Victoria Legal Aid

Actions one to nine will see Victoria Legal Aid's improving client access to family law services includes enhancing its engagement with the community sector, and making available tools and training that support appropriate legal referrals by community support agencies.

These resources will be complemented by outreach to increase networks across the sector, build relationships and embed referral practices.

The second limb of this approach includes delivering tools and training to family lawyers so that they can better identify other non-legal services required by their clients and provide appropriate referrals to relevant support services.

The approach aims to improve early identification of legal and non-legal issues for clients and provide for more streamlined referrals, so that clients get the help they need at the earliest possible opportunity.

This approach also aims to better link the legal and broader community sectors for the benefit of both sectors and clients.

The duty lawyer service at the Family Law Courts is a key aspect of access and intake into family law services. The duty lawyer service is often the first point of contact that family law clients have with the legal system.

Victoria Legal Aid intends to further investigate and scope an Early Intervention Unit along the lines of the model adopted by Legal Aid New South WalesExternal Link to ascertain whether a similar model is a viable strategy for enhancing duty lawyer services in the Victorian context.

Better access to legal information and advice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients in Victoria is a priority. Victoria Legal Aid has recently developed a Reconciliation Action Plan, which includes considering the recruitment of Aboriginal field officers.

Read the full report

See the Family Law Legal Aid Services Review: final report (docx, 299.61 KB) for more information about these actions.

Or read a summary of other themes:

Disclaimer: The material in this print-out relates to the law as it applies in the state of Victoria. It is intended as a general guide only. Readers should not act on the basis of any material in this print-out without getting legal advice about their own particular situations. Victoria Legal Aid disclaims any liability howsoever caused to any person in respect of any action taken in reliance on the contents of the publication.

We help Victorians with their legal problems and represent those who need it most. Find legal answers, chat with us online, or call us. You can speak to us in English or ask for an interpreter. You can also find more legal information at www.legalaid.vic.gov.au

Reviewed 25 January 2022