Victoria Police has announced a A$1 million reward — the largest ever offered in the state — for information leading to the capture of Dezi Freeman, a man wanted in connection with shootings that took place in Porepunkah, a town in Victoria's alpine northeast, in March 2026.

To understand why this reward matters, it helps to know what it signals. Rewards this large are rare in Australia. Police typically use them only when they've run out of leads and believe the public is their best chance at finding someone.

What we know about the case

The shootings happened in March 2026 in Porepunkah. Victoria Police created a dedicated taskforce to investigate. The exact details of what occurred are still part of an ongoing legal case, so they haven't been made fully public. What is clear: the incident was serious enough to justify both the taskforce and this record reward.

In late May, ABC News reported that the taskforce arrested two men in connection with Freeman's activities before the shooting. The arrests don't mean Freeman has been found, but they show investigators are working backward through his contacts and movements — a standard approach when a suspect has disappeared and there's no immediate lead on their location.

Why such a large amount?

A A$1 million reward doesn't work like a lottery ticket. It's designed to reach people who actually know Freeman — his friends, associates, or those sheltering him. The thinking is simple: if you're close to a fugitive, helping the police puts you at personal risk. A smaller reward won't make that trade-off worth it. A million dollars might.

Victoria has rules protecting the identity of informants, so people who come forward don't have to fear being traced back to Freeman's group.

The bigger picture

The case has been active for roughly three months. The longer a high-profile manhunt drags on, the more pressure builds on police leadership to show they're making progress. The two arrests and the record reward serve that purpose — they let the public and Freeman's network know the investigation is still active and well-funded.

No federal police involvement has been publicly announced, though background materials suggest the Prime Minister's office is aware the case exists. This remains primarily a state police matter.

The Freeman manhunt is now Victoria's most resource-intensive active search by reward value. Whether the A$1 million incentive brings a breakthrough, or whether the case continues through the rest of 2026, will depend a lot on whether the two arrested men or others in Freeman's circle choose to cooperate with investigators.