City of Melbourne – Melbourne Activist Legal Support

‘Dangerous’, ‘divisive’, ‘unjust’ – the Justice Legislation Amendment (Police and Other Matters) Act 2025

19 March 2026 16 minute read

The new laws, based on disinformation to legitimise state violence against protesters, will have no effect on confronting hateful ideologies. Overview In December 2025, the Victorian government passed the Justice Legislation Amendment (Police and Other Matters) Act 2025 which added a range of new provisions to a variety of justice related legislation. Included was the…

Statement of Concern: The misuse of Council Local Laws to restrict protest

15 January 2021 6 minute read

For some time now Victoria Police have been using a City of Melbourne Council by-law – Local Activities Act 2019 – as a way of controlling and restricting protest events. Specifically, police have been calling City of Melbourne compliance officers to enforce Sections 5.7 and 12.8 of this Local Law to restrict any use of amplified sound at protest events. This is our Statement of Concern.