Legal help
You should seek legal advice before coming to court. You may also be eligible for assistance from community legal centres or government-funded services.
Registrars cannot provide legal advice, recommend a lawyer or give an indication about the potential outcome of your matter. See the registrars page for information about what a registrar can and cannot do.
Support services are available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons with legal problems and court matters. See the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander page for more information.
The information below provides a general overview about where you can find legal help. The listing of organisations below is not an endorsement of their product or service.
Victoria Legal Aid
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) provides free legal information, education and advice for people with low incomes and / or experiencing disadvantage. However, they do not give legal advice on all matters. Find out if you are eligible for legal help from VLA.
VLA have useful resources including a:
- Legal Help Chat service where you can get free legal assistance via online live chat
- find legal answers section with information about the law and who to contact for help
- legal help service, where you can speak to someone in English or another language
- public law library to access legislation, case law and other legal materials.
See the VLA website for more information.
Community legal centres
Community legal centres provide free legal advice for people with economic and social disadvantage. Each community legal centre has different eligibility guidelines including:
- who they can help
- what legal issues they can help with
- how much help they can provide.
There are over 50 community legal centres across Victoria.
See the Federation of Community Legal Services website for more information.
Justice Connect
Justice Connect provides free legal advice and assistance for people experiencing disadvantage. Sometimes, they can make referrals to private lawyers who can give advice for free – called pro bono.
See the Justice Connect website for more information.
Law Institute of Victoria
The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) offers an online and telephone legal referral service. All law firms in the legal referral service give a free 30-minute enquiry interview. This can help you determine the nature of the legal issue, available options and estimated costs to proceed.
See the LIV website for more information about the referral service.
Victoria Law Foundation
The Victoria Law Foundation (VLF) is a not-for-profit, statutory body that focuses on helping Victorians understand the law and their legal system.
See the VLF website for more information.
The Law Handbook
The Law Handbook is published by the Fitzroy Legal Service. It covers common legal issues, including family law, neighbourhood disputes, contracts, bankruptcy and wills.
Go to the Law Handbook online.
Australasian Legal Information Institute (AUSTLII)
AustLII provides free access to Australasian legal materials. It publishes legal information and materials created by public bodies.
See the Austlii website for more information.
Legislation
You can search the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website to find electronic versions of current legislation.
Related information
