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Victoria Police pays out nearly $47 million to settle hundreds of civil claims since 2020, as officer dismissals on the rise, new report finds
Victoria Police is facing mounting financial pressure as civil claims against officers hit new highs, with the force now spending close to $10 million annually to resolve misconduct allegations.
Official data indicates that since 2020, the state's police agency has paid out $46.5 million to finalise 345 civil actions.
In the most recent financial year alone, 75 cases were settled – the largest number recorded in the past five years.
The spike in settlements is partly attributed to the resolution of complex, long-standing legal disputes.
While the exact details and nature of individual claims are typically kept confidential, often bound by legal agreements, the overall cost to the public purse remains significant.
Civil litigation financial settlements dramatically rose from $6.7m in 2020-2021 to $15.3m in 2021-2022, with the last annual report showing it standing at $8.8m from July 2024 to April 2025.
However, a police spokesman said it was too difficult to detail the nature of the claims brought against Victoria Police.
"Civil litigation against Victoria Police is rare compared with the thousands of interactions our members have with the public every day," he said.
"Financial settlements can fluctuate each year depending on the number of matters and when they were resolved, with some substantive cases running over several years before reaching a conclusion.
"The rise recorded so far this financial year is largely attributable to a number of long-running complex matters being resolved."
The police spokesman said payouts included both settlements and court-awarded costs and that individual settlement amounts were generally not disclosed at the agreement of the parties involved.
"Individual settlement amounts are generally not disclosed at the agreement of the parties involved," he said.
"There may also be legal restrictions in place preventing any acknowledgement civil action even exists.
"Victoria Police conducts a thorough investigation before the finalisation of any civil matter and our decisions are always based on independent legal advice."
Disciplinary action within the force has also seen an uptick showing a steady flow of dismissals and internal charges.
In the 2023 financial year, 11 officers were removed from duty, with another 87 facing formal disciplinary charges.
This follows a similar trend in preceding years, with 30 officers leaving the force in 2022 under misconduct circumstances, and 11 more dismissed the year before.
Over a ten-year span, 711 officers have been charged with a combined total of 903 misconduct offences, leading to the dismissal of 85 members of the force.
Calls for independent oversight have grown louder, with legal advocates arguing that the current system fails to provide adequate transparency.
The push for an independent Police Ombudsman remains strong, with the Police Accountability Project highlighting systemic flaws, including that only 0.4 per cent of complaints in 2020–2021 were independently investigated by IBAC.
A survey of Victoria Police staff reveals 85 per cent acknowledged misconduct occurs, yet only 48 per cent felt it was a state-wide problem, and just 21 per cent perceived issues within their own workplace.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) continues to receive a high volume of concerns about Victoria Police.
A 2018 Parliamentary inquiry recommended that IBAC, not Victoria Police, should lead investigations into serious misconduct.
In the last reporting year, nearly two-thirds of all complaints submitted to the agency related to the force.
IBAC processed 3,016 allegations linked to 2,249 complaints - a 15 per cent rise compared to the previous year.
