‘Shame on this government’: Victorian government under fire over bid to remove prisoners’ daily outdoor access

Last month, the government introduced the Corrections Amendment Bill 2026, dubbed the “No Air” Bill by critics, which would remove prisoners’ legislated entitlement to one hour of outdoor time each day, weather permitting.

The proposed legislation has been developed in response to a recent Supreme Court judgment in Marrogi, which found that denying a prisoner one hour of open-air access each day breached both the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic) and the state’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.

Since the bill was announced, a growing chorus of legal and human rights organisations has spoken out against the proposed reforms, warning they could weaken protections for people in custody and cause significant harm.

The Federation of Community Legal Centres is among those raising the alarm over the proposed amendments, warning that removing prisoners’ minimum daily entitlement to outdoor access could put Victoria in breach of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Mandela Rules.

Louisa Gibbs, CEO of the Federation of Community Legal Centres, warned the proposed reforms could send a troubling message that human rights protections may be set aside when upholding them becomes an administrative challenge for the government.

“Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and we should be celebrating the protection it provides to the basic human rights and freedoms of all members of our community,” Gibbs said.

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“Instead, what the Corrections Amendment Bill demonstrates is that Victorians can no longer rely on the government to uphold their human rights in cases that cause administrative challenges.”

“It’s incredibly concerning that the Victorian government is willing to ignore basic human rights in favour of prisons’ operational convenience.”

Gibbs argued there was no place for the proposed bill in a jurisdiction committed to protecting human rights, calling for the legislation to be “immediately withdrawn”.

The non-profit organisation has also criticised the proposed legislation for removing prisoners’ ability to seek compensation for harm caused by being denied their existing right to one hour of outdoor access each day.

Concerns have also intensified over the potential impact of the proposed changes on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. The Federation of Community Legal Centres warned that the bill could pose significant risks to their “social and emotional wellbeing”, as well as broader “health outcomes”.

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Nerita Waight slammed the proposed changes as a troubling attack on human rights, questioning what other protected rights could be overridden next.

“The Charter of Human Rights is being overridden because this government doesn’t want to ensure access to fresh air, a protected human right,” Waight said.

“What protected human rights are next, and for what defensible purpose? … Shame on this government.”

Waight also warned that the proposed reforms risk turning prisons into places of punishment rather than rehabilitation, arguing that cutting access to fresh air could inflict lasting harm, undermine community safety, and leave the public to shoulder the resulting health costs.

“We are now in a treaty era and instead of seeing meaningful reforms that benefit all Victorians, all we have witnessed this year are rolling punitive reforms that are ill-informed, dangerous and premised on securing votes in November,” Waight said.

“All Victorians should be alarmed at this deliberate and wilful act of punitive punishment to people who are incarcerated.

“There is nothing rehabilitative about removing someone’s access to fresh air; this will only further erode community safety and be a costly exercise in public health funding responding to the trauma and harm inflicted. Human rights are to be protected and upheld, not wilfully ignored.”