We are committed to building strong, effective relationships with other organisations for the benefit of our clients. We work with state and national partners, lawyers in private practice, community legal centres, local communities and educational institutions.
National Legal Aid
Victoria Legal Aid is a member of National Legal Aid, which comprises the eight state and territory legal aid commissions.
The commissions work collaboratively to deliver essential legal services, making sure that justice is accessible to all Australians.
National Legal Aid's goals are set out in its Strategic Plan 2025-2030.
As a member of National Legal Aid, we:
- participate in consultations on matters of national importance, including law reform submissions
- share resources and systems
- enhance best practice in ways that provide value for money in the delivery of legal aid.
State and territory legal aid commissions
- Legal Aid ACT
- Legal Aid New South Wales
- Legal Aid Queensland
- Legal Aid Western Australia
- Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission
- Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania
- Legal Services Commission of South Australia
Legal assistance forums
We collaborate with other legal sector organisations through legal assistance forums to improve access to services for socially and economically disadvantaged people in Victoria.
The Victorian Legal Assistance Forum allows participating organisations to plan and advocate for increased access to services and develop service delivery models that are responsive to community justice needs.
The Australian Legal Assistance Forum allows national organisations to address legal assistance issues in Australia co-operatively.
Gippsland Legal Assistance Forum
The Gippsland Legal Assistance Forum (GLAF) provides coordination and triage of legal services in Gippsland, Victoria.
The forum works together to improve access to legal help for priority clients across the whole of Gippsland.
The group is a collaboration of legal assistance services, including two mainstream and two First Nation-led legal organisations.
They are:
- Gippsland Community Legal Services
- Us (Victoria Legal Aid)
- Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
- Djirra (formerly known as Family Violence and Prevention Legal Service).
The forum also works with a range of support services, health services, government agencies and non-government organisations to get the right legal assistance to clients sooner.
How the forum helps
The forum helps to spot legal issues often missed and make the best referrals through:
- Specialist services – GLAF lawyers provide help to clients and workers in specialist services such as:
- Secondary consultations – GLAF lawyers also give general advice to agency workers. This includes information about a client's legal issues, or potential legal issues. This done in a de-identified one-on-one session, or in a group discussion.
- Legal health checks – this is a one-page questionnaire that can help workers ascertain whether a legal referral is needed for their client.
- Professional development training for agencies – we offer a range of training to help frontline workers identify legal need and when to make a referral.
- Community legal education – GLAF member agencies offer a range of training for schools and community groups on topics such as:
- family violence
- consent
- serious driving offences
- bushfire insurance
- sexting
Contact the Gippsland Legal Assistance Forum
If you assist those who need legal assistance and would like to make a referral to GLAF, please email GLAFlegalreferrals@vla.vic.gov.au
Lawyers in private practice
Our partnership with the private legal profession, including the Law Institute of Victoria and the Victorian Bar, is essential for the provision of quality legal aid services.
Lawyers in private practice conduct about 70 per cent of legally aided cases, in the areas of criminal, family and civil law. This significant contribution helps us to provide greater coverage and access to justice services. Lawyers acting for a client with a grant of legal assistance are required to be a member of one of our Panels.
Lawyers in private practice also contribute as duty lawyers, providing help at court to people who do not have their own lawyer on the day of their hearing.
We support the ongoing professional development of lawyers in private practice through assisting them to undertake the Law Institute of Victoria’s Accredited Specialisation program and inviting them to attend our professional legal education activities.
Through our Trial Counsel Development Program, we provide training opportunities to participating Junior Counsel by partnering them with senior trial advocates in criminal trials.
Community legal centres
Community legal centres (CLCs) are independent community organisations that provide free advice, casework and legal education to their communities. These centres are an integral part of the justice sector.
Some CLCs are generalist centres that assist people with a range of issues such as family law, family violence, victims of crime compensation, credit and debt, issues and neighbourhood disputes. Others specialise in particular areas of law, such as tenancy, consumer, employment, human rights, elder abuse, environmental and migration law.
Community Legal Services Program
The Community Legal Services Program (CLSP) supports CLCs to provide legal assistance and associated services, increasing access to justice in Victoria. Victoria Legal Aid manages the CLSP and administers funding to CLCs on behalf of the Commonwealth and state governments as well as Victoria Legal Aid's own funding for collaborative services and partnerships with CLCs. In addition to funding available through the CLSP, centres may also receive funding from various other government and non-government sources.
Victoria Legal Aid grants and administers funding to 42 CLCs, including Djirra, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria (FCLC). In 2024–25, we administered $66,819,454 to these centres on behalf of the Victorian and Commonwealth governments, as well as Victoria Legal Aid’s own funding. This funding includes baseline funding and specific purpose funding attached to specific service delivery.
