- Published:
- Wednesday 6 May 2026 at 10:00 am
Three of our critical services have received funding extensions in the Victorian Budget 2026–27.
Help Before Court (HB4C) and the Victims Legal Service (VLS) each received two additional years of funding while the Independent Family Advocacy and Support (IFAS) received three years.
Our CEO Toby Hemming welcomed the funding announcements.
‘In a difficult financial environment, we are pleased to see additional, multi-year funding for three important programs so they can continue beyond 30 June 2026,’ Mr Hemming said.
‘The Victorian government has recognised the value of these programs, which provide essential legal and non-legal support to people at difficult times in their lives.
‘In different ways, these three programs help to level the playing field for Victorians facing disadvantage to ensure fair legal outcomes and equal access to justice.’
Help Before Court helps people with criminal charges to prepare before they attend court and has been found to reduce the burden on courts.
Independent Family Advocacy and Support is a confidential, free and voluntary service providing non-legal advocacy and support to parents and primary carers who are involved in the child protection system at the early stages.
Victims Legal Service provides legal information, advice, referrals and support to people who have suffered injury or loss because of a crime and need help to receive financial assistance, restitution and compensation or a referral to other support agencies.
Long-term funding
Mr Hemming said that while the funding extensions were positive, sustainable, long-term funding was needed to meet growing demand for our services.
‘The investment in this budget is welcome, however we continue to face a shortfall between our base funding and service demand,’ Mr Hemming said.
‘Our current funding only allows us to meet a fraction of the legal need in the Victorian community at a time when demand for our services is growing.
‘Now that we have some funding certainty for key programs, we look forward to continuing discussions with government about long-term sustainable funding to help meet the legal needs of Victorians.’
Bail changes and youth justice
We have also received a total of $4.5 million over the next two years for the increase in demand following the government’s stricter bail and youth justice laws.
‘We will continue to work with government to ensure they understand the impact of these policy changes on our clients and our ability to deliver services,’ Mr Hemming said.
In 2024–25, we delivered more than 490,000 services to people across Victoria, including around 110,000 duty lawyer services, 138,000 sessions through our Legal Help phone line and webchat and 270 community legal education sessions.
More information
Find out more about our Victims Legal Service and contact the helpline.
Learn about our Help Before Court service and how it helps.
Read about Independent Family Advocacy and Support providing non-legal advocacy and support to parents and primary carers involved in the child protection system.
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