higher for women, young children and First Nations Victorians.

VALS said that in eight out of the first nine months in 2022, there were more unsentenced Aboriginal people in prison than sentenced.

At times, almost 80 per cent of Aboriginal women in Victoria's prisons are on remand, many are often victims of domestic violence, and they are usually primary carers for family members.