The Human Rights Law Centre has strongly criticised the Allan government’s recent bail law reforms, warning of the profound and disproportionate impact they will have on First Nations communities.
Last week, the Allan government passed the second tranche of its bail reforms through Parliament under the Bail Further Amendment Bill 2025, introducing changes to both the Bail Act 1979 and the Summary Offences Act 1966.
Under the second tranche, a new “high degree of probability” bail test has been introduced for repeat offenders accused of six serious crimes while on bail, including aggravated home invasion, carjacking, armed robbery, and burglary.
Set to take effect on 26 March 2026, the second tranche will also implement a two-step test for denying bail, extending to non-violent and poverty-related offences such as theft.
In response, the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) has sharply criticised the Victorian government’s new bail laws, warning that they will “put more First Nations people behind bars, harm families and communities, and condemn more people to the damage and trauma of police and prison cells”.
The HRLC argued that the reforms “undermine people’s fundamental rights to liberty, presumed innocence and equality” under Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, while disregarding the “degrading” conditions of overcrowded prisons and police cells.
Earlier this year, the Allan government passed the first tranche of its bail laws, introducing tougher bail tests for several serious crimes, re-establishing certain bail offences, and removing the principle of remand as a last resort for children.
The first tranche also grants “police officers [the authority] to bring that person to court directly” if they are arrested for breaching bail, removing the previous requirement to wait for a bail justice.
The HRLC has warned that the first tranche is already having “devastating consequences”, contributing to “severe overcrowding” in Victoria’s prisons, resulting in “rolling lockdowns”, while data shows that First Nations adults are now “more likely” than ever to be denied bail.
Maggie Munn, First Nations Justice director at the HRLC, has described the new bail laws passed by the Victorian government as “some of the most dangerous, discriminatory, and unjust bail laws in the country”.
“The Allan government has shamefully turned its back on reforms that came into effect after the tragic and preventable death in custody of Veronica Nelson, a proud Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman,” Munn said.
“The Allan government cannot claim to support [the] treaty and truth-telling while entrenching the mass incarceration of First Nations people.
“These laws are a disaster waiting to happen, and are part of a disturbing trend across the country towards regressive policies that are putting more First Nations people behind bars and driving up the number of untried and unsentenced people in prison.
“With Victoria’s courts already facing severe backlogs and prisons already at breaking point, these laws will exacerbate the risk of human rights abuses and deaths in custody.”
Rather than implementing the new bail laws, Munn urged the government to consider alternative reforms and invest in community-based supports to genuinely improve safety in Victoria.
“Instead of dangerous and discriminatory laws, the Allan government should be implementing Poccum’s Law to make Victoria’s bail laws safer and fairer for everyone, and investing in community-based and self-determined supports that address why people come into contact with the criminal legal system in the first place,” Munn noted.
