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.
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.
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) is proud to publish our latest Annual Report. This is the fourth Annual Report presented to members since MALS became an Incorporated Association in 2021. MALS thanks all legal observers, team coordinators, working groups, lawyers, volunteers, and donors who generously support our work. Click on the Annual Report to see…
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…
Joint statement with the Centre Against Racial Profiling 8 December 2025 We welcome the Human Rights Law Centre’s (HRLC) filing of a Federal Court challenge against the legality of the six-month “designated area” declared in the Melbourne CBD. We strongly support this legal intervention. The declaration of the entire CBD as a designated area for…
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…
This is the third annual report to members since Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) became an Incorporated Association in 2021. Acknowledgment of Country MALS acknowledges and pays respect to Country and Elders of First Peoples wherever we work across the lands now known as Victoria. We acknowledge that the police and legal system in this…
Contact Phi Finney McDonald at: https://phifinneymcdonald.com/action/imarc-class-action/
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…
It is vital that all protest groups make plans in case police decide to apply anti-protest bail conditions against your group or campaign and understand how you can challenge them.
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.
What a year! MALS fielded an unprecedented 30 Legal Observer Teams between July 2022 and June 2023, involving over 140 legal observer shifts. That’s almost three teams each month, monitoring police intervention at protest events.
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)
Police Surveillance at Palestine Solidarity Rally, 3CR Thursday Breakfast
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.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) welcomes the class action against Victoria Police’s use of capsicum spray and excessive force against protesters at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne in October 2019.
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.
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) is seeking a skilled and committed Treasurer with an accountancy background to join our Organising Group and help build our impact, increase our capacity and strong financial growth.
The legal support offered by Blockade IMARC was remarkable in its ongoing commitment to the entirety of the process. This is rare in activist groups who all too often ‘abandon’ activists to deal with the court system by themselves long after the action has served its purpose.
Our analysis and concerns arising from the policing of protest events in Melbourne between Saturday 18 and Sunday 26 September 2021
MALS has a discussion with lawyer and human rights advocate Angus Murray, Lucie Krahulcova from Digital Rights Watch, and Sam de Silva from the Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation to explore how the Identify and Disrupt Act works, how it may interface with activists and activist groups, as well as some potential ways to think about assessing the increased digital security risks for activist work.
Update: February 3rd, 2022 The Department of Home Affairs has stated that as of December 2021, they are now using the new powers introduced by the Identify and Disrupt Act. They have not disclosed which type, nor the quantity of warrants exercised; nor whether the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, or other…
Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) expresses concern regarding use of projectile weapons at Melbourne protest on 21 August 2021. Pepper ball rounds were confirmed to have been used by Victoria Police during the “anti-lock down protest” at various locations in Melbourne’s central business district on the afternoon of Saturday, 21 August, 2021. Photo and video…
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.