Bail is permission to stay in the community while your case is decided, on conditions. Victoria’s bail laws are now among the strictest in the country.
Key points
- If police refuse bail, you must be brought before a court or bail justice as soon as practicable.
- For some charges you must show compelling reasons or exceptional circumstances before bail can be granted.
- The court considers whether you are an unacceptable risk, and what conditions could reduce that risk.
- Breaching bail conditions can lead to arrest and make future bail much harder.
Who decides bail
After arrest, police may grant bail themselves. If they refuse, you must be brought before a court, usually the Magistrates’ Court, or a bail justice out of hours. Applications for some of the most serious charges must be made in the Supreme Court.
The tests
Since the March 2025 reforms, community safety is the overarching consideration in all bail decisions. In every case the court considers whether you pose an unacceptable risk, for example of committing offences, endangering others, interfering with witnesses or failing to appear. For more serious charges, or for alleged offending while on bail, you must first show compelling reasons or exceptional circumstances before bail can be considered.
Conditions
Bail usually comes with conditions such as living at a set address, reporting to police, a curfew, or not contacting certain people. Breaching a condition is now a criminal offence again, and so is committing an indictable offence while on bail.
If bail is refused
You can generally make a further application only if there are new facts or circumstances, or you can apply to the Supreme Court. Because the first application matters so much, it is worth preparing it properly with a lawyer.
This page is general information about Victorian law, current at the time of writing. It is not legal advice about your situation. Laws and police practices change, so speak with a lawyer about your own matter.