The Justice Legislation Amendment (Community Safety) Bill 2025 introduces some of the most significant changes to Victorian criminal law in years. Here is what has changed — and why some of those changes deserve careful scrutiny. \

Written by Angus Cameron, principal of Angus Cameron and Partners, Melbourne criminal defence lawyers.

What the Bill Does

The Justice Legislation Amendment (Community Safety) Bill 2025 was introduced by the Victorian Government under the banner of its 'Adult Time for Violent Crime' policy. The Bill makes changes across several areas of criminal law, with a particular focus on youth offending, violent crime, and knife-related offending.

Children to face adult courts for serious offences

Children aged 15 to 17 charged with home invasion, aggravated home invasion, aggravated carjacking, or intentionally or recklessly causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence must now be dealt with in the County Court — without exception. For 14-year-olds, the default is the same, though the matter may remain in the Children's Court where the child has a cognitive impairment or mental illness, where there are substantial and compelling reasons to do so, or where it is in the victim's best interests.

Higher maximum penalties

The Bill increases maximum penalties for a number of serious offences. Aggravated home invasion and aggravated carjacking will now carry a maximum of life imprisonment, up from 25 years. Intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence increases from 20 to 25 years, and recklessly causing serious injury in similar circumstances increases from 15 to 20 years. Recruiting a child to engage in criminal activity increases from 10 to 15 years.

Sentencing principles for children rewritten

The Bill amends the sentencing considerations that apply in the Children's Court, requiring judges to emphasise community safety, consider the impact of offending on victims, and removing the existing requirement that imprisonment be treated as a measure of last resort for children.

A new knife crime offence

The Bill creates a new offence of using a knife in the commission of certain serious offences, including intentionally or recklessly causing injury, assault with intent to commit an indictable offence, affray, and violent disorder. The offence carries a maximum of three years' imprisonment, on top of the penalty for the underlying offence.

Carjacking extended to protect children in vehicles

The carjacking offence is amended to apply where a person steals a vehicle with a child under 10 present inside, even where no force or threat of force is used. Importantly, it is irrelevant whether the accused knew the child was in the vehicle.

Concerns About the Legislation

While some elements of the Bill are sensible — the knife crime offence and the child-in-vehicle carjacking amendment in particular — the centrepiece reforms raise legitimate concerns.

Mandatory transfer of children to adult courts removes all judicial discretion. Children's Court magistrates, who often have deep expertise in child protection, will have no role in the most serious cases. Yet the evidence is consistent: young people processed through adult courts reoffend at higher rates than those dealt with through specialist youth justice processes. The Yoorrook Justice Commission found that punitive responses to children are likely to increase, not reduce, future involvement in the criminal justice system.

There is also a broader concern that this Bill reflects a troubling trend: the incremental erosion of judicial discretion through legislative prescription. The ability of a judge to assess the individual before them — their circumstances, culpability, and prospects — and to craft an appropriate sentence is not a modern invention. It is a principle embedded in centuries of common law, and one that underpins the separation of powers.

Experience suggests that the restriction of judicial discretion can distort the operation of court process, shifting decision-making from Judges to prosecutors, whose charging decisions become the de facto sentence, made in a far less transparent and accountable process. This Bill does not sit in isolation. It is part of a pattern of legislative measures that have progressively constrained what Victorian courts can do.

Equally troubling is the removal of 'custody as a last resort' from the sentencing principles that apply to children. It is worth considering what that principle actually means. It does not prevent children from being imprisoned — the Children's Court already sentences children to custody for serious offending when necessary. What it does is require a court to satisfy itself that no other option will do before sending a child to prison. That is not a soft or permissive standard. It is a fundamental safeguard that reflects something most people would instinctively accept: that imprisoning a child is an action of last resort.

What This Means in Practice

For anyone facing charges under this new regime — or for the families of young people who are — the practical implications are significant. Children charged with the specified offences will now be dealt with in an adult court, under adult procedural rules, and will face the prospect of lengthy sentences. Experienced legal representation, obtained as early as possible, is essential.

If you or someone you know is affected by these changes, contact Angus Cameron and Partners for advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What offences now require children to be heard in the County Court?

Under the reforms, children aged 15–17 charged with home invasion, aggravated home invasion, aggravated carjacking, or intentionally or recklessly causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence must be dealt with in the County Court. For 14-year-olds, the same default applies with limited exceptions.

What is the new knife crime offence introduced by the Bill?

The Bill creates a new offence of using a knife in the commission of certain serious offences — including affray, assault with intent to commit an indictable offence, intentionally or recklessly causing injury, and violent disorder. It carries a maximum of 3 years' imprisonment on top of the penalty for the underlying offence, and is charged as a separate count.

What are the new maximum penalties for aggravated home invasion and aggravated carjacking?

Both offences now carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, increased from 25 years. These are among the highest penalties in Victorian law and place these offences in the same category as murder.

What should I do if my child has been charged with one of these serious offences?

Contact a specialist criminal defence lawyer immediately. Under the new laws, the consequences of serious charges have become significantly more severe for young people. Early legal advice is essential — both for the conduct of the proceedings and for understanding the sentencing landscape your child now faces.

Can the County Court still take a young person's age into account when sentencing?

Yes. Transfer to the County Court does not strip the court of its ability to take age into account as a mitigating factor. The sentencing principles in the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) still apply, including the capacity to consider personal circumstances, culpability, and prospects of rehabilitation. However, the mandatory transfer removes the expertise of the Children's Court and changes the default sentencing framework.

Related Guides

You may also find the following guides useful:

• Home Invasion — offence elements and penalties