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Legal assistance schemes

Victoria Legal Aid is not the only source of legal aid. There are a number of organisations and schemes that help people to get ‘pro bono’ (free or reduced cost) legal representation from lawyers in private law firms, including:

  • the Public Interest Law Clearing House
  • the Law Aid scheme
  • the Commonwealth Attorney-General.

There are also a number of community legal centres (CLCs) in Victoria that provide a range of legal services, most of which are free. See ‘Lawyers’ (link below) for more information about CLCs.

Public Interest Law Clearing House

The Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) is a non-profit public interest legal centre that specialises in co-ordinating pro bono legal services in cases of public interest.

Eligible clients are non-profit associations with public interest objectives or individuals who are not eligible for legal aid or are unable to pay for the costs of legal services.

PILCH matches eligible clients with members who then act in the legal matter on pro bono basis or for a reduced fee. PILCH schemes include:

  • the Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic, which provides free legal assistance to, and advocacy on behalf of, people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
  • the Law Institute of Victoria Legal Assistance Scheme, which provides legal assistance to people in legal and financial need who cannot afford to pay a solicitor or obtain assistance from another appropriate organisation
  • the Victorian Bar Legal Assistance Scheme, which provides legal advice and representation to assist people whose cases have merit or involve an important principle and which would not otherwise be heard due to a lack of funds to pursue the case
  • the Public Interest Law Scheme, which provides assistance to individuals, community groups and not-for-profit organisations who raise issues of public interest that require legal resolution
  • PilchConnect, which provides free and low cost legal information, training, advice and legal referrals for Victorian not-for-profit community organisations.

See the PILCH website (link below) for details of eligibility criteria and how to apply.

Law Aid

The Law Institute of Victoria’s Law Aid scheme (link below) aims to improve access to legal representation for people who can't afford to take a civil dispute to court. The types of cases funded include:

  • serious personal injury claims
  • claims against institutions involving oppressive behaviour
  • loss or destruction of property claims
  • professional negligence claims
  • Wills and estate claims.

Law Aid provides money to pay solicitors' disbursements (expenses your lawyer has to pay for you, such as court filing fees, expert's fees or travel expenses). If your case is successful you have to repay the disbursements and a fee that is calculated as a percentage of the verdict or settlement (usually 5.5 per cent). If your case is not successful the solicitor and barrister will not charge you for their services.

Applicants are assessed on their ability to pay their legal costs themselves and on the merits of their case. There is an application fee of $100. Your solicitor can give you more information about Law Aid and help you make an application.

Commonwealth Attorney-General

The Australian Government provides financial assistance to people who need help with matters involving Commonwealth law for which legal aid is not available. Eligible matters include:

  • native title matters and other matters specified in Commonwealth legislation
  • the Commonwealth Public Interest and Test Cases Program
  • Overseas Custody (Child Removal) Program
  • Special Circumstances (Overseas) Program.

The majority of schemes include hardship and reasonableness tests for eligibility.

See the Attorney-General's website (link below) for more information.

More information

Lawyers

What we do

Related websites

Federal Attorney-General's Department – financial assistance

Law Institute of Victoria – Law Aid

Public Interest Law Clearing House