Attorney-General can’t say when ‘toughest bail laws in nation’ will be introduced

A crackdown on some of the state’s worst criminals is set to be introduced, but the Attorney-General says the new laws will only come into effect “when it’s safe to do so”.

Victoria’s Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny says the “toughest bail test in the nation” will not be introduced until there is enough room in the state’s prisons and “it is safe to do so”.

New laws to make it harder for courts to bail repeat offenders are set to be introduced into parliament on Tuesday with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan conceding more needs to be done to crack down on crime.

The laws – which form the Bail Further Amendment Bill 2025 – will set tougher new bail tests for high-risk offenders.

The new tests will apply to anyone on bail charged again with home invasions, carjackings, armed robberies and aggravated burglaries.

It means courts must refuse bail unless they are satisfied there is a high degree of probability the person will not commit one of these offences if bail were to granted again.

A new “second strike rule” will also be introduced for people already on bail who are accused of further offending.

The reform will make it harder for those charged with the reintroduced offence of ‘committing an indictable offence on bail’ to be released into the community.

The ‘uplift’ will apply to a range of offences, including burglary, motor vehicle theft, assaults, robbery, riot and affray, firearms and controlled weapons offences, sex offences, serious drug offence, theft above $2,500 and criminal damage caused by fire above $5,000.

The laws will set tougher new bail tests for high-risk offenders.

Outlined in the bill is a default start date of March 30 next year.

However, Ms Kilkenny could not say when the proposed second-strike rule would commence.

“The second strike law will commence shortly as the system capacity increases to be able to meet that increase in demand,” she said.

“There’s a default commencement date in the bill and we will be working very hard to get that measure implemented as soon as system capacity permits and it is safe to do so.”

“Anyone charged with one of the six offences, whilst out on bail for an offence like this, will face the toughest bail test in the nation,” Ms Kilkenny said.

Shadow Attorney General Michael O’Brien accused the government of “kicking the can down the road”.

“They postpone the machete ban, they’re postponing bail changes,” he said.

“They’re postponing protecting our kids.”

The laws will apply to alleged offenders of all ages.

Surging crime rates have for months dogged the government, forcing the Premier to wind back previous easing of bail laws.

The state opposition has sought to highlight crime as a key election issue, prompting moves by Labor to neutralise any potential attack points.

Earlier this year, the Herald Sun’s Suburbs Under Siege campaign demanded urgent reform to bail legislation amid the worsening crime crisis, especially among youth offenders.

The government said its reforms would be “subject to key safeguards to mitigate any disproportionate impact on vulnerable people”.

Human rights experts have publicly rallied against the government’s tougher bail laws, warning they disproportionately impact marginalised communities.

Victoria’s bail laws were tightened in 2018 following the Bourke St tragedy in which six people died and dozens were injured after a deadly rampage by killer driver James Gargasoulas.

Gargasoulas had a criminal history and had been on bail but went largely unchecked in the days before the incident, on January 20, 2017.

But the laws were later relaxed in 2023 making it easier for low-level offenders to stay out of prison.

Premier Jacinta Allan says ‘community safety will always come first’. Picture: David Geraghty

Critics of the changes attributed a surge in crime to the relaxed laws, as courts were free to repeatedly bail offenders despite their chequered history.

They were intended to address concerns the laws – then the most onerous in the country – disproportionately affected women, Aboriginals, children and disabled people.

However they were repeatedly exploited by recidivist offenders to stay out of jail.

They included a 14-year-old accused of a three-day crime spree who was bailed for the 50th time, leaving victims baffled.

Another teen, allegedly involved in the shocking attack on 15-year-old schoolboy Benjamin Phikhohpoom, was subsequently bailed eight times before being involved in an attack on police.

And another teen, who allegedly killed Ashburton man William Taylor, was also freed on bail despite going missing within 48 hours of his first release.

Attorney-General, Sonya Kilkenny said the laws would: “protect the community from serious repeat offenders who endanger Victorians, while ensuring vulnerable people aren’t unfairly caught up.”

The Allan government committed more than $700m to upgrades to the state’s prison network in this year’s state budget to address a planned surge in demand.

Originally published as Attorney-General can’t say when ‘toughest bail laws in nation’ will be introduced