The government will announce a ban on machetes tomorrow as part of a crackdown on serious crime in Victoria. (Supplied)
In short:
A machete ban across Victoria will feature in a reform package designed to crack down on crime, the ABC understands.
The state government will make the move in response to increased community concern about violent crimes in recent months.
What's next?
The premier, attorney-general and police minister will announce the full extent of the changes on Wednesday.
The Victorian government will ban machetes across the state as part of a package of law changes aimed at stamping out serious offending, the ABC understands.
The new laws — to be announced on Wednesday morning by Premier Jacinta Allan — will target serious offending, including home invasion and carjacking.
Ms Allan and her government have been under pressure both politically and from the community to address such crimes.
Since the start of the year, multiple residents around Victoria have been allegedly assaulted with machetes during violent robberies, including a 77-year-old woman in her Kew home.
Concerns have also been raised that many people caught committing home invasions and carjackings in Victoria were already on bail.
The changes have been sparked in part by community concerns about safety. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
On Tuesday afternoon, the cabinet resolved to ban machetes and make bail harder to obtain for people involved in serious crimes, including carjackings and home invasions.
It was a lengthy meeting and ahead of it there was internal disagreement about how tough bail laws should be.
The full details are expected to be released on Wednesday.
The move comes after the government voted down a Liberal Party amendment to ban machetes earlier in March.
CCYP commissioner says underlying issues must be addressed
Not everyone in the community shares the Victorian government's appetite for strengthening bail laws.
Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People in Victoria Meena Singh does not believe the laws need to be tightened.
She said while she empathised with victims of crimes such as home invasions, the government should take a broader view of the issues.
"I don't think it's good policy to change laws based on one highly promoted incident," Ms Singh told ABC Melbourne radio.
Ms Singh said children were being caught up in very broad bail laws that did not address underlying issues.
"[Young people] get caught up in these bail laws because they don't take into account the specific vulnerabilities of children and young children," she said.
Meena Singh says Victoria's bail laws are already very robust. (ABC News: Isabella Higgins)
Ms Singh called instead for more investment in services to address issues such as family violence at home, mental health issues, and disengagement with education.
"We're not seeing those responses — whether it's before offending or after offending — actually target what those issues are," she said.
"If we're bailing children to the exact same scenario and the exact same issues that they were dealing with before they offended, we're not going to see different outcomes."