Victoria Legal Aid

Our organisation

Find out more about our vision and values and strategic directions, the Board and senior executives, our annual reports and the history of legal aid in Victoria.

We help people with legal problems involving family breakdown, child protection, family violence, criminal matters, social security, mental health, discrimination, guardianship and administration, fines, immigration, tenancy and debt.

Our clients are often people who are socially and economically disadvantaged, people with a disability or mental illness, children, the elderly, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those who live in remote areas.

For more information about our services areas how we help clients see what we do.

As an independent statutory authority, we are set up to meet the following statutory objectives:

  • provide legal aid in the most effective, economic and efficient manner
  • manage resources to make legal aid available at a reasonable cost to the community and on an equitable basis throughout the state
  • provide to the community improved access to justice and legal remedies
  • pursue innovative means of providing legal aid directed at minimising the need for individual legal services in the community
  • ensure the coordination of the provision of legal aid so that it responds to the legal and related needs of the community
  • ensure the coordination of the provision of legal assistance information so that information responds to the legal and related needs of the community, including by being, accessible, current, high-quality and of sufficient breadth.

We are funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments but operate independently of government. Our annual report details our finances, including our income and expenditure. Read our quarterly reports for details from each quarter of the financial year.

Acknowledgement of Country

Our organisation operates from many different sites throughout Victoria. Across these locations, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country, recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community, and pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.

How we are improving our services

Find out about how we are improving our services, including the reviews and public consultations we have undertaken.

Organisations we work with

Find out more about the organisations we work with, including state and national partners, lawyers in private practice, community legal centres, local communities and educational institutions.

Our Board

Meet our Board of Directors, who are responsible for ensuring Victoria Legal Aid meets its statutory objectives and carries out its functions and duties in accordance with the Legal Aid Act 1978External Link .

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

Read more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion, including our strategies and framework to achieve this.

Our history

While the idea of legal aid is more than 100 years old in Victoria, in 1981 the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria was established and became Victoria Legal Aid in 1995. Find out more about our history.

Our vision, purpose and values

Find out about our vision, purpose and values that guide our decision-making.

Public accountability

Our regular reports on our performance ensure people understand our priorities, decisions, performance and financial position. Find out more about our public accountability.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan

Our Reconciliation Action Plan sets out the steps we will take to improve our service response to First Nations people in Victoria.

Our senior leadership team

Meet our senior leadership team, which consists of the chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chief counsel, executive directors and directors.

Our organisational chart

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 24 January 2024

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