MALS is concerned about police operations that use legal processes to target, intimidate and harass activists. This short guide provides the basics of what to do if police come onto your property and can be downloaded and printed off to stick near your door for easy reference.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support is conducting a statewide legal needs assessment to identify and analyse the scope and nature of legal issues faced by people involved in civil, political, environmental, and human rights movements in Victoria.
Did Victoria Police spray you with capsicum spray at the IMARC protest on 30 October 2019? You may be entitled to compensation. You will need to register by 13 July 2026 to continue your claim. If you do not register you cannot pursue your claim in the class action. Click here for more information and…
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…
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) celebrates the decision handed down by Her Honour Justice Harris in the Supreme Court of Victoria today in the landmark class action against Victoria Police challenging their use of grossly excessive force against protesters at the International Mining And Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne in 2019. Her Honour Justice Harris…
We introduce the new proposed anti-protest laws in Victoria and why they will shrink the political space in Victoria by further repressing public assembly and limiting freedom of political communication.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) expresses concern about the actions of Victoria Police on Sunday 31 August 2025 in Melbourne and failure to mitigate risks posed by neo-Nazis. Summary MALS observed that police operational tactics deployed on the day, which focused solely upon separating opposing groups, resulted in a failure to adequately manage the intimidating,…
In a submission to Australia’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR), MALS has assessed the Australian Government’s performance regarding its responsibility to uphold and protect our civil and political rights and the right to protest. A mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the UPR is a comprehensive peer review of UN member states’…
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) expresses concern regarding the misuse of designated area powers, intimidatory and disproportionate policing and police aggression towards protesters. On 5 May 2025, a snap rally protesting the harms caused by Victoria Police was held on 9 May in the Naarm/Melbourne CBD starting at 5:00pm. This rally was in response to…
This report details areas of concern from observations made by Melbourne Activist Legal Support across the four days of protests at the Disrupt Land Forces expo, including police use of force and weaponry, special powers, arrests, treatment of legal observers, media narratives and strategic misinformation.
27 January 2025 The Policing of the DLF Protests, a comprehensive new report by Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS), details disturbing patterns of police misconduct, misuse of special powers, and media misinformation during the Disrupt Land Forces (DLF) protests in September 2024. The report, based on eyewitness accounts from trained independent legal observers, reveals a…
11 September 2024 Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) fielded a team of 20 independent legal observers to monitor the policing of the Disrupt Land Forces protest between 6.00am and 1.00pm, Wednesday 11 September 2024, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) in Melbourne. Legal observers witnessed multiple incidents of excessive use of force by…
MALS is proud to publish our recent submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in response to their call for input to inform a thematic report on stigmatising narratives and implications on the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The submission…
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) raises concerns regarding Victoria Police imposing harmful, unfair and arbitrary restrictions upon the right to peaceful assembly, and failing to consider and act compatibly with human rights under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. Summary Victoria Police have begun placing restrictions upon the use of a public address…
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) expresses concern regarding the discriminatory policing, excessive use of police force, and obstruction of legal observers witnessed at the pro-Palestine counter-rally at the ‘Never Again Is Now’ event at Parliament House on Sunday 19 May, 2024.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) provides the below report regarding the policing of the 420 in the Park event. Background On Saturday 20 April 2024 MALS fielded a team of four trained legal observers at the ‘420 in the Park’ event at Flagstaff Gardens, West Melbourne, Victoria. ‘420 In the Park’ is an annual event…
MALS welcomes the review into the use of OC spray by Victoria Police, which was released on 23 April 2024 by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). The findings of the review vindicate what MALS legal observers have documented and reported on for many years.
