August 27, 2025 | Katie Wand
Despite many months of powerful advocacy from human rights and other expert community groups and Aboriginal organisations, the Victorian Government has passed the Bail Further Amendment Bill 2025. This will unreasonably restrict access to bail and increase the already skyrocketing number of unsentenced people in Victorian prisons.
Community legal centres have advocated against dangerous changes to bail laws that have been implemented this year.
The latest amendments include two key inclusions: the “high harm/high degree of probability” test; and the “two step/two strike” single uplift rule.
The “high harm/high degree of probability” bail test will apply to people accused of repeat offending for the following offences: aggravated home invasion, aggravated carjacking, armed robbery, aggravated burglary, home invasion, and carjacking. The high harm test requires a bail decision maker to be satisfied that there is a high degree of probability that the alleged offender will not commit another high harm offence in order to grant bail. This will apply to all ages, and is a permanent measure.
The “two strike/two step” single uplift rule will require those on bail who commit another indictable offence to meet the show compelling reasons test to be granted bail. There are some indictable offences which are exempt from this test, but the net is widened to include low level, non-violent and poverty related offending. A similar uplift test was previously repealed, and described by the Coroner’s Court of Victoria as an “unmitigated disaster” after the tragic death in custody of Veronica Nelson.”
Community legal centres work with victims of crime, people experiencing structural disadvantages, people in or at risk of entering the criminal legal system, Aboriginal people, people with disabilty and young people. Across the spectrum of our work in the community, it is clear that incarceration and disproportionately severe responses in the criminal legal system do not reduce crime or keep communities safe. Instead, this leads to unnecessary interaction with the criminal legal system, which fuels recidivism and entrenches disadvantage.
On the other hand, investment in early intervention and rehabilitation prevents offending in its first instance, and supports offenders to exit cycles of offending and disadvantage. However, this is not the path the government has taken.
When people are on remand, they lose access to important services, such as mental health, social work, and drug and alcohol services, which help many people at risk of offending to move away from crime. We are particularly concerned about the impact that the new legislation will have on young people, Aboriginal people, and people with a disability, who are most at risk of offending, and who will suffer the most when access to the necessary supports and services is restricted.
During the debates last night, sensible amendments to safeguard victim survivors of family violence from being wrongfully implicated and held on remand were raised and rejected. This speaks to a broader concern - policies driven more by politics than by evidence or a genuine commitment to safety.
Community legal centres urge the Victorian Government to reconsider the amendments to Victoria’s bail laws, which are now the most restrictive of any Australian state or territory. We are deeply concerned that this legislation will only serve to increase the number of unsentenced people in Victoria’s already stretched prisons, without improving community safety in the long term.
The community legal sector’s advocacy for bail laws that are fair and safe has been led by Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS).
Louisa Gibbs, CEO at the Federation said:
“Community legal centres across the state are thinking of the diverse people they work with who will be affected by last night’s announcement that the bail amendments will be passed into law. We all want safe communities, but this is achieved through addressing the causes of criminalisation, not creating more pathways to incarceration.
"Governments make good law when they work with and listen to frontline organisations that are part of local communities, such as community legal centres. There is clear evidence that the Victorian Government could have chosen to listen to – in reports, inquiries, testimonies and as told by Aboriginal voices – that incarceration fails to reduce crime in the long run. Investment in social services is needed instead.
“We stand in solidarity with Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, as it continues to advocate for justice for First Nations Peoples, and will continue to advocate for bail laws that are fair, safe and that are proven to reduce offending.”
