The statements on this page are a statutory requirement under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
The purposes of the statements are to:
- provide a snapshot of the types of information and documents we hold
- outline how to access this information and locate publicly available information
- inform the public how to make a request for access under the FOI Act.
Some information held by our organisation (such as client records) is not publicly available due to its personal, confidential and sensitive nature.
What information do we release?
We release a large amount of information for Victorians through:
- online and print publishing
- person-to-person services.
Our information is free of charge or available at the lowest possible cost.
Our information statements
Statement 1 – organisation and functions
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is an independent statutory authority with set statutory objectives. We are funded by the Commonwealth and the Victorian government but operate independently of government.
Visit Our organisation to find out more about:
- our vision and values and strategic directions
- our board and senior executives
- our annual reports
- the history of legal aid in Victoria.
Statement 2 – categories of documents
We create a large number of documents and records as part of our work.
We classify, store, access and manage this broad range documents using a number of electronic document and records management systems.
Under section 7 of the FOI Act, we must publish a statement of the categories of documents we maintain. This statement broadly describes the documents we hold but its not an exhaustive list.
The types of documents we handle include:
- legal and non-legal client files
- policy, procedures and standards
- briefings and reports
- registers
- correspondence
- administrative records
- operational records
- meeting records
- financial records
- human resource management
- photographs, images and multimedia objects.
Statement 3 – Freedom of Information arrangements
Under the FOI Act, you have the right to request information and access documents about your personal affairs and the activities of our organisation.
Where possible, we can and will provide access to documents outside of the FOI Act. If you are or were a client (or their legal representative) of VLA and require documents related to your legal case, you can contact your lawyer or the relevant office, directly for these documents.
The object of the FOI Act is for organisations to do as much as possible to enable the community to access information in the possession of the government.
You can find out how to make a request, and how we receive and process FOI requests in this section:
| Category/Topic | Resource location |
|---|---|
General information and assistance with FOI specific VLA.
| Freedom of information area of this website. |
Lodge a FOI request and find general information on lodging requests.
| Freedom of information |
General information on VLA’s FOI responsibilities.
| VLA’s Annual Report. |
Making a complaint about certain actions taken or action failed to be taken by VLA under the FOI Act.
| VLA’s Complaint Policy. Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner’s (OVIC) Privacy complaints website. |
Statement 4 – publications
We produce a wide range of publications. Many of these can be accessed from Publications and resources page.
Publications are indexed and listed alphabetically by title, summary and publication date. You can also filter search results by specific document categories.
In some cases, it's not possible to supply a publication as a downloadable file. If this is the case, we have provided information about other ways to get a copy. Translations are available for some publications.
We have provided information about the content category or topic and the resource location. These are only a small sample of the information available.
| Category/topic | Resource location |
|---|---|
Publications produced by VLA
| Publications and resources |
List of additional information available on request
| Public accountability |
Statement 5 – rules, policies and procedures
This section outlines examples of the internal rules, policies and procedures available on our website.
Types of information that can be found on this site include:
- annual reports
- statements of policies and documents
- directions and guidelines
- frameworks
- guidance
- manuals of procedure
- policies and procedures that govern our daily operations and support the administrative functions of the organisation.
| Category/topic | Resource location |
|---|---|
| Fraud and Corruption Policy | Reporting improper conduct |
| Complaint Policy | Complaint Policy |
| Client Priority and Capability Policy | Client Priority and Capability Policy |
| Privacy Policy | Privacy Policy |
| VLA Public Accountability and Strategy | Public Accountability |
| VLA Handbook | Handbook for lawyers |
| Child Safe Standards | Child Safe Standards |
| Victims' Charter Policy | How we treat victims of crime – the Victims' Charter Act 2006 |
If there are similar documents to these that are not currently available online, send a request foi@vla.vic.gov.au.
Statement 6 – report literature
This section outlines examples of where to find policy related reports. It also includes records of decisions made at meetings.
| Category/topic | Resource location |
|---|---|
| Our annual reports that are published at the end of every financial year and tabled in the Victorian Parliament. Read our current annual report and previous annual reports. | Current Annual Report |
| Our quarterly reports which outline our financial and service delivery performance at the end of each financial quarter. They also provide a projection for the remainder of the year. Read our quarterly reports. |
|
Our outcomes framework is an eight-year view of the difference we make for:
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| Our strategic plans outlines how we will work towards a fair, just and inclusive society. We strive for a society where people can get help with their legal problems and have a stronger voice in how laws and legal processes affect them. | Current Strategy 26 |
Our corporate plan outlines our:
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| Our Board meeting | Public records of VLA board meetings |
| Our client satisfaction surveys. We conduct regular client experience surveys to help us assess how we are performing and identify ways to improve service delivery. | Client experience surveys |
| Our gifts, benefits and hospitality registry is a list of our accepted and declined offers of gifts, benefits or hospitality. It is published for integrity, impartiality and accountability purposes. | Gifts, benefits and hospitality registry |
Our law library
We maintain a law library that is available for public use. For further information visit Our law library.
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