- Published:
- Thursday 4 December 2025 at 6:57 pm
Children aged 14 and above will face serious consequences for violent crimes under the Allan Labor Government’s Adult Time for Violent Crime laws which have just passed Parliament.
Under the new laws, children committing violent crimes – like invading someone’s home or injuring someone with a machete in a sickening act of violence – will face adult sentences in adult courts.
That means courts will treat these children like adults, so jail is more likely, and sentences can be longer.
The Government will further increase the maximum jail sentence for aggravated home invasion and aggravated carjacking. For anyone 14 and over sentenced in the County Court, these offences will carry a maximum life sentence through Adult Time for Violent Crime.
The following crimes will be subject to Adult Time for Violent Crime:
- Aggravated home invasion
- Home invasion
- Intentionally causing injury in circumstances of gross violence (includes machete crime)
- Recklessly causing injury in circumstances of gross violence (includes machete crime)
- Aggravated carjacking
- Carjacking
- Aggravated burglary (serious and repeated)
- Armed robbery (serious and repeated)
The first five crimes will be removed from the jurisdiction of the Children’s Court, and the matter will face full trial and sentencing in the County Court. Carjacking will also be heard in the County Court by default unless there are substantial and compelling reasons for a matter to stay in the Children’s Court and be excluded from the regime.
Legislative guidance will confirm that aggravated burglary and armed robbery offences should be heard in the County Court if they are serious and repeated.
The Government will provide more resources to the County Court, including new judges, to fast-track hearings for these offenders.
Children specifically aged 14 may be tried and sentenced in the Children’s Court, and excluded from Adult Time for Violent Crime, in substantial and compelling circumstances (e.g. if they have a cognitive disability).
The Bill also toughens the carjacking offence – expanding it to capture conduct where a person steals a car with a child under the age of 10 inside.
It will be an offence whether or not the person accused of the crime used force against any person, or whether they knew a child was in the vehicle. The principle will be clear: if there’s a child inside, it’s carjacking.
Knife crime has torn too many families and communities apart. The Bill also introduces a new stand-alone offence to apply when an accused person uses a knife in committing specific indictable offences.
Offenders charged with this new offence could face up to three years in jail on top of other charges.
The changes in the Bill will begin to take effect immediately after royal assent and will be fully implemented by the end of February.
Quotes attributable to Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny
“We said we’d sit until this Bill passes – I’m pleased these laws can now be put in place as soon as possible to protect Victorians.”
“There are no easy solutions to youth crime, and the best approach is always to stop crime before it starts. But we absolutely need serious consequences for violent youth crime to protect the community now.”