Category Archives: Updates

Bail Saves Lives: Poccum’s Law is the Way Forward

This week the Victorian Government will table a Bill to amend provisions of the Bail Act 1977 and the Youth Justice Act 2024. The proposed amendments are being touted by the government as ‘Australia’s toughest bail laws’. The proposed reforms will have an incredibly harmful impact on vulnerable communities, especially Aboriginal women and children who are experiencing family violence.

Youthlaw statement on proposed bail reform laws

The Victorian government intention to introduce harsher bail laws is not smart or evidenced based.  Stricter bail laws will not make the community safer. It will not reduce crime.  

Many media outlets have been professionally irresponsible producing alarmist rand exaggerated reporting of youth crime.

What is really going on with Youth Crime? 

What is really going on with Youth Crime? 

Youth Crime has long been a hot button topic in the news cycle. There is fear mongering, sensationalism and general misrepresentation of statistics to paint the picture of a country in crisis, with youth running wild and making us unsafe in our homes. 

Youthlaw’s submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system.

The government recently announced that there will be an inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system.

As an issue which impacts many of the young people that we assist.

We prepared a submission for the Committee to consider which covers the impacts of recent changes we’ve seen (both positive and negative), issues we see on the ground, and our asks of the Committee.