What you can expect from our services
At Victoria Legal Aid, we acknowledge the experiences of the people who use our services. We approach our work with an awareness of the effects that trauma and discrimination can have. We will work hard to meet the expectations in this service charter.
Our commitment to First Peoples
We will prioritise and enable self-determination for First Peoples and continue to foster culturally safe and informed services. We will work with First Peoples legal services, Aboriginal community controlled organisations and First Peoples representative bodies to ensure accountability to First Peoples communities.
Our service commitment
We will treat you fairly and with respect
We will not treat you unfairly because of who you are. We will provide safe and supportive services for you and:
- treat you with empathy, kindness, compassion and care
- make our services more accessible
- listen to you and learn about your individual needs, and
- meet those needs where we can.
You will be helped by professional staff
The person helping you will be trained to do their job well. We will aim to:
- use our knowledge and skills to assist you to get the best possible outcome
- be aware and respectful of disabilities and cultural differences
- keep improving the way we work to make sure we can help you in the best way possible.
We will support you in making your own decisions
We will support you in making decisions about what is best for you and your circumstances. We will:
- Listen to you and be respectful of your opinions.
- Answer your questions. If we do not know the answer, we will try to find out.
- As required, give you information about rights and options.
You will receive clear and transparent communication
We will communicate with you clearly and honestly in a way that meets your individual needs. We will:
- use an interpreter if you would prefer one
- use plain language when we speak or write to you
- clearly explain how we can help you and anything we cannot help you with
- clearly explain what you can expect from our service
- check that you understand what we have talked about.
We will serve you as quickly as we can
We can’t always control how quickly things go, but it is our goal to provide you with a timely, reliable, and efficient service. We will aim to:
- respect your time
- respond to your requests as soon as we can
- let you know how long you may have to wait
- update you on any changes to timelines.
If we can’t help you, we will suggest an appropriate service
If we cannot help you with your problem, we will:
- explain why we cannot help you
- suggest alternative services
- where possible, let you know about possible waiting times and eligibility for other services.
We will advocate for fairer laws and systems
We will fight for fairer laws and systems. Through our strategic advocacy efforts, we will:
- advocate for those who are marginalised and over-represented in systems
- collaborate with people with experience of these systems to ensure a client-centered approach to our advocacy.
More information
Updated