Youthlaw

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Youthlaw Working for justice for young people under 25 through legal services, advocacy, education and law reform.

Youthlaw is Victoria’s state-wide free community legal centre for young people under 25 years of age. We provide free and confidential legal advice, information and casework services to young people up to the age of 25 years. We provide education programs for young people about their legal rights and responsibilities. We provide advice and information to advocates for children and young people about how the law affects young people. And we advocate for law reform on a range of justice policy issues for young people, including young people and police, fines, diversion and raising the age of criminal responsibility.

Exciting news! 🎉 Youthlaw is collaborating with Justice Connect and the Strategic Youth Law Network with $1.65M in fundi...
07/10/2026

Exciting news! 🎉 Youthlaw is collaborating with Justice Connect and the Strategic Youth Law Network with $1.65M in funding over 3 years from the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner's 2026 Change Grants.

Together, we'll expand AI-supported legal intake to community legal centres across Victoria, so young people can get to the right legal help faster.

Thank you to the VLSB+C, our partners, and congratulations to all the 2026 grant recipients.

Paid gig alert for young Victorians 🎥We're looking for people aged 18 to 25 to help co-design and create short videos ab...
05/10/2026

Paid gig alert for young Victorians 🎥

We're looking for people aged 18 to 25 to help co-design and create short videos about legal rights, made by young people, for young people.

No legal or video experience needed. If you know what makes people stop scrolling, we want to hear from you.

Apply now tr.ee/Ed9DFLvdrC

This project has been supported by funding from the Telematics Trust.

Huge congratulations to our very own Sophie Ellis, Manager of our Youth Crime Legal Practice, on winning the Stephen Mya...
01/10/2026

Huge congratulations to our very own Sophie Ellis, Manager of our Youth Crime Legal Practice, on winning the Stephen Myall Award from the Law Institute of Victoria! 🎉
For more than 14 years, Sophie has led public interest litigation that holds systems to account. She co-founded the Police Accountability Project, and she's been a driving force behind police accountability, youth justice reform, raising the age of criminal responsibility and diversion for young people.
Sophie always does so with real care for the young people she represents, and generosity for the lawyers she works alongside. This nomination was first proposed by lawyers on her own team, who wanted her recognised for what she's given them and the sector
Sophie, we're so proud of you. Thank you for everything you do. 💛

The Australian Government has proposed a new Digital Duty of Care. It would require social media and other online servic...
30/09/2026

The Australian Government has proposed a new Digital Duty of Care. It would require social media and other online services to find and reduce online harms before young people get hurt, rather than after.

We support a Digital Duty of Care. But as drafted, it doesn't expressly cover doxxing: posting someone's personal details online, like their name, photo, home address or school, without their consent.

We're hearing from more and more young people who've been doxxed, often alongside claims that haven't been proven. It can lead to harassment, threats and being pushed out of school or work.

In our submission, we've called on the government to pass a Digital Duty of Care and to name doxxing as a harm it covers.

Read our full submission: https://tr.ee/UAIN3NTRjW

29/09/2026

Our very own outreach manager, Lisa, sat down with Sam Champion from on 's Done by Law with Beth King to chat all things youth participation, and legal education for young people.

Listen to the podcast 3cr.org.au/donebylaw/episode/yacvic-and-youthlaw-youth-participation-and-legal-education

People are losing their homes for asking to have a leaky roof fixed. 🏠Victoria banned no-grounds evictions in 2025, but ...
28/09/2026

People are losing their homes for asking to have a leaky roof fixed. 🏠
Victoria banned no-grounds evictions in 2025, but renters are still being pushed out after asking for repairs or standing up for their ‘s new report, Evicted, found:

➡69% of renters they helped had asked for repairs, and 85% of them never got those repairs before being forced out.
➡57% of the eviction notices Anika assessed were invalid
➡87% reported impacts on their physical or mental health

One renter told them: “You just never know what might happen, it’s kind of like being held to ransom.”

In NSW, QLD, WA and SA renters can challenge a retaliatory eviction at a tribunal. In Victoria, they can’t.

It’s time to change that. Read the full report

Big news for young people in Australia: the Senate inquiry into Australia's youth justice system has been handed down an...
18/09/2026

Big news for young people in Australia: the Senate inquiry into Australia's youth justice system has been handed down and recommended the federal government introduce national minimum standards, so that no child's rights depend on their postcode, or even their state.

Youthlaw has pushed for this for years, alongside our sector partners, and we're proud to see it reflected in the Committee's recommendations.

A recommendation isn't the finish line, we'll keep pushing to make sure those standards raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14, end harmful practices like solitary confinement and spithoods, and lift the age of detention to 16.

Prison time isn’t fine. This week, the Victorian Parliament will vote on proposed legislation to stop jailing people fo...
10/09/2026

Prison time isn’t fine.

This week, the Victorian Parliament will vote on proposed legislation to stop jailing people for fines debt.

The Government has made great headway with its proposed fines legislation:
-Work and Development Permits (WDPs) can now be implemented for court fines
-Victim-survivors of family violence can have speeding fines waived if they were unfairly nominated as the driver

But it’s time to finish the job.

Parliament now has a historic chance to end prison time for all fines, and we are urgently calling on them to do so.

Join us, and call on the Victorian Parliament to support the amendment to stop jailing people for fines debt.

Share this post and tag Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny

Fines relief just got a whole lot fairer for young Victorians 🎉Youthlaw, as part of the Infringements Working Group, wel...
09/09/2026

Fines relief just got a whole lot fairer for young Victorians 🎉Youthlaw, as part of the Infringements Working Group, welcomes the Victorian Government's expansion of fines relief and exemptions for victim-survivors. This is a practical, long called-for change that will make a real difference for young people facing financial hardship.

Right now, in Victoria, asking a stranger for help can result in a criminal record and imprisonment. Begging carries a m...
09/09/2026

Right now, in Victoria, asking a stranger for help can result in a criminal record and imprisonment.

Begging carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison under the Summary Offences Act. In practice, it's used against people who have run out of options, including young people sleeping rough – with no money for their public transport fare, let alone rent.

A criminal record doesn’t fix homelessness, it compounds it. It blocks housing and jobs long after the immediate crisis point.

Every other state and territory has already moved away from making begging a criminal offence. An amendment before Parliament would finally repeal it in Victoria too.

Ben Carroll MP, it’s time to support it. Young people are doing it tough enough.

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106-108 Victoria Street
Melbourne, VIC
3053

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