Open Letter to the Premier

Dear Premier,

We, the undersigned community organisations, write to express our deep concern and strong opposition to the Victorian Government’s proposed youth justice changes, which would allow children as young as 14 to be sentenced in adult courts and face life imprisonment.

These proposals represent a serious step backwards for Victoria. They ignore strong evidence about child development, rehabilitation and human rights, and will cause lifelong harm while making our communities less safe.

Punishment is not prevention

The evidence is clear: harsher penalties and adult sentencing do not deter youth offending or improve community safety. Instead, they increase trauma, reoffending and long-term disadvantage. Children, especially those who have experienced abuse, neglect, disability, family violence, homelessness or exploitation, need support and rehabilitation, not prisons.

The Sentencing Advisory Council has confirmed that children are developmentally different from adults: they are more impulsive, less able to assess consequences, and far more capable of change. Treating children as adults contradicts this evidence.

Children deserve care, not prison cells

These proposals breach Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities and our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which require that imprisonment be a last resort and that children be treated according to their developmental capacity. These reforms prioritise punishment over evidence and human rights, echoing recent Queensland changes acknowledged as unnecessarily harsh and inconsistent with international standards.

They will disproportionately harm Aboriginal children, children in out of home care and children from cultural backgrounds already overrepresented in the criminal legal system due to systemic failures in housing, education, health and child protection.

Community safety comes from support not incarceration

Real community safety comes from addressing the causes of youth offending: poverty, trauma, racism, social isolation and lack of support.

Community-led, culturally safe and trauma-informed programs keep children connected to school, family and culture and reduce reoffending. These services work, yet they remain critically under-funded while prison and police budgets grow. 

Victoria must invest in early intervention, diversion and prevention – not measures that entrench cycles of harm.

A call for leadership

We urge you to halt these proposed laws and engage in genuine consultation with Aboriginal leaders, community organisations, legal experts and young people.

Victoria should be known for fairness and compassion, not sentencing children to life in prison.