12 April 2024 A requirement to obtain a permit to hold a protest, rally or public assembly undermines human rights, suppresses political expression, they’re discriminatory and are fundamentally incompatible with the core principles of democracy. Protest permits are completely antithetical to the very nature and purpose of protests. Melbourne Activist Legal Support urges the Victorian…
We outline eight key reasons why protest permits should never be introduced in Victoria.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) expresses concern regarding the violent and unsafe policing of protesters and legal observers at the Free Palestine march in the Melbourne CBD on Sunday 4 February, 2024.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support expresses concern regarding the policing of the Webb Dock Picket between Friday, 19 January 2024 and Monday, 22 January 2024.
A team of trained, independent legal observers was present during the Victoria Police operation at Webb Dock in Port Melbourne on Monday 22 January 2024. This is a list of preliminary concerns.
Basic legal steps to take if you are affected by OC spray or assaulted by police at a protest in Victoria.
Information on the three main powers affecting people at protests inside a ‘designated area’:
1. searches
2. directions to remove face coverings
3. directions to leave the area.
MALS believes that the use of designated areas as a method of protest control undermines the rights to assembly, association, and political expression that are protected under sections 15 and 16 of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (the Charter)
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) has provided a submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture recommending a ban on the police use of explosive weapons such as stinger grenades and flash-bangs, a prohibition on the use of police horses as crowd control weapons and far stricter controls on the use of OC spray and kinetic projectile weapons that were used during Melbourne’s anti-lockdown protests.
The latest CIVICUS Monitor global report, which analyses the extent to which civil society rights are respected, upheld, and protected, has found civic space in Australia remains ‘narrowed’.
In a report published on 12 January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that the Australian government’s treatment of protesters is undermining its credibility when promoting human rights abroad.
Over 2021 to 2022, MALS has continued to provide unique, specialised and targeted legal and human rights information, resources, training and other forms of direct support to a wide range of diverse, progressive social movements in Victoria.
There is an alarming pre-emptive and intimidatory policing operation currently underway across four Australian states and territories.
The arrest of a legal observer in Sydney in June 2022 has highlighted the need to continually assert the rights of independent legal observers to monitor police without interference or obstruction.
The criminalisation of environmental protest in Australia isn’t new.
How many times do we have to say this? Criminalising protest is bad for democracy, undermines human rights & ultimately makes things worse.
As another step in an alarming national trend of undemocratic infringements on protest rights, the Victorian Government has introduced the Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022 into parliament.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support is concerned about the increasing normalisation of the use of handcuffs on protesters and other people subject to arrest.
MALS understands that many people feel that the Chief Health Officer (CHO) directives such as mask-wearing, movement restrictions, business closures, and the current Stage 4 evening curfew represent unfair and unjustified infringements of their rights. For many people, these restrictions may be the first time they have experienced significant limitations upon their freedoms. For others, these restrictions may compound feelings of already being targeted by police. We understand that many people in Victoria are fearful and have concerns that these limitations on our basic freedoms might represent a growing authoritarianism. The use of the charge of ‘incitement’ against people organising or proposing any protest events as well as house raids and confiscations needs to be broadly condemned no matter where we stand.
Writing to your MP, volunteering for a community group, or attending a protest are all types of basic civic engagement that are critical for a strong democracy. However, the ability of concerned citizens to engage in protest is increasingly being discouraged, if not repressed, by a range of legal techniques and political commentary. This is the first recording of a series of free virtual public panels and training sessions around the theme Protest, Repression and the Law that Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) will be running as part of Victorian Law Week 2020.
Protest, Repression and the Law: A Series of Public Panels and Trainings Previously postponed from Victoria Law Week 2020, MALS is presenting a series of free virtual public panels and trainings around the theme: “Protest, Repression and the Law.” These panels and trainings have been made possible through a grant from the Victoria Law Foundation….
Unlawful assembly is one of a number of offences related to protesting and activism that protesters can be charged with. It can be difficult to clearly define what offences may apply to protesters, with protesters often charged with multiple offences at once. There also seems to be significant overlap between what makes up the offences, with the charges tending to rely heavily on police discretion. The broadness and lack of clarity surrounding the offence allows it to be utilised by police to limit political protest.
