Information for lawyers

Court practice changes for family violence intervention orders

The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is implementing two important family violence intervention order practice improvements state-wide this week.

From Wednesday 24 July 2019:

Getting the most out of our spend on psychologists and psychiatrists

Psychiatrists and psychologists are engaged from time to time to prepare expert reports for our clients, and to attend court to give evidence about their mental health.

As you may be aware, our Board has fixed fees for expert reports and court attendances by psychologists and psychiatrists in criminal matters. The fees are set out in Table S of the VLA Handbook.

Implementation updates of the Child Protection Legal Aid Services Review

Changes to practice standards for lawyers working with children

We are updating our practice standards for lawyers performing legally aided work with children.

Children are among the most vulnerable in our legal system, and deserve high-quality legal services tailored to their needs.

Common questions about the Commonwealth family violence and cross-examination scheme

The Family Law Act 1975 has been amended to ban direct cross examination in cases where there is family violence.

The changes will apply to hearings that occur from 10 September 2019 onwards.

Our first family law forum for 2019

Our first family law forum for 2019 is coming up shortly.

When: Friday 17 May 2019
Where: Marvel Stadium, 740 Bourke St, Docklands.

Family law forums consistently rate highly as a professional development day for lawyers who do family law legal aid work, as well as a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues.

Our new LawGuru site

We have updated our LawGuru website.

LawGuru is an online resource for lawyers that was originally created for our staff. It provides legal information, updates on legislation, references, forms and resources to help clients.

Victoria Legal Aid supports community legal centre (CLC) staff and panel practitioners by providing access to LawGuru. LawGuru provides legal information, updates on legislation, references, forms and resources to help lawyers support their clients.

Clerkship programs and graduate opportunities increase diversity in the legal sector

As a part of improving our service response to the communities we work with, we're improving employment opportunities at Victoria Legal Aid for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We offer both clerkship and graduate opportunities to law students who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to encourage greater representation in the legal sector.

Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants

The Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants is now underway, with public hearings expected to commence in late March 2019. We have received a number of enquiries about funding for legal representation from people who may be required to give evidence or granted leave to appear before the royal commission.