Share and Follow
Some young people granted bail in Victoria will soon be forced to wear ankle monitors as part of a trial which the government says will “drive down youth crime”.
The state’s electronic monitoring trial will last for two years.
Children’s Courts and the Supreme Court will have the power to impose electronic monitoring and supervised bail for young people as part of their bail conditions.
“Young people need to take their bail conditions seriously and understand that there are consequences for their actions,” Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said.
“Electronic monitoring will be an extra incentive for young people to comply with their conditions and gives authorities another way to take immediate and appropriate action if breaches occur.”
Up to 50 people will be involved in the trial.
The courts will be able to order electronic monitoring for young people on bail aged between 14 and 18 years or if they were aged under 18 years at the time of their alleged offending, state leaders said.
If they are outside their address after curfew or enter an exclusion zone, the device will generate an alert and Youth Justice will respond.
Young people on the trial can be placed in one of 57 alternative education settings in Melbourne.
Queensland has already trialled the measure.
Under the proposed new laws, magistrates will be required to put community safety first in all bail decisions, meaning remand will no longer be a “last resort” for youth offenders.
It will once again be an offence to commit an indictable offence while on bail, after the government repealed the crime in 2023.
It will also become harder to get bail over serious gun and arson offences, car jackings and non-aggravated home invasions.
Machetes will be declared prohibited weapons to “crack down on knife crime”, the government said.