Wednesday, 30 July 2025

Ministers statements: bail laws

Sonya KILKENNY (Carrum – Attorney-General, Minister for Planning) (14:17): I am very pleased to update the house on how the Allan Labor government is keeping our community safe with Australia’s toughest bail laws. Our position is crystal clear: community safety must come first and the rules must be respected.

In March we passed our first tranche of changes to strengthen our bail laws, and they have already sent a jolt right through the system. Remand numbers for adults and young offenders are up by more than 20 per cent and bail revocations are increasing. We have made it crystal clear to bail decision makers that community safety is the overarching principle in every bail decision. We have removed remand as a last resort for young offenders and we have introduced two bail offences, because there must be consequences for people who do not respect the rules. If you commit another crime while already on bail, you will be charged with a further and separate offence and bail should be much harder to get again. We are making it harder for people to get bail for serious high-harm offences. People charged with armed robbery, aggravated burglary, home invasion, carjacking, serious arson, firearms and weapons offences, stealing a motor vehicle and endangering life will face tougher bail tests the first time around. Our laws are the toughest in the country as we continue to crack down on the crimes we know are driving fear, anger and distress in our communities, and we are listening to our communities and we are responding.

Community safety should also never be driven by profit, and nor should people be able to buy bail. That is why we have been clear: private unregistered companies must be banned from providing electronic monitoring services of people on bail. With more people held to account and more action taken when bail is breached, our government could not be clearer or firmer: the safety of all Victorians comes first.