Victoria's upper house has passed a motion put forward by Legalise Cannabis Victoria MP Rachel Payne calling for the state's cannabis cautioning scheme to be written into law, following the party's claim that a recent shift in Victoria Police policy had done little to bring down arrest numbers.
Payne said in an interview that a 2024 revision to Victoria Police's internal guidelines had introduced a preference for issuing cautions rather than making arrests in cases involving minor cannabis possession.
The revision also broadened who could be eligible for cautions and eliminated any cap on the number a person could receive for personal cannabis possession.
Despite this, Payne contended the revised approach had produced little real-world difference, with awareness of the new policy remaining low across police ranks, legal professionals and the broader public.
"Victoria Police changed their policy in September 2024. However, no-one seems to know about it," she said. "This includes current serving police, former police, legal experts and human rights legal experts who look at cautioning schemes all the time.
"I actually asked a question to the police minister about cautions in the middle of last year, and the response that came back was not indicative that there had been changes to the cautioning scheme.
“We didn’t even know about it. It wasn’t until I met with police command and said ‘can we just stop arresting people?’ that they responded by saying ‘we already have a policy position on this’.”
Payne said it would be “really hard” for new police officers to be aware of the changes, and that they would “probably just err on the side of caution by arresting”.
Crime Statistics Agency data cited by the party backed this assessment, showing that 48% of people detected with small quantities of cannabis were still being arrested, compared with 37% who received a caution.
Payne said the numbers showed the policy was not being followed in practice.
“Those figures should well and truly should be the other way around,” she said.
The motion passed without a single vote against it, drawing support from both the government and the opposition.
“It’s fabulous – it indicates that Victoria Police are leading the way in saying we need a harm minimisation approach,” Payne said.
She said putting the scheme into law would give police, magistrates and the public a clear and consistent framework, while also freeing up police resources.
“Just make cautions the law, and then everyone will be on the same page,” she added.
Payne said the Victorian government would now examine the proposal in greater detail, with the party hoping the reform could advance before the November 28 state election.
“Because the opposition has not opposed this, I think it gives even more weight for the government to act,” she said.
“But in saying that, what the government wants to do now is investigate it, and David (Ettershank) and I will continue working behind the scenes to make sure that process is done swiftly and properly.
“We’ll do our best to get it done as soon as practical, [although] nothing is quick in this place. But with an election year coming up, there will be opportunities to push this forward.”
