- Published:
- Thursday 31 October 2024 at 12:41 am
Our 2023–24 annual report was tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 31 October 2024. The report highlights how we’ve collaborated as a sector across Victoria to provide client-centred approaches to addressing people’s legal problems.
In 2023–24, we grew and strengthened many of our programs, particularly our non-legal advocacy and support services that help provide a more holistic approach to addressing clients’ needs and put them at the centre of what we do.
‘While people come to us with legal problems, we understand that complex social issues often underly their legal ones,’ said Acting Chief Executive Officer Peter Noble.
‘We value the role we can play in connecting people to the supports they need as well providing legal information and assistance.
‘Socio-economic challenges in the community and pressures from a growing population in Victoria have meant that the need for integrated services and a collaborative approach is as important as ever.’
Our clients
This past year, we assisted over 300,000 people across Victoria with a range of services.
Our clients are diverse and many experience cultural barriers, discrimination, disability, mental health issues or social and geographic isolation.
In 2023–24:
- 37 per cent were women, 62 per cent men, fewer than one per cent gender self-described, and fewer than one per cent gender diverse
- 14 per cent were from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- 12 per cent were under 19 years of age
- 37 per cent disclosed having a disability or mental health issue
- 26 per cent were living in regional Victoria
- 8 per cent identified as First Nations people
- 25 per cent had no income
- 53 per cent were receiving some form of government benefit
- 8 per cent were at risk of homelessness
- 8 per cent were in custody, detention or psychiatric care
- 5 per cent required the assistance of an interpreter.
Improving access to justice
With rising demand for legal assistance, there is a crucial need for more funding, particularly in family and civil law and regional areas. In 2023–24, we continued to call for an appropriately funded National Legal Assistance Partnership to help deliver much-needed services.
We acknowledge the federal government has announced a new Access to Justice Partnership will include additional funding for legal assistance services and we look forward to receiving further details.
Legal aid commissions have an important role to play in the fight to end gender-based violence, with 80 per cent of family law matters before the courts involving allegations of violence.
We’ve strengthened our family law and family violence services and updated our family violence grant guidelines to allow for more trauma-informed practice and earlier support for victim-survivors. We have collaborated with legal assistance partners and lived experience experts to develop several new civil law services in mental health and disability law, workplace sexual harassment services and support for victims of crime, while also expanding our migration program.
Our Independent Mental Health Advocacy service was named as Victoria’s first ever primary provider of non-legal mental health advocacy under the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic). The service offers support to everyone receiving or at risk of receiving compulsory treatment. We now have advocates in more offices, hospitals and clinics across the state.
We continued to improve our remand services and worked closely with our sector partners to provide services for people with cognitive impairment or mental health issues at the expanded Assessment and Referral Court locations around Victoria. Our summary crime funding guidelines have also been updated to support more people to contest unfair criminal charges.
With the launch of our third Reconciliation Action Plan, we reaffirmed our commitment to respecting and deferring to the knowledge and expertise of First Nations partners as we reflect on the requirements of self-determination in the justice context. We look forward to soon establishing a stand-alone First Nations Services directorate, which will focus on strategy, policy, stakeholder relationships and services.
Our Board continued its commitment to meet with sector stakeholders and our staff across Victoria. This included at the opening of our relocated offices in Sunshine on Wurundjeri Country and our Mallee regional office in Mildura, where we were welcomed by Latji Latji Traditional Custodians.
The Board’s support of our enhanced regional services includes a commitment to supporting sustainable services in the Ovens Murray region, where we are establishing a staff practice to complement the long-standing services provided by local panel practitioners and community legal centres.
Advocating for change
Our clients’ voices and lived experience are at the heart of our advocacy for reform.
In a submission to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, we called for foundational reforms across the housing, education, disability and mental health systems to address systemic and intersecting injustices caused to First Nations peoples.
We’re pleased to see evidence that bail law reforms are starting to reduce the criminal justice system’s disproportionate impact on women, children and First Nations people. Our early data shows fewer clients being presented for remand. However, we are concerned that First Nations children continue to be remanded at high rates and will continue to monitor this data.
We also contributed to federal legislative policy reform alongside other legal aid commissions and sector partners. This included welcoming changes to make the family law system simpler, safer and more accessible for separating families and their children, as well as the federal government’s commitment to overhauling its administrative review tribunal towards one that is fair, independent and efficient.
More information
Updated