Lord Mayor Nick Reece has criticised the Victorian government’s decriminalisation of begging and will seek to use council laws to fight back against Melbourne’s homelessness crisis.

Mr Reece said the City of Melbourne was “caught by total surprise” by the law change, which has left the council with limited options in dealing with people begging or sleeping on the streets.

“As a matter of principle I do not like the idea of begging being illegal,” Mr Reece told Tuesday’s council meeting.

“But I also recognise that there is a practical operational benefit that it delivers in the City of Melbourne because it allows our officers to say to a person begging ‘Hey mate, you can’t do that. How about we connect you with some proper care and assistance?’”.

It is unclear what the new begging measures could be, but council officers have been asked to explore whether municipal bylaws can be updated or adapted to regulate begging on city streets.

Mr Reece also called out the Victorian government for failing to consult with local councils before passing the legislation.

“There needs to be put on the public record that there was no consultation with the City of Melbourne on this change. We were caught by total surprise … an amendment moved by the Legalise Cannabis Party that is now suddenly law on the streets of Melbourne.”

The Herald Sun revealed last month that Melbourne’s most severe homeless cases have more than doubled in the past two years.

Town Hall’s by-name list, a catalogue of the city’s most severe homelessness cases, jumped from 78 people to 163 between 2024 and 2026.

Parliament voted on Thursday last week to decriminalise begging throughout the state. Western Australia, NSW, the ACT, and Tasmania have already decriminalised the offence, which in Victoria previously carried a maximum punishment of up to 12 months’ imprisonment.

It came after an amendment from Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne, who cited benefits of decriminalisation for victims of family violence and vulnerable women escaping hardship who might otherwise spiral into fines and criminal records.

Crime statistics showed more than 850 begging offences were recorded between 2017 and 2026, with the highest proportion inside the City of Melbourne.

A founding director of homelessness non-profit The Big Issue Australia, Mr Reece said the state government’s sudden move left local authorities without a practical option to intervene early and direct vulnerable people toward support services.

Reflecting on his decade at The Big Issue, he said: “The message that we continually gave was, please do not give money directly to people begging. It does not help that person and it does not help the community,” encouraging the public to direct funds to registered charities and social enterprises instead.

While the urgent motion received support from the majority of the council chamber, dissenters Olivia Ball and Davydd Griffiths spoke against Mr Reece’s move.

Ms Ball noted that while the previous state law technically allowed up to 12 months’ imprisonment, magistrates almost always threw out infringements and jail time was rarely imposed, proving that “the sky is not about to fall now this lever is revoked”.

“Sending a message telling people who live in poverty that they are criminals is not a message I wish to send,” Ms Ball said.

Mr Griffiths also voted against the motion, explaining that while he was initially open to requesting a neutral report, the debate revealed that proponents held preformed views aimed at recriminalising begging.

“Each of the speakers who spoke in favour of it spoke around a myriad of other issues, prejudging the matters that we’re asking officers to come back and report to us on,” Mr Griffiths said.

Mr Reece’s motion passed with only Ms Ball and Mr Griffiths voting against.