MELBOURNE'S elite men-only clubs have been given the green light to keep women out.

The so-called gentlemen's retreats, including the Melbourne and Athenaeum clubs on Collins Street and the Savage Club in Bank Place, have scored a big win over state Attorney-General Rob Hulls, with a Labor-dominated parliamentary committee saying they have the right to continue as single-sex institutions.

No women ... the Collins Street entrance to Melbourne's Athenaeum Club.

The committee, headed by Government MP Carlo Carli, has rebuffed Mr Hulls' aggressive campaign to end the protections that allow private clubs - including the elite women-only clubs the Lyceum and Alexandra - to be excluded from Victoria's anti-discrimination laws.

In its report, tabled yesterday, the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee said freedom of association was a ''fundamental human right'' that was protected under Victorian law, and it needed to be balanced against the right to non-discrimination.