November 12, 2025 | Katie Wand
The Federation of Community Legal Centres strongly opposes the Victorian Government’s proposed youth justice sentencing reforms, which would introduce life sentences for aggravated home invasions and aggravated carjackings, escalate certain cases from the Children’s Court to the County Court, and expose children to adult sentencing powers in the County Court for a number of offences.
These reforms take an “adult crime, adult time” approach that does not reflect expert advice or the abundance of evidence showing that incarcerating children causes long-term harm for children, families and communities. It does not make anyone safer.
Moving children out of the Children’s Court and into adult jurisdictions undermines decades of evidence demonstrating that age-appropriate responses are essential to prevent reoffending and support rehabilitation. Children’s unique capacity for change is well-established, and early intervention consistently delivers far better public safety outcomes than punitive measures.
Subjecting a 14-year-old – almost always a child experiencing trauma, family violence, homelessness, or system neglect — to the possibility of a life sentence is not justice. It is a catastrophic failure of policy and a denial of what we know about adolescent development, impulse control, and the drivers of youth offending. A single mistake made in the context of trauma should not define a child's entire life.
These reforms will fall disproportionately on Aboriginal children, children in out-of-home care, and children with disability — groups already overrepresented in the justice system due to systemic discrimination, disadvantage, and unmet support needs.
Community legal centres work every day with young people who are disconnected from school, fleeing unsafe homes, traumatised by violence, or grappling with unmet mental health needs. These are children who need support, not incarceration; pathways out, not life sentences.
We also work with victim-survivors of violence and know that they are seeking real solutions to prevent youth crime from happening in the first place. Services that work stop family violence, child abuse, homelessness, trauma and systems harm will prevent the root causes of criminal behaviour, and provide the reduction in youth crime that victims are calling for.
The government should invest in what works: early intervention, family support, community-led prevention programs, culturally safe services, and trauma-informed responses. These approaches have demonstrated time and time again that they reduce harm and enhance community safety.
The Federation calls on the Victorian Government to reject these regressive measures and recommit to a fair, effective, and evidence-based youth justice system.
Louisa Gibbs, CEO at the Federation said: “Community legal centres, who work with both victims of crime and children at risk of entering or in the criminal legal system, unanimously and vehemently oppose the dramatic changes to the youth justice sentencing reforms.
“Adopting an evidence-based, child-centric and preventative approach to youth offending isn’t being ‘soft on crime’ – it’s pragmatic policy based on evidence of what works best for individuals and community safety. Let’s recognise that locking kids up is a sure way to create cycles of recidivism, and that social and health responses are the true pathways to safety for everyone in our community.”
Nerita Waight, CEO at Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service said: “Today as we are signing Victoria’s first Treaty, at the same time the Premier wants to sign kids’ lives away who make a mistake. Shame on this government, shame on the Premier and shame on this cabinet for allowing your leader to push this agenda on our kids. Victoria is a cruel and unforgiving state where children cannot make a mistake. Punishing trauma is not the answer.
“The Premier explains away this announcement speaking as a parent, but we need a leader. A leader that understands what policy and programmatic interventions address the underlying causes of offending behaviour. Youth Justice centres are already overwhelmed, conditions will continue to deteriorate, and it is only a matter of time until we are mourning the loss of a child at the hands of the state.”
Lee Carnie, CEO at Youthlaw said: “Moving children into adult courts will only fast-track their path into adult prisons. The Victorian Government should be investing in youth-specific early intervention programs that prevent crime, not dismantling systems that work.”
”Imposing life sentences on children is out of step with Australia’s international human rights obligations and ignores everything we know about children’s capacity to change.”
“Removing the Children’s Court’s role would strip away the specialist expertise that actually helps reduce reoffending. The Children’s Court exists for a reason – because evidence about children’s brain development shows 14 to 17 year olds need to be treated differently from adults, and our legal system needs to recognise that fact."
“Most kids who commit serious offences have already lived through violence, abuse and neglect. These children need intensive support and accountability, not a life behind bars.”
Monique Hurley, Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre: “Children deserve care, not cages and adult prison sentences. The Allan Government’s proposed laws will condemn children as young as 14 to irreversible harm and an incredibly bleak future behind bars.
“If the Premier cared about children and community safety, she would urgently invest in supports – like housing, health care and community-led programs – which help young people and strengthen communities.”
