New bail laws in Victoria came into effect Monday after a long fight by advocates in the aftermath of the death of Indigenous woman Veronica Nelson in 2020.
The new laws partly wind back the 2018 changes which were brought in as a response to the Bourke Street attack but saw the number of Aboriginal women in custody nearly double within a year.
The coronial inquest into Ms Nelson's death - a Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman who died in police custody in January 2020 - found the bail laws in Victoria were "a complete and unmitigated disaster".
Coroner Simon McGregor said they discriminate against Aboriginal people, are incompatible with Victoria's Human Rights Charter, and should be changed urgently.
The legislation will abolish the "double uplift" provision for people accused of committing low-level offences whilst already on bail under the "unacceptable risk" test. However, it will remain for other offences.
When they were introduced last year, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the new bail laws were "sensible, proportionate and necessary".
"They address the most urgent changes needed to our bail system so that those involved in minor offending don't have a major life setback because of it," she said.
Other changes 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.
Chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), Nerita Waight, said the new laws will come into effect after a long fight by Ms Nelson's family.
"Victoria's unfair and discriminatory bail laws put Veronica in prison for minor shop-lifting related charges. Veronica passed away in that prison, alone and isolated from culture and support," Ms Waight said.
"These laws are a testament to the strength and perseverance of Veronica's family, particularly her life partner Uncle Percy Lovett, and her mother Aunty Donna Nelson.
"These laws will reduce the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in custody unsentenced. These laws bring us one step closer to ensuring that what happened to Veronica never happens again."
Critics of the new laws say they don't go far enough, with many calling for the adoption of the reforms proposed by Ms Nelson's family - to be known as Poccum's Law.
This criticism was exacerbated last week when it was revealed the Victorian government had backflipped on their promise to give children presumption of bail. Health, legal and Indigenous groups expressed their outrage, arguing it would only result in children spending further time in prison.
Data from 2023 showed more than a third (37.4 per cent) of people in detention in Victoria were not sentenced, a figure which is even higher for women, young children and First Nations Victorians.
VALS previously said highlighted data from 2022, where in eight out of the first nine months of the year, 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.
"This decision is a betrayal to Aboriginal children in Victoria, and to the legacy of Veronica Nelson's family, who have fought so hard to bring about a fairer bail system," Ms Waight said of the government's U-turn.
"The Victorian Government must implement Poccum's Law in full so that bail hearings are fair, and remand is only used as a last resort.
"For our children, for our communities, and for Veronica."
