Children who commit serious crimes will be sentenced as adults, under a state government's plan to combat youth crime.

Victoria will adopt an "adult time for violent crime" laws, mirroring Queensland, which implemented the tough approach in 2024.

Children as young as 14 could be tried in adult courts, and possibly face life sentences under the proposed changes to be announced by the premier on Wednesday.

"We're introducing Adult Time for Violent Crime," Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced in a social media post.

Former chair of the Law Institute of Victoria's criminal law section Mel Walker described the youth sentencing changes as "extraordinary, bad policy and counter-intuitive".

"As a community, are we content to deal with children in that way, and in how many years in the fu

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