The passing of Victoria's second tranche of bail reforms will push vulnerable people into prison and further criminalise disadvantage, advocates have warned.

On Tuesday night, the Bail Further Amendment Bill 2025 passed parliament despite strong opposition from Indigenous, human rights and legal groups.

The government says the legislation will make it "almost impossible" for repeat offenders to get bail, extending changes introduced earlier this year. The reforms include a "second strike" rule for people already on bail who commit further offences, and a broader bail test based on controversial New South Wales laws; applying to both adults and children.

A reasoned amendment in the upper house by the Greens, which called for the bill to be withdrawn and not reintroduced until the Government commits to changes so that it "does not exacerbate the risk of human rights abuses" and doesn't "result in disproportionate incarceration of vulnerable groups, including women and First Nations peoples, leading to deaths in custody," was defeated.

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) said the measures represent a "crisis" for Aboriginal people, many of whom will be held on remand without being found guilty; "unable to remain connected to family, community and culture, or access support services".

"It would be nice to see Victoria prioritise the needs of those most vulnerable above those with the loudest voices and deepest pockets," a spokesperson said.

VALS chief executive Nerita Waight accused the government of putting politics above community safety.

"Minister [Enver] Erdogan spoke to this government's vision of a 'modern, effective and humane' justice system. I find this language deeply disturbing when we know that our people have continued to suffer at the hands of the colonial state and the systems they created to this end," Ms Waight said.

She added that while the government "acknowledged the link between the cost of living crisis and how that can lead to low-level poverty-related crimes," the bill "will be making it so much worse for our people".

The state budget has allocated funds to expand the prison system by almost 1,000 adult beds and add 88 more youth justice places, alongside increased support services intended to reduce reoffending.

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

First Nations Justice Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, Maggie Munn, said the new laws undermine reforms made in response to the death in custody of Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Nelson.

"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," they said.

"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."

Veronica Nelson died in a "vomit-ridden" cell from a rare gastrointestinal condition after being arrested for alleged shoplifting and denied bail. A coroner later described the bail regime at the time as an "unmitigated disaster".

Although reforms followed after her death, earlier this year, Premier Jacinta Allan said those changes were "wrong".

Munn said Victoria's courts are "already facing severe backlogs and prisons already at breaking point", warning the new bail laws would worsen the situation.

Lawyers have told National Indigenous Times some Aboriginal clients have been unable to attend Koori Court bail applications due to transport issues or overcrowded courthouse cells, leaving them on remand even longer.

Both the Human Rights Law Centre and VALS also criticised the reforms as contradictory to the government's commitment to Treaty, which passed Cabinet this week and is expected to be introduced to Parliament shortly.

"This government has laid a legal tripwire for our people. On the one hand we have a government celebrating this country's toughest bail laws, and on the other we on the cusp of finalising this country's first Treaty," Waight said.

"The plethora of agreements in place to address the overincarceration of our people appear meaningless. We will not let Treaty be afforded the same fate, and ensure justice through Treaty is realised."

Munn added: "The Allan Government cannot claim to support Treaty and truth-telling while entrenching the mass incarceration of First Nations people."