Victoria Legal Aid

Agency overview
Formed December 1995
Preceding agency
  • Legal Aid Commission of Victoria
Jurisdiction Government of Victoria
Agency executive
  • Mr Bevan Warner, Managing Director
Website www.legalaid.vic.gov.au

Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is an organisation that focuses on helping and protecting the legal rights of socially and economically disadvantaged people in the state of Victoria, Australia. It provides information, referral, advice and legal representation services in family, civil and criminal law within Victoria.

As a statutory authority, VLA operates under the Legal Aid Act 1978 and is funded by the Australian government for matters that fall under Commonwealth law, and the Victorian state government. The majority of Commonwealth law matters fall within the family law jurisdiction.

Another source of funding is from the public purpose fund, made up of interest paid on money that is collected by the Legal Services Board from solicitors’ trust accounts.

VLA also administers Commonwealth and state government funding of community legal centres within Victoria. Community legal centres (CLCs) are independent community organisations that provide free advice, casework and legal education to their communities. There are currently 50 CLCs in Victoria, and some specialise in particular areas of law.

VLA administers funding for 40 centres and the Federation of Community Legal Centres through the CLC Funding Program, ensuring that centres meet their service agreements. It also focuses on supporting the professional development of the sector through joint training initiatives.

History

The idea of legal aid is more than 100 years old in Victoria.[1]

Before 1928 only prisoners or very poor people could apply to the Supreme Court for legal aid. In 1928 the government set up the Public Solicitor's Office to make legal aid more easily available. People were eligible if they did not own property worth more than 50 pounds. As more people learnt about legal aid, demand increased. This created a backlog of cases in the Public Solicitor's Office. To provide more legal aid, the Victorian state government passed the Legal Aid Act 1961 which set up the Legal Aid Committee. This committee was run by the legal profession.

In 1969, the state government passed new legislation. This Act made the Legal Aid Committee responsible for civil and minor criminal cases, and made the Public Solicitor responsible for serious criminal cases. In 1974 the Commonwealth government set up the Australian Legal Aid Office. This office provided legal aid for Federal law cases such as family law and bankruptcy. The Australian Legal Aid Office also helped people who the commonwealth had a special responsibility for, such as people receiving social security and members of the armed forces.

The Legal Aid Commission of Victoria (LACV) was set up in 1978 as an independent statutory body. The LACV took over the functions of the Australian Legal Aid Office, the Legal Aid Committee and the Public Solicitor's Office. The LACV had a wider role than the Legal Aid Committee and the Public Solicitor's Office. Its role included providing community legal education and law reform. The LACV had an 11-member board including representatives from community legal centres, welfare groups and the legal profession.

Victoria Legal Aid replaced the LACV in December 1995.[2]

Structure

VLA has a board of directors, a managing director, three large in-house legal practice directorates, an in-house advocacy team, and legal and corporate support functions.

The board's five directors are nominated by the Victorian attorney-general and appointed by the governor-in-council. Board members are Chairperson Andrew Guy; Managing Director Bevan Warner; Catherine McGovern, Virginia Rogers, and David Thompson.

Current programs and objectives

Civil Justice Program

Objectives:

Areas of activity or sub-programs that fall within VLA’s Civil Justice Program include Mental Health and Disability Advocacy, Social Inclusion and Equality, Migration and Commonwealth Entitlements.[3]

Criminal Law Program

Objectives:

Areas of activity or sub-programs that fall within VLA’s Criminal Law Program include summary crime, indictable crime, Appellate Crime and Youth Crime.[4]

Family, Youth and Children's Law Program

Objectives:

Areas of activity or sub-programs that fall within VLA’s Family, Youth and Children's Law Program include Independent Children's Lawyers, Advice and Litigation, Child Support, Child Protection, Family Violence, and Appropriate Dispute Resolution.[5]

VLA Chambers

VLA Chambers is a specialised group of in-house civil, family and law advocates and public defenders who provide advocacy in the Magistrates', County, Supreme, and High courts.

Objectives:

VLA Chambers runs the Trial Counsel Development Program, which delivers training opportunities to selected Junior Counsel by partnering them with senior trial advocates.

Access and Equity Program

Objectives:

Areas of activity or sub-programs that fall within VLA’s Access and Equity Program include Justice and Law Reform, Community Legal Education, community legal centres Funding and Development and the Legal Help telephone service.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ The background and chronology in this section is a summary of information found in: Legal Aid Commission of Victoria Legal aid in Victoria: A brief summary of the history and operations of the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria 4th ed. LACV 1994; Field, C & Giddings, J "A history of legal aid in Victoria" in Giddings J (ed) Legal Aid in Victoria: at the crossroads again Fitzroy Legal Service 1998: 20-34; and Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee, Inquiry into the Australian Legal Aid System: Second report (June 1997) 1997: 18.
  2. ↑ Victoria Legal Aid Twelfth statutory annual report 2006-7, VLA 2007: 12.
  3. ↑ Victoria Legal Aid Fifteenth statutory annual report 2009-10, VLA 2010: 24.
  4. ↑ Victoria Legal Aid Fifteenth statutory annual report 2009-10, VLA 2010: 30.
  5. ↑ Victoria Legal Aid Fifteenth statutory annual report 2009-10, VLA 2010: 36.
  6. ↑ Victoria Legal Aid Seventeenth statutory annual report 2011-12, VLA 2012: 22.
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