Victorian opposition proposes changes to Adult Crime, Adult Time laws

Victorian opposition proposes changes to Adult Crime, Adult Time laws

The Victorian opposition has announced it will expand the Adult Crime, Adult Time legislation to include crimes such as car theft and attempted carjacking, if it wins the November state election. An RMIT expert unpacks the long-term consequences for handing adult jail sentences to youth offenders.

Dr Kathryn Daley, Assistant Associate Dean, Social Science Research and Policy Studies:

"The proposal from the Liberal opposition to increase the number of crimes eligible for adult sentencing is political theatrics without regard for the potential consequences.  

"The reason there are different sentencing guidelines for young people, and why there are youth-specific prisons, is because it has long been established that young people have better rehabilitative prospect when kept out of the adult system.  

"Sentencing young people as adults is seen as being tough on crime, but the evidence shows that young people in adult prisons with adult sentences are more likely to reoffend and become entrenched in the justice system, reducing community safety and at great expense to the state.  

"In the last week, an 18-year-old woman died in custody at Dame Phylllis Frost Centre. This is a maximum security women's prison, that also serves as a remand centre in the absence of a women's remand centre in Victoria.   

"The headlines this week should be firmly focused on the tragic death of the young woman in custody, and the circumstances and politics that led to a young woman being in a maximum security adult prison in the first place." 

Dr Kathryn Daley is Associate Director of Social Equity Research Centre and a senior lecturer at RMIT University. Her work is focused on improving the wellbeing of people living on the margins, particularly children and young people. 

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General media enquiries: RMIT External Affairs and Media, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

31 July 2026

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