VALS calls on Victorian politicians to commit to creating a youth justice system focused on providing children with the opportunities and support they need to build a better life for themselves.

Overnight the Legislative Council passed the Youth Justice Bill that will help reduce the overpolicing and overincarceration of Aboriginal children. VALS looks forward to the Bill passing through the Legislative Assembly and being enacted in due course.

VALS worked on the development of the Bill for over 5 years along with other members of the Aboriginal Justice Caucus. While the new Act will be a long way short of what we envisaged, there will be some important reforms that will help us get Aboriginal children out of the criminal legal system and keep them out. This includes:

• Improvements to warnings, cautions, and diversions;
• Steps towards Aboriginal self-determination;
• Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old;
• Codifying doli incapax, the presumption that children under 14 years old are incapable of criminal intent; and
• Expansion of restorative justice options.

The full benefit of these reforms will only become a reality if the Victorian Government invests in the services children need, services like Balit Ngulu, the only dedicated legal service for Aboriginal children in the state.

Fully funding Balit Ngulu is particularly urgent given the Victorian Government abandoned reforms to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years old, which means 12 and 13 year olds will continue to be subjected to overpolicing and needlessly dragged through the criminal legal system by being arrested and charged for behaviours they are incapable of understanding as seriously wrong.

The new Youth Justice Act is not the end of the journey and Victoria’s politicians should begin working to more significant reforms, including:

• Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old and the minimum age of detention to at least 16 years old;
• Implementing Poccum’s Law which would make bail laws simple and fair;
• Expanding the Koori Children’s Court;
• Banning isolation and routine strip searches in youth prisons; and
• An independent police complaints body.

VALS is very angry about how the Liberal and National parties attacked the Aboriginal self-determination provisions in the Bill. These attacks were racist and divisive. They are causing real harm to our people by abandoning Treaty and attacking what few rights our people have to build make our communities strong through connection to culture and community.

Quotes Attributable to Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service:

“Our children deserve to be safe and have the support they need to live a good life, connected to culture, community, and Country.”

“The Youth Justice Act will be a small step towards a better youth justice system, but it will require significant investment in community services and bigger reforms in the near future.”

“The Victorian Government should immediately fund Balit Ngulu to have lawyers across the state that can help Aboriginal children with all their legal services in a holistic and culturally safe way, especially given they have backtracked on commitments that would have reduced the over policing of our children.”

“While the Victorian Government abandoned its commitment to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years old and wound back their own bail reforms – Aboriginal communities will not be deterred. We will keep doing the work to ensure these reforms happen sooner rather than later.”

“The Liberal and National parties need to meet with Aboriginal communities and explain why they are actively taking racist positions on a series of policies, including the Youth Justice Bill, cultural heritage laws and Treaty. It is particularly hurtful when they target our children. If they want to talk about us, they should talk to us first.”