Allan Government must abandon harmful, counterproductive “adult time” laws for children

13 November 2025

Amnesty International calls on the Victorian Labor Government to abandon its proposed Adult Time for Violent Crime laws, which would allow children as young as 14 to face adult sentencing and potentially life imprisonment.

Labor's proposal will disproportionately affect Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Pasifika children and children who experience racism because of their ethnic backgrounds, who already face systemic bias at every stage of the justice system.

Amnesty International Australia also warns the Victorian government and all Victorian legislators that treating children as adults in the criminal system could constitute violations of Australia's international obligations to uphold the human rights of children.

Under international human rights law, children have the right to be safe from torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Australia ratified in 1990, states that arrest and detention of a child must be the absolute last resort, and for the shortest appropriate period of time.

Amnesty International Australia Campaigner Kacey Teerman says;

"Everybody in Victoria wants a safe state where communities can thrive and children can grow up to be happy, productive adults. However, the evidence shows that Labor's proposal to treat children who've broken the law the same way as adults only creates more harm to these children, their families and the wider communities."

"Children who are at risk of being set up for a life of criminalisation almost inevitably do not have the same support, structure, opportunity and connection to community as other children. We need to respond to these kids as a village to help them get back on track."

"Responding to the behaviour of children with adult consequences flies in the face of decades of evidence, which shows that children who are caught up in offending need care, rehabilitation. They need to be diverted away from the criminal system, not sentenced to 20 years inside of it."

"Amnesty International is calling on the Allen Government to abandon this regressive, reactionary proposal and instead to invest in evidence-based solutions like early intervention supports, rehabilitation and community-led diversion programs that are proven to prevent youth offending in the immediate and long-term."

"Amnesty International also believes that the Allen government have not taken into consideration the significant overrepresentation of children with disabilities in the criminal system. This issue is so widespread that the Disability Royal Commission published an entire chapter of its report detailing the extent that the criminal justice system criminalises and then brutalises children with disability, describing it as a national crisis."

"All children need support, structure, opportunity and connection to community. Children who are at risk of being set up for a life of criminalisation almost inevitably do not have the same support, structure, opportunity and connection to community as other children. We need to respond to these kids as a village to help them get back on track."

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