Agreement, policies and reporting templates
The new CLSP agreement for 2025–28 came into effect on 1 July 2025 following a review and updates to reflect government requirements, including the National Access to Justice Partnership 2025–2030. The agreement was reviewed by Victoria Legal Aid and the Department of Justice and Community Safety, in consultation with a working group of CLCs and the Federation of CLCs Victoria. Improvements to the agreement and supporting documents and templates were made based on the changes proposed by CLCs. This included clarifying service standards and streamlining reporting requirements. This review followed the sector consultation and review of the previous agreement in the CLSP Reform Project 2017–22.
For organisations receiving funding via the CLSP from 1 July 2025, the CLSP policies are set out in:
The reporting templates are:
If you have any questions or accessibility issues with these documents please contact our CLC Funding and Development Program via clcfdp@vla.vic.gov.au
Community Legal Services Program Reform Project
In 2017, we initiated a review of the CLSP to ensure it aligned with current expectations regarding the planning and delivery of legal services and accountability for expenditure of public money. Based on CLC’s feedback, we developed a new service agreement and guidance documents, which embedded funding principles from 1 July 2020. Victoria Legal Aid supported centres throughout the CLSP Agreement 2020–25 to adapt to new processes and to meet the CLSP requirements.
For more information about the CLSP, email clcfdp@vla.vic.gov.au.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services
Our Reconciliation Action Plan renews our commitment to working collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services provide legal assistance and community legal education and advocate for systemic changes that will benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service was established in the 1970s to meet the needs of Indigenous people, working to ensure that they enjoy their legal rights and have access to legal representation in courts. It is also actively involved in community education, research and advocacy around law reform and policy development.
Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Victoria
Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Victoria was established in 2002 to provide assistance to victims of family violence and sexual assault and to work with families and communities affected by violence.
The service provides legal advice, referrals, ongoing casework and court representation. It also engages in community legal education and community development activities, as well as policy and law reform directed towards systemic change.
Legal sector and government organisations
We work collaboratively with legal sector and government organisations to deliver timely and respectful access to the justice system; to help people resolve legal problems and protect rights. Some of the organisations we work with include:
- Law Institute of Victoria
- Victorian Bar
- Office of Public Prosecutions
- Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
- Magistrates’ Court of Victoria
- County Court of Victoria
- Supreme Court of Victoria
- Department of Justice
- Office of the Commonwealth Attorney-General
- Office of the Victorian Attorney-General.
Community organisations
We recognise that clients often have a number of issues to resolve that are related to their legal problem. As part of our commitment to helping clients resolve their issues we assess and, when appropriate, refer them to other community services that can help them.
We build direct links with community organisations by hosting and participating in forums on issues of mutual concern and by collaborating on community education projects.
Educational institutions
We have established relationships with many educational institutions, including almost all the major universities in Victoria.
We provide opportunities for students to undertake placements within our organisation to gain practical experience, including hosting law, research, business and criminal justice administration students.
From time to time we partner with universities or research institutes to conduct research projects relevant to legal aid. We have also participated in external research projects related to the justice sector and legal services. Find out more about our research and analysis work.
Collaborative Planning Committee
The Collaborative Planning Committee is a forum for senior representatives across the legal-assistance sector. It promotes collaboration, transparency and effectiveness.
The committee started in May 2019 following the introduction of the Access to Justice reforms. The aim was to provide evidence-based advice to the Victoria Legal Aid Board about legal needs and the legal-assistance sector. It established a new purpose from September 2023 – to pursue common strategic priorities and focus on collaboration, transparency and effectiveness within the legal assistance sector.
Who is in the committee?
- Department of Justice and Community Safety
- Djirra
- Federation of Community Legal Centres
- Law Institute of Victoria
- Victoria Law Foundation
- Victoria Legal Aid
- Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
- Victorian Bar.
The committee may extend membership to senior representatives from other organisations, and invite other participants to inform and enrich discussions.
What does the committee do?
The committee has high-level discussions that commit organisations to:
- contributing to sector planning initiatives
- providing advice or sector-wide perspectives on key issues and collaboration on policy positions
- supporting the principle of self-determination in the committee’s work with Aboriginal community controlled organisations and promote greater cultural safety within mainstream services and activities
- supporting the sharing of information, including qualitative and quantitative data, to improve insight and service planning.
Summaries of committee meetings
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
More information
For more information about the Collaborative Planning Committee, contact Liz Hughes at liz.hughes@vla.vic.gov.au.
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