Keeping communities safe

At a glance

$512 million: for community safety measures to back our reformed justice system and address youth crime
$392 million: to protect our children and help families stay strong
$222 million: to support our police force and keep communities safe
$100 million: to respond to family violence

Two police officers walking down a city street in the evening

We’ve responded to an increase in violent offending by introducing Australia’s toughest bail laws and bringing in tougher sentences, so there are serious consequences for violent crimes.

As a result of our reforms, bail refusals and revocations are now at record highs, and remand decisions (sending someone to jail not bail) have increased by nearly 70%.

Adult Time for Violent Crime laws mean children charged with serious violent offences will face adult courts, where the chance of jail is stronger, and sentences are longer.

We’ve banned machetes, removing thousands of dangerous weapons from the streets so far.

While serious consequences for violent crimes are critical, the best approach is to stop crime before it starts. That’s why the Victorian Government set up the Violence Reduction Unit, to intervene early with kids at risk of committing crime.

This Budget backs in those policies, building on the $1.6 billion invested in 2025-26.

Backing policing

The Government is making sure our frontline police have the resources they need to keep communities safe.

This Budget invests:

$62 million to recruit up to 200 police reservists for police station counter duties, freeing up additional frontline police.
$55 million to support Victoria Police operations including replacing critical policing equipment such as cellular telecommunication devices and geolocation technology.
$51 million to deliver 50 new PSOs to support Victoria Police with intelligence-led deployment, and to continue Operation Pulse in shopping centres until the end of 2026.
$35 million for 3,000 mobile devices for specialist police, and upgraded equipment to record evidence.
$9.9 million for critical upgrades to maintain police custody cells and an additional custodial doctor.
$4.4 million to continue protecting Victoria from violent extremism.
$3.2 million to stamp out antisemitism and hate.
$1.6 million to provide support to police experiencing trauma-related mental health injuries by improving access to member-focused services.

Delivering serious consequences for crime

This Budget continues the progress we’ve made with tougher bail laws with a $397 million investment to keep the community safe, including:

$229 million to increase capacity in the corrections system, including youth justice, ensuring we have the facilities to hold offenders accountable and keep the community safe.
$125 million for 40 new forensic mental health beds at Thomas Embling Hospital.
$43 million to deliver programs within prisons to reduce reoffending.

Ensuring courts move quickly

We’re strengthening our courts system to be more efficient, so cases can be heard and dealt with more quickly.

This Budget invests $155 million including:

$117 million for a specialised, fast-tracked youth court list in the County Court, meaning alleged youth crime matters will be heard faster.
$11 million for maintenance, repair and renewal works of courts across the state.
$7.3 million to continue fast-tracking homicide cases straight to the Supreme Court.
$7.2 million to continue supporting prosecutions at Wyndham Law Courts.
$6.8 million to provide more legal assistance for vulnerable Victorians, through programs and services run by Victoria Legal Aid.
$3.9 million to facilitate the early resolution of trial cases at the County Court.

Early intervention

Violent youth crime is hurting families and kids. We’re ensuring there are serious consequences for serious crimes. Tougher laws came into effect earlier this year under Adult Time for Violent Crime, which will reinforce boundaries for young offenders.

But we know it’s better to stop crime before it starts.

Early intervention with kids at risk of offending can mean that they never turn to crime. Helping young people stay engaged and connected with their communities can stop them from offending and keeps them out of the justice system.

This Budget invests $81 million to respond to and prevent youth crime. This includes:

$23 million to provide educational support and guidance for young people who are at risk of or already in contact with the justice system, and assist schools to re-engage students transitioning between custodial youth justice and education settings.
$9.5 million for Blue Light Victoria to mentor children and young people at risk of offending, fostering stronger connections between the community and Victoria Police to prevent crime.
$9.1 million to support students’ engagement with the education systems, to help keep kids in school and on the right track, reducing potential contact with the justice system.
$8.6 million on programs that help reduce reoffending among young people, such as lived experience mentoring.
$8.1 million to continue funding for local prevention programs and to enable access to support services for young people.
$5.5 million to begin implementation of key recommendations of the South Sudanese Australian Youth Justice Expert Working Group, including planning for the establishment of a South Sudanese Community Hub.

Violence Reduction Unit

Victoria has established a Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), modelled on successful units in Scotland and London, to stop crime before it starts.

The VRU connects at-risk kids with lived-experience mentors who can help turn their lives around. This gives more young people the chance to work with positive and relatable role models.

Early Intervention Officers have already been selected to help 23 schools across Victoria support our teachers, principals and wellbeing teams to keep kids engaged in positive activities and prevent them from heading down the wrong path.

Now we’re investing $33 million for the VRU to support initiatives including:

$3.7 million to adapt a successful community-based gang violence intervention program that delivered ‘the safest year in Brooklyn’s history’ in New York City.
$600,000 to support the Community Connections Project to connect officers with communities.

Tobacco Licensing Scheme

The Victorian Government is cracking down on illegal tobacco and the gang activity it fuels.

New laws mean businesses caught selling illicit tobacco will be ordered to close, and their landlords will have new powers to evict them.

Inspectors will also have the power to seize and destroy illicit tobacco.

We’re funding $13 million in this Budget to enforce these laws and almost triple the number of inspectors – helping to keep Victorians safe.

Ensuring justice for victims of crime

Victims of crime must be supported through the justice system and feel their voices are heard.

This Budget invests:

$10 million provided for the Office of Public Prosecutions and Victorian Legal Aid.
$8.7 million to continue providing financial assistance for victims of crime.
$6.3 million to continue the Victims’ Legal Service, a dedicated statewide specialist legal service for victims of crime.
$2.5 million for the Victims of Crime Commissioner to improve victims’ experiences in the justice system.

