The Allan Labor Government is focused on what matters most - keeping Victorians safe.
The Labor Government introduced Australia's toughest bail laws to protect people in the community from the risk of serious crime - and now, more serious and repeat alleged offenders are going to jail, not getting bail:
There are 465 more people on remand in Victorian prisons this month compared to April last year, an increase of 22 per cent.
There are 39 more young people on remand in Youth Justice this month compared to April last year, an increase of 71 per cent.
That's why the Victorian Budget 2025/26 will invest $727 million to ramp up capacity in Victoria's prisons and youth justice centres, bringing more prison beds online to deal with the increasing number of alleged offenders being denied bail.
The Budget expands the capacity of the youth justice and adult corrections systems and supports the opening of the new Western Plains Correctional Centre, which ramps up operations mid-year.
In total, almost 1,000 additional adult prison beds will open across the system, and a further 88 beds will open at youth justice facilities at Cherry Creek and Parkville.
Thanks to a successful recruitment drive, more than 640 prison officers and more than 170 youth justice officers have joined the corrections system in the past year.
The Budget will continue this recruitment, with funding for a further 320 new roles in youth justice and 400 new roles in adult corrections.
The sign-on bonus of $8,000 announced at the start of the year for new recruits at Western Plains or Hopkins Correctional Centre has also now been extended to all other adult prisons.
As part of supporting people in custody to use their time to rehabilitate, the Budget will also expand healthcare, rehabilitation and support services across the adult and youth systems - helping drive down recidivism.
The new Western Plains facility has been designed with state-of-the-art security features, including the use of artificial intelligence and an integrated prisoner movement system to make it easier and safer for staff to monitor and move prisoners throughout the facility.
Additionally, the Labor Government is today introducing amendments to the Corrections Act to crack down on prisoners who assault and injure custodial staff.
This makes it crystal clear that any prisoner convicted of assaulting and injuring a Corrections worker can expect additional time added on top of their existing sentence.
As stated by Premier Jacinta Allan
"In Victoria, community safety comes first, and there are consequences for breaking the law."
"Our tough new bail laws mean more people charged with serious offences are going to jail - that's why we need to open more prison beds, now."
As stated by Minister for Corrections and Minister for Youth Justice Enver Erdogan
"We have zero tolerance for prisoners who assault our staff - our new laws make the consequences crystal clear."
As stated by Minister for Police and Community Safety Anthony Carbines
"Community safety comes first in bail decisions - and our tough bails laws are backing the hard work of Victoria Police to keep us all safe."
