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AAP
AAP
Politics
Callum Godde

Victorian informant laws on ice as Greens flag concerns

Jaclyn Symes says the threshold has been raised for police to use a lawyer as an informant. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

The Victorian government is set to be forced back to the negotiating table over its controversial police informant law reforms.

After Labor drafted amendments to raise the threshold for Victoria Police to use lawyers as informants, the Greens said on Thursday they still hold concerns and were not in a position to support the bill.

"The Greens share many of the concerns raised by legal experts including the lack of adequate protections for children who may be registered as reportable human sources," the party's justice spokeswoman Katherine Copsey said in a statement

"We're also concerned about the lack of effective independent oversight or power to limit the recruitment of certain individuals being registered as reportable human sources."

They want more time to continue negotiations over the Human Source Management Bill, meaning it is unlikely to be brought to a vote in the upper house on Thursday.

The bill acts on 25 recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants after it investigated Victoria Police's handling of former gangland lawyer-turned-police informant Nicola Gobbo.

On Wednesday, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes confirmed the government had drafted changes to raise the threshold for the police chief commissioner to use a lawyer as an informant.

The police commissioner would have to be satisfied there is an imminent risk to a person's or community safety and convinced there are no alternative sources, she said.

Ms Symes cited examples such as murder or threats to national security.

Another amendment would require the police commissioner to seek permission from the Supreme Court to register a lawyer as a human source, if those thresholds are met.

With the coalition fighting the legislation, Labor needs the support of at least six crossbenchers in the Legislative Council for the bill to pass.

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