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‘Dangerous and discriminatory’: Lawyers slam proposed bail laws in Victoria
In light of the Victorian government introducing what it calls the “toughest bail laws in Australia”, legal organisations have voiced significant concern about the proposed updates.
Grace Robbie
On 12 March, the Allan Labor government unveiled what it described as the “toughest bail laws in Australia”, with the Tough Bail Bill set to be presented to Parliament in the coming week.
The Victorian government said this legislation would “prevent reoffending and keep Victoria safe”, arguing that the existing system is “not tough enough and does not reflect the expectations of victims or the public”.
Under the proposed bill, a new bail test will be introduced, which the Allan government labels as the “toughest bail test ever”. It is designed to make it “extremely difficult” for individuals accused of serious crimes to be granted bail – especially if they are already on bail for similar offences.
Additionally, the bill proposes to raise the bar for several serious crimes, including gun-related offences, arson, and various knife and weapon crimes, subjecting them to stricter bail conditions.
Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan stated that the new bail laws would “jolt the system”, prioritising “community safety above all” and ensuring “toughest bail laws ever” with “strong consequences” for those who breach the rules.
Following the announcement, numerous legal organisations raised considerable concerns regarding the proposed bail laws and the detrimental effects they may have on Indigenous individuals and children in Victoria.
The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) accused the Victorian government of “reviving the worst of dangerous and discriminatory bail laws” that would “harm Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and generations of Victorian children by keeping people needlessly locked away in pre-trial detention”.
The legal body argued that the current bail laws are “already incompatible with the state’s Charter of Human Rights” and that the proposed changes would only exacerbate the issue.
Maggie Munn, First Nations justice director at HRLC, criticised the proposed laws as “some of the most dangerous, discriminatory and unjust bail laws in the country”.
Munn raised how these proposed changes “fly in the face of findings from past coronial inquests into Aboriginal deaths in custody, as well as countless recommendations, reports and minimum standards at a national and international level”.
Instead of “funnelling people into prisons to be warehoused on remand”, HRLC urged the Victorian government to “invest in housing, community-based supports and alternative pathways that address the unmet needs that are causing contact with the criminal legal system in the first place”.
First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria has also expressed strong opposition, warning that the new bail laws could perpetuate systemic discrimination and lead to the over-criminalisation of First Nations communities.
The legal body pointed out that the “rushed bail changes” come just months after previous amendments to bail laws, which were introduced “following the coronial inquest into the death of Veronica Nelson, who died in custody after being denied bail for minor charges”.
Rueben Berg, co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly, cautioned that the hasty introduction of this law “risks repeating past mistakes”.
He said: “The evidence is clear: rushed, knee-jerk reforms will disproportionately harm Aboriginal people, lumping petty offences together with serious crimes under the same laws.”
In their view, the Victorian government should instead prioritise the allocation of funding towards “diversion and alternative pathways”, as “safe and strong communities are built by addressing the root causes of crime”.
The Victorian Bar and Criminal Bar Association of Victoria also weighed in, warning that they could “adversely impact young people in a manner not to the long-term benefit of the community”.
The legal organisation argued that remanding children in custody should “not be the default position” but rather should occur only as a “rare situation” as young people who are kept in custodial environments are “vulnerable to malign influence and physical risk”.
The Victorian Bar has articulated that the proposed bail law reforms “seek to roll back” numerous measures implemented by the government over the past 12 months, which coroner Simon McGregor recommended following the inquest into the death of Veronica Nelson.
They stressed that a more effective approach would involve diverting young offenders from the criminal justice system “through the proper funding of education, treatment and support services for all children interacting with the criminal justice system”.
