Victoria Police investigates whistleblowers linked to Helloworld's free flights for Finance Minister Mathias Cormann's family. Discover the details of the leaked information that revealed the connections before a major travel contract, and Senator Cormann's response.

The families of women and children detained in Syria are threatening to take the Federal Government to court, claiming it is legally obliged to repatriate Australian citizens since the fall of the Islamic State group.

Defence lawyers and justice reformers say the figures should be a “circuit breaker” to review government policies such as tight bail laws, which drove the growth in prisoner numbers before the COVID-19 crisis.

A young Melbourne man, Harun Causevic, 18, once accused in an alleged Anzac Day terror plot, has avoided conviction and further custody on weapons offences after being arrested with four other teenagers.

A trusted member of former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu's staff who defrauded more than $18,000 from his personal cheque account – and forged his signature to do so – has pleaded guilty to four deception charges.

Georgia Fields, 19, of Ferntree Gully, walked free from the Supreme Court today on bail despite allegations she plotted to kill her boyfriend’s disabled, deaf flatmate; her lawyer said she poses no community risk, will live with family and follow a strict curfew.

Andrew Zingler, for Julian, said his client had a significant psychiatric history and, in the days leading up to the Mr Zingler said Julian had been a cannabis user for 35 years and planned to be drug free when released from jail.

Alleged jihadis would have access to religious guidance, education and psychological assessment under a bail support program being developed in Melbourne.

A Melbourne security guard and homelessness volunteer accused of attempting to travel to the Middle East to join the fight against the Islamic State has been released on bail.

The elderly husband who has been charged with the murder of two women in Victoria nearly 24 years ago, one of them being his wife, has described the accusations as 'bizarre'.

Seven men from Geelong's soccer community, including Luka Jurkovic and Oscar Cosic, avoided conviction for performing a Nazi salute.

Under questioning from Mr Stary, the detective conceded that none of Mr El Sabsabi's alleged offending included any instances of violent conduct and that he had cooperated with authorities.

As part of his submissions, defence lawyer Lou Richter included a judgment from more than 20 years ago by the then-chief justice John Harber Phillips on an appeal by the man's father against his 23-year jail sentence for sex crimes.

Jesse Smith told Deputy Chief Magistrate Lance Martin that the legislation provided "dramatically expanded, draconian and unprecedented police powers.

Chair of the Law Institute of Victoria's criminal law section Sam Norton said: “Young people were placed on the sex offenders register and had their career ruined. These changes are to be applauded.

Defence lawyer Sam Norton had said that his client's relationship with a woman had ended on Christmas Eve and in a letter to the court Davis apologised to the Hussain family.

Katarina Ljubicic submitted her young client had shown "extraordinary insight" into his offending which had had a "profound impact on him".

Melbourne lawyer Rob Stary agreed, saying Mr Big stings have been criticised for years. The police tactic created by Canadian police in the 1990s was adopted in Victoria to solve at least four unsolved murders.