Justice - Parliament of Victoria

Law change for victim-survivors of institutional child abuse

Justice | 27 February 2026

Institutions including the Catholic Church in Victoria can now be sued for the actions of employees or similar, such as priests and other clergy.

Victoria expands legal definition of family violence

Justice | 23 February 2026

Reforms passed by the Victorian Parliament have broadened the legal definition of family violence to now capture behaviours such as stalking and systems abuse.

Increased penalties for abusing frontline workers

Justice | 12 December 2025

Parliament has passed legislation aimed at curbing violence and abuse against customer-facing workers in retail, hospitality, fast food, and passenger transport sectors.

Apology to First Peoples motion passes Parliament

Justice | 9 December 2025

The Parliament has passed a motion apologising to First Peoples and acknowledging past injustice in a sitting of the Legislative Assembly to which Legislative Council members were invited.

Legislation targets ‘culture of secrecy’ with NDA reform

Justice | 29 November 2025

Victoria is set to become the first Australian jurisdiction to significantly restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in workplace sexual harassment cases, following the passage of the Restricting Non-disclosure Agreements (Sexual Harassment at Work) Bill 2025.

Bail debate returns to parliament

Justice | 22 August 2025

More legislation to strengthen bail laws in Victoria has gone before the Legislative Assembly.

New 'post-and-boast' offence debated

Justice | 6 August 2025

The Legislative Assembly has debated legislation creating a new offence that targets the act of ‘posting and boasting’ about serious crimes on social media.

New protections for home builders debated

Justice | 8 April 2025

The Legislative Assembly has debated legislation aimed at addressing issues in the housing and construction sectors and strengthening consumer protections for homeowners.

Building the evidence base on family violence

Justice | 3 April 2025

A parliamentary committee has called for improved data collection on people who use family violence.

Anti-vilification legislation debate in Upper House

Justice | 7 March 2025

Proposed legislation to strengthen and reform anti-vilification laws in Victoria has reached the Legislative Council for rigorous debate.

Bill to streamline committal processes debated

Justice | 6 December 2024

Victoria’s Parliament is considering reforms to criminal procedure laws to replace the current committal test with an improved case management process.

Tobacco licensing scheme debated

Justice | 22 November 2024

The Legislative Assembly has considered legislation to create a new licensing scheme for tobacco retailers.

Early legal intervention helps avoid crisis

Justice | 18 October 2024

When clients present at one of Victoria’s 50 Community Legal Centres they often do so with a range of problems that go beyond a simple legal issue.