The criminalisation of public intoxication in Victoria has had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, including the state’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Victoria’s justice-based response to public intoxication has been replaced by a health-led response and the crime of public intoxication abolished in November 2023. These reforms have been introduced in response to extensive engagement with Victoria’s Aboriginal community, recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody and the inquest into the death in police custody of Yorta Yorta woman, Ms Tanya Day.
The project is funded by Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety and seeks to:
The project is funded by Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety and seeks to:
- Evaluate the transition from a criminal justice response to public intoxication to a public health response.
- Examine the factors that facilitate, support or impede access to public health services, including sobering services and other healthcare and social supports.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the reforms on building and sustaining partnerships to improve outcomes for vulnerable communities, including Aboriginal, Sudanese ad South Sudanese communities.
- Evaluate the extent to which the justice and legal infrastructure supporting the implementation of the reforms is consistent with human rights, including the right to health and health-related rights.