Youthlaw has condemned the Victorian Government’s proposed overhaul of the youth justice system, describing it as rushed, punitive, and dangerously out of step with evidence-based approaches to reducing youth crime.
Under the proposed changes, children aged 14 to 17 who commit certain serious offences could be sentenced as adults. The laws will apply to offences including aggravated home invasion, intentionally or recklessly causing injury in circumstances of gross violence, carjacking, and serious or repeat aggravated burglary and armed robbery.
Currently, the maximum sentence that can be imposed in the Children’s Court is three years for a single offence. These reforms would mean that a 14 year old child could face life imprisonment – ending Victoria’s long-held principle that children should be treated differently to adults in the criminal legal system.
Youthlaw’s CEO Lee Carnie said the proposed laws represent a “dangerous retreat from recent evidence-based progress” in youth justice in Victoria.
“This is an alarming step backwards. The government is proposing treating children as adults, when all the evidence shows that locking children up for longer only increases reoffending and entrenches disadvantage,” Lee Carnie said.
“These laws are being rushed through without consultation with youth justice experts, lawyers, or community organisations who work directly with affected young people. This approach is reactive, not reform.”
Youthlaw and other youth justice advocates warn that these changes will disproportionately impact children from disadvantaged backgrounds, including higher numbers of children with disabilities, children in out of home care, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are already significantly overrepresented in Victoria’s youth justice system.
“Children who end up in youth prisons are often victims of trauma, family violence, and neglect,” Lee Carnie said. “Children who commit crimes after being victims of crime themselves need rehabilitation, education, and support – not harsher punishment and longer prison sentences.”
Youthlaw is calling on the Victorian Government to immediately halt the proposed legislation and engage in genuine consultation with youth legal experts, community organisations, and Aboriginal community leaders before making changes that will have life-altering consequences for young people across the state.
“We all want our communities to be safe,” Lee Carnie said. “But real community safety comes from prevention, not punishment. Investing in early intervention, mental healthcare, education and family support is what keeps children in classrooms, not prison cells.”
Youthlaw is Victoria’s statewide specialist community legal centre for children and young people under 25.
Media contact:
CEO, Youthlaw
0402 088 060 | [email protected]