How to make a complaint
We welcome complaints and feedback.
Anyone can make a complaint or provide feedback about Victoria Legal Aid services, functions, decisions, policies or processes. This helps improve our services.
If you are dissatisfied, try to resolve your concerns directly with your Victoria Legal Aid lawyer or staff member first. This gives them a chance to understand your concerns and work with you to resolve them quickly and practically.
If you cannot resolve your concerns in this way, you can:
- make a complaint using our online form
- send an email to complaints@vla.vic.gov.au
- call the Internal Legal Services team on (03) 9280 3789
- attend in person at one of our office or service locations
- use our call back service.
We can accept complaints anonymously, although this may limit how we can respond to you.
We welcome any feedback you are willing to share about your experiences, as this information also helps us to improve our services.
Please share your feedback using any of the ways to contact us given on this page.
Do you need an interpreter?
You can speak to someone in English or ask for an interpreter.
If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can use the National Relay Service to call us over the internet on (03) 9280 3789.
How to make a complaint for another person
If you are complaining on behalf of another person you must have proof that you have their consent.
Without consent we are unable to provide any information, including whether or not a person has a grant of legal aid.
You will need to fill out the Client authority to act form or provide proof of guardianship. You will also need to submit the online complaint form on this page.
Download the form:
You can send the form to us by:
- email to complaints@vla.vic.gov.au
post to:
Internal Legal Services
Victoria Legal Aid
GPO Box 4380, MELBOURNE VIC 3001.
In some cases we may be able to confirm consent over the phone.
Privacy and confidentiality
We are committed to protecting the personal information we collect as part of the complaints process and handle it in accordance with Our Privacy policy.
When I should get a response
We will acknowledge your complaint as quickly as possible once received. We aim to resolve complaints quickly and reasonably within 30 days where possible.
If your complaint is particularly complex, we will assess whether it is suitable for further investigation. We aim to resolve investigations within 3 to 6 months.
We may ask you to provide further information to us about your complaint to help us resolve it or complete our investigation. We will keep you regularly updated about the progress of your complaint.
In some circumstances we may decline to investigate, for example where a matter is best raised in another venue such as a court. If we decline to investigate, we will tell you why and may refer you to another organisation.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint
You may request an internal review if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint. We may decline to consider your request in certain circumstances, such as where no new information has been provided.
The Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner can also receive and consider complaints about the professional conduct of all Victorian lawyers.
If you are dissatisfied about any decision Victoria Legal Aid has made about you, you may contact the Victorian Ombudsman on 1800 806 314.
The Victorian Ombudsman does not have power to change the decision however they can:
- look into how the decision was made
- make suggestions about how we can improve our decision-making processes in future.
Explore our publications and resources
Explore our related pages
Online form
Updated