Bail Laws   

Politics
'Increasingly dangerous': Remand becoming the norm for First Nations defendants under harsh bail regimes
Bail laws and punitive policing which are driving more Aboriginal people into pr...
Dechlan Brennan 6 Feb 2026
'Punitive' bail laws driving surge in First Nations remand rates, report finds
First Nations people are being disproportionately held on remand under Australia...
Dechlan Brennan 4 Feb 2026
Bail crackdown credited with crime drop as NT prison population surges
A year after the introduction of its controversial bail laws, the Northern Terri...
Dechlan Brennan 12 Jan 2026
Long-held warnings from legal groups come to fruition as Victoria’s bail crackdown clogs courts
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the foll...
Dechlan Brennan 8 Jan 2026
High Court challenge to NT's 'punitive' bail laws launched
The Northern Territory's controversial bail laws — which have driven a sharp inc...
Dechlan Brennan 23 Dec 2025
A year of transformation and contradiction in Victoria

A historic Treaty signing — the first in the country's history — and the delivery of a monumental truth-telling report has been bookended by controversial law reforms and claims of betraya...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 19, 2025
Bail reform urged to close the gap, but advice likely to be ignored

State and territory governments have been urged by their own officials to overhaul bail laws to help reduce the climbing incarceration rates of Indigenous people and meet key Closing the Gap targets.

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Aaron Bunch Nov 15, 2025
Report finds unsentenced prisoners make up more than a third of Victoria’s prison population

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 proportio...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Oct 7, 2025
Raising the age but tightening bail: Victoria’s contradictory youth justice path remains

The raising of the age of criminal responsibility in Victoria to 12 officially came into effect on Tuesday, but Aboriginal and human rights groups continue to say the reform fall short of what is need...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Oct 1, 2025
Advocates warn Victoria’s new bail laws will criminalise disadvantage

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

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Aug 27, 2025
Victoria's tougher bail laws labelled dangerous by Indigenous and legal groups

A coalition of Indigenous and legal organisations has criticised Victoria's proposed second tranche of bail reforms, calling it a politically motivated "tough on crime" response that targets marginali...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Aug 6, 2025
"Bail saves lives": changes to Victoria's bail laws will take state backwards, Aboriginal Legal Service warns

A rally on the steps of Victorian Parliament has heard personal accounts of incarceration and fears for the future as the state government tabled further bail reforms inside on Wednesday.

Jarred Cross Jarred Cross Jul 30, 2025
NT Government under fire for incarceration crisis as calls increase to freeze Commonwealth funding

The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) has called for the suspension of Commonwealth funding for remote policing and justice operations in the Northern Territory, warning it is the onl...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jul 23, 2025
Proposed Victorian bail laws risk more Aboriginal deaths in custody, legal advocates warn

Warning: This report discusses suicide, mental health, and abuse. If you or anyone you know is affected, there are helplines at the end of the article.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jul 21, 2025
Victoria’s second wave of bail reforms branded a “disaster waiting to happen”

A coalition of justice groups has warned the second tranche of Victoria's bail law reforms, due to be introduced to Parliament in July, is a disaster waiting to happen.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jun 25, 2025
'A national disgrace': Indigenous children harmed by punitive laws, legal advocates say

Extreme laws and policies are having a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, legal experts have said. In an online forum hosted by the National Aboriginal and Torr...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan May 29, 2025
VALS: Justice funding misses the mark

It is clear what matters most for the Victorian government in the justice space is doubling down on areas that have failed in the past, the state's peak Indigenous legal organisation says.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan May 20, 2025
Victoria's budget fails to protect Aboriginal women - NATSIWA

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Alliance has expressed "deep concern and disappointment" at the Victorian government's 2025 State Budget, which allocates over $1 billion for...

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Nicole Brown May 15, 2025
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National Indigenous Times

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