Victoria to Spend $700 Million Expanding Prison System to Deal With Crime Wave

This comes amid a surge in crime in Victoria in 2024, with the number of criminal incidents increasing by 18.7 percent.

The scene of a fatal collision involving young men and a stolen car at the intersection of Warrigal Road and Highbury Road, in Melbourne, Australia on July 3, 2024. AAP Image/Diego Fedele

Victoria will spend over $700 million (US$446 million) to expand the capacity of the state’s prison and justice system.

On May 13, the Victorian government said $727 million would be allocated in the upcoming 2025 state budget to address the ongoing crime issue.

The funding will be used to add 1,000 adult prison beds across detention facilities in the state, as well as another 88 beds in youth justice centres at Cherry Creek and Parkville.

At the same time, the Victorian government will introduce new legislation to tackle prisoners’ assaults on custodial staff.

The proposed legislation will amend existing law on the operation of correctional facilities in Victoria to add more prison time to sentences.

A Victorian government spokesperson said community safety remained the state’s top priority.

“Our tough new bail laws mean more people charged with serious offenders are going to jail.

That’s why we need to open more prison beds now,” the spokesperson said.

“We have zero tolerance for prisoners who assault our staff. Our new laws make the consequences clear.”

Surge in Crime Leads to Tougher Bail Laws

The latest data from the Victorian government indicated that criminal incidents rose to 456,453 in 2024, up 18.7 percent from the previous year.

The number of offences also climbed by 15.7 percent to 605,640.

This led to the criminal incident rate and offence rate per 100,000 population increasing to 6,551 (up 16.1 percent) and 8,692 (up 13.2 percent), respectively.

In addition, theft offences reached the highest level since 2016, with 225,958 incidents (up 51,248).

The surge in crime has prompted local residents to demand stricter bail laws—and even hold public protests—increasing pressure on the state government.

In March 2025, Victoria passed the Bail Amendment (Tough Bail) Act 2025 after prolonged debate in the state parliament.

Under the changes, the new law requires relevant authorities to prioritise community safety when assessing bail applications, and abolishes a presumption of bail for young offenders.

Serious offences such as gun and arson offences, as well as other knife and weapon offences, will be subject to a presumption against bail.

Furthermore, the new law introduces two bail offences, “committing an indictable offence while on bail” and “breach of bail conditions,” to punish those violating bail rules.

Offenders could face up to an additional three months of imprisonment and be refused bail.