Victoria's opposition pledges to add five offences to the Adult Crime, Adult Time youth laws

Victoria's Liberal-National opposition has pledged to add five offences to the state's Adult Crime, Adult Time regime if it wins the November 2026 state election. Shadow Attorney-General James Newbury announced the plan on 31 July. The regime was introduced by the Labor government, then led by Jacinta Allan, and passed in December 2025. It applies from age 14 and treats children charged with listed violent offences as adults. Victoria's laws followed a similar regime in Queensland.

The model lets the offence charged, rather than a case-by-case decision, largely determine whether a child is dealt with as an adult. Each expansion widens that automatic category. Other jurisdictions debating youth justice can watch two things: whether adult processing deters serious youth offending or raises reoffending, and whether the policy holds up as an election issue.