Addressing family and sexual violence

Every woman and child deserves to be safe – that’s why we established the Royal Commission into Family Violence and have implemented all 227 recommendations.

This year’s Budget will continue to support victim survivors of family and sexual violence with $100 million for prevention and response activities, with:

$74 million for family violence prevention and response activities including:
- family violence core and cluster refuges, providing up to 229 families a safe place to live each year
- 12,093 emergency crisis support packages and specialist case management for 4,766 victim survivors per year
- specialised, trauma-informed counselling recovery programs for 915 children and young people each year.
$23 million to continue the Central Information Point, which provides information about perpetrators so family violence practitioners can assess risk and keep women and children safe.
$2.2 million for Sexual Assault Services Victoria to make sure the system responds appropriately to victim survivors.

Protecting children and families

This Budget invests in services that protect Victoria’s most vulnerable children, including:

$165 million for social and community services workers to help families with children who are at risk of abuse or neglect.
$126 million to modernise digital systems that support services for at risk-children, young people and families.
$71 million to make sure child protection services and carers are ready to support children in need.

This Budget also invests $208 million in compensation for Victorians who experienced abuse in institutional care as children prior to 1990.

Victoria is leading the nation in safety reforms in early childhood education and care.

To respond to the Rapid Child Safety Review last year, we provided $138 million to strengthen child safety.

We introduced legislation to Parliament to deliver a comprehensive overhaul of the Child Safe systems, and we made changes to the Social Services Regulator to bring the Working with Children Check, Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards into one agency.

In this Budget, $8.4 million will support the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to continue delivering regulatory functions and ensure Child Safe Standards are met.

A further $5.1 million will strengthen the Social Services Regulator’s collection and management of data under the Reportable Conduct Scheme, to enable better intelligence and stop child safety information falling through the cracks.

We’re also making sure the Worker Screening Unit is well-resourced by providing $17 million so that Working with Children and NDIS checks can be processed effectively.

Backing emergency services to keep us safe

Victoria is one of the most bushfire-prone regions in the world.

Natural disasters such as fire, floods and storms are becoming more frequent and more severe.

The Victorian Government is making sure our emergency services have the resources they need to keep communities safe.

The Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) reinvests every dollar into supporting our emergency and disaster recovery services, allowing us to double annual investment in emergency services since 2015-16. This means improved equipment, more resilient systems and better-supported responders on the front line.

We’re also backing communities through the long journey to recovery.

This Budget invests $422 million in response to the January 2026 bushfires and floods, helping communities and businesses recover.

Victoria has the best-funded fire services in the nation, with more career firefighters than any other state.
This Budget provides more funding for both the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV).
We’re investing $26 million to build new CFA stations at Charlton and Woodvale, in Central Victoria, Mirboo North, in South Gippsland, and Kingston, in the Central Highlands.
We’re also upgrading the Yarrambat station and investing to plan and design new stations at Barongarook West in the Shire of Colac Otway and Lakes Entrance in East Gippsland.
And we’re acquiring land for new stations at Dereel in western Victoria, Nar Nar Goon in the Shire of Cardinia, and Beveridge, north of Melbourne.
We are also delivering:
- $147 million for specialised aerial firefighting fleet.
- $100 million for new and improved trucks and pumpers for the CFA. This funding provides CFA with longer-term certainty to plan and manage the rolling fleet replacement program.
- $45 million to upgrade Forest Fire Management Victoria emergency vehicles.
- $22 million to back our CFA volunteers and improve safety.
- $10 million to FRV for new ultra-large and heavy pumper appliances and a fireboat to boost firefighting capability.
Victoria is home to some of the best coastlines and waterways on the planet. Our beaches are the home of summer for many Victorians, while also attracting visitors from all over the world. That’s why the Victorian Government is investing in the people who keep our beaches and waterways safe.
This Budget invests $7 million for lifeguards, rescue helicopters and drones, and to complete new surf lifesaving facilities on the Surf Coast at Bancoora and Point Lonsdale.
We’re also investing $4.3 million to improve the fleet of both Marine Search and Rescue and State Emergency Service (SES) flood rescue vessels. Another $2.4 million will go towards the SES, increasing its capacity to respond to floods and storms.
While it’s essential to have well-equipped frontline emergency responders, alerting communities to emerging crises and effectively deploying emergency services is just as critical.
We are investing $102 million in Victoria’s Triple Zero to ensure a timely and reliable call-taking system that keeps Victorians safe.
We’re also investing $9.3 million as part of Victoria’s contribution to operate and maintain the national Emergency Alert system. This will ensure Victorians receive timely, reliable emergency warnings to help keep communities safe.
And we’re delivering $17 million towards 2 new VICSES facilities for the Port Phillip and Corio units, and acquisition of land for the Whitehorse unit to support emergency response and recovery.

Keeping our data safe

Governments around the world are increasingly targeted by cyber attacks. Strengthening data and information technology keeps sensitive information secure, and helps government run more efficiently.

This Budget invests $154 million to strengthen cyber security and data protection, including:

$41 million to refresh Victoria Police’s information technology infrastructure and cyber security, so that police spend less time on paperwork and more time in the community.
$38 million to upgrade Victoria Police’s information system to integrate with the National Firearms Register, providing timely access to accurate firearms information, enhancing community safety.
$37 million to upgrade health technology infrastructure and deliver cyber security protections, including threat detection, security operations centre and disaster recovery services. This will help safeguard patient data, reduce system failures and minimise disruptions to safe clinical care.
$30 million to aid schools in migrating sensitive data to secure technology platforms to reduce cyber security risks.
$7.1 million for cybercrime and digital forensics storage and technologies.

Updated 2 May 2026