Earlier this year, several people were fined for breaching COVID-19 restrictions whilst protesting. They were protesting against the serious mistreatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Mantra hotels in Victoria and the heightened risk surrounding COVID-19 for those detained. Whilst many protesters were fined for disobeying COVID-19 restrictions, Mantra protest organiser Chris Breen was arrested in his home under the charge of incitement before the protest had even begun. The police also seized his computers and phones during the raid. Given the evolving climate surrounding protesting under COVID-19 restrictions, it is important to have an understanding of the charge of incitement and how it is used in Victoria…
Victoria Police has an arsenal of surveillance equipment and tactics that are regularly deployed against activists. In some cases, new equipment or tactics are trialled at simple demonstrations or marches for use in more rigorous situations later, such as direct actions or protest events. Other times, police surveillance has become a normalised part of life in modern society. Being aware of some of the visible and invisible surveillance that police particularly use against activists is a part of being able to endure in your activism, and is an important part of cultivating and sustaining a culture of resistance as a whole…
Protests of groups of ten people are ‘permissible’ under the latest Victorian Stay at Home Directions (No.6). Under the new directions from the Chief Health Officer (CHO) (12 May 2020), Victorians are permitted to leave the house to visit friends or family, to meet in groups of ten outside, and to have up to five…
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) is extremely concerned about the way in which the police have used their special policing powers in relation to COVID-19 to suppress peaceful protest. The effect has been to prevent political communication. The situation highlights the lack of exception for peaceful protest under Victorian emergency restrictions. Police arrested one of the…
MALS Endorses Joint NGO Submission to Australia’s 3rd Universal Periodic Review Concerned with narrowing space for civil engagement and protest across Australia, Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) endorses in whole the joint non governmental organisation (NGO) submission to Australia’s 3rd Universal Periodic Review that was released on Thursday 9th April. The submission was endorsed by…
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) expresses concern regarding the dampening of political speech and peaceful association in police threats to fine protesters A unique cavalcade protest that had planned to abide by social distancing restrictions has been banned by local police. Victoria Police threatened the organisers with a hefty fines if the cavalcade went ahead.*…
Historically crises have been exploited to introduce dangerous policies—right now may be one of these moments. By Sahar Vardi, Mar 26, 2020 With the rise of far right, nationalist governments over the past few years, the world has seen more measures to systematically target voices of dissent and political opposition—resulting in the rapid shrinking of…
This post is an excerpt from our recent Legal Observer Report: The Policing of the IMARC Protests. Melbourne Activist Legal Support has tracked the rise in coercive and excessive crowd control tactics by Victoria Police over several years at protest events throughout Victoria. Victoria Police’s approach to protests has been characterised by a lack of…
Download a PDF copy of this 45 page report here. Media: Legal observers find police ‘set tone of violence’ at anti-mining protests. Benjamin Miller, The Age, December 7, 2019. Executive Summary The police tactics, approaches and the behaviour of individual police members during the IMARC protest events from Tuesday 29th to Thursday 31st October demonstrated…
In reply and in light of protest events planned in Melbourne for the month of October we take this opportunity to remind Victoria Police senior command and all operational commanders assigned to public order policing duties over the coming weeks, that ‘disruption to others’ does not justify limiting the Right to Peaceful Assembly.
Princess Bridge Blockade and dance protest event Saturday 14th September 2019, Melbourne, Australia Please Note: A response by Victoria Police to the Statement of Concern is included below. On Saturday 14th September 2019 Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) fielded a team of eight (8) trained Legal Observers at the ‘Princes Bridge Block & Dance’ protest…
Statement of Concern: Policing of opposing anti-trans & trans rights rallies
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) expresses concern regarding the failure of police to act compatibly with human rights and give proper consideration to human rights in tactical decisions whilst policing opposing rallies at Parliament House on Saturday, 18 March 2023.