Updates

March 03, 2026

Reunification of families is always the preferred outcome for children. New legislation could strengthen pathways for bringing families back together.

Victorian community legal centres support the Children, Youth & Families (Stability) Bill 2025 (Vic), which has passed the Assembly and is expected to be debated in the Council this week.

February 20, 2026

Reform that will hold institutions accountable for historic abuse is a win for victim survivors

Community legal centres welcome the passing of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Vicarious Liability for Child Abuse) Bill 2025 in Parliament on 17 February 2026. These reforms reflect a commitment to accountability, fairness, and the dignity of victim survivors of institutional child abuse. We commend the Victorian Government for taking action to address this critical issue. 

February 06, 2026

Community legal centres welcome reform that will reduce the risk of misidentification for victim survivors

The Federation of Community Legal Centres (the Federation) welcomes the passing of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Act 2025, particularly its focus on tackling misidentification of the predominant aggressor and introducing a minimum age for respondents to Family Violence Intervention Orders (FVIOs).

December 09, 2025

Six-month “designated area” across Melbourne CBD will intensify racial profiling, criminalisation and trauma — community legal centres warn of serious harms to people already facing crisis

Community legal centres are concerned that the Victoria Police declaration of a vast “designated area” covering much of Melbourne’s CBD, Southbank, Docklands, major shopping centres and key transport hubs is a dangerous escalation of police powers that will disproportionately harm communities already over-policed and under-protected.

December 02, 2025

The Victorian Government’s law and order agenda won’t make communities safer – time is running out to block this disastrous bill

Today, the Victorian Government introduced the Justice Legislation Amendment (Community Safety) Bill 2025 to the Legislative Assembly of Victoria. The bill includes a range of reforms that will cause direct harm to children who are already experiencing violence, trauma and abuse while failing to achieve community safety.

The Victorian community legal sector is united in rejecting this legislation. Through our work with children at risk of entering or in the criminal legal system as well as victims of crime, we know that locking children up exacerbates the drivers of crime and represents a significant failure of multiple systems that are supposed to keep children and communities safe.