Youthlaw has today given evidence to the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into Public School Funding, warning that the decision to delay raising public school funding to 75% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) until 2031 will have serious consequences for children and young people experiencing disadvantage.
The Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Bill, also known as the Women’s Safety Package, recently passed in Victoria. The Bill reflects the voices of victim-survivors and the expertise of the community legal sector, including Youthlaw.
Positive family violence reforms for young VictoriansYouthlaw welcomes many aspects of the Bill which reflects the Victorian Government’s commitment to improving safety for women and children experiencing family violence.
The Victorian Government’s ‘adult time for violent crime’ youth justice sentencing reforms tabled today ignore warnings from legal experts and clear evidence that show harsher penalties for children do not reduce rates of reoffending or improve community safety.
Youthlaw has obtained independent legal advice from Senior Counsel Michael Stanton and Cameron Moir from the Victorian Bar about the legality and potential human right implications of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Community Safety) Bill 2025 (Vic).
Dear Premier,
We, the undersigned community organisations, write to express our deep concern and strong opposition to the Victorian Government’s proposed youth justice changes, which would allow children as young as 14 to be sentenced in adult courts and face life imprisonment.
