Our history

Our history

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The early years to 1979

The early years to 1979

The idea of legal aid is more than 100 years old in Victoria. Initially only available to prisoners and very poor people, eligibility for legal aid broadened in 1928 with the introduction of an official body to means test and administer aid to disadvantaged Victorians. Read more
1980–89

1980–89

In 1981 we opened as the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria and by the end of the decade had 11 offices across the state. We also opened our Public Law Library and started Australia’s first country legal education programs in Wangaratta and Warrnambool. Read more
1990–99

1990–99

In 1995 we became Victoria Legal Aid. The decade also saw changes to Commonwealth funding arrangements and the opening of our Bairnsdale office. Following the Port Arthur shootings in 1996, we assisted victims with claims under the Port Arthur Victims Appeal Fund. Read more
2000–09

2000–09

We established our Roundtable Dispute Management service to help families resolve their disputes before ending up in the family courts. We also answered our one millionth call via our Legal Information Service and assisted victims of the Black Saturday bushfires. Read more
Recent times - from 2010 onwards

Recent times

We celebrated our 30th anniversary, made submissions into the police shooting of teenager Tyler Cassidy, launched the Equal Opportunity Legal Service, and ran a number of important test cases regarding infringement notices and aggravated people smuggling. Read more
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