1,709 research outputs found
Victoria Legal Aid community research
No full textResearch conducted in June and July 2014 found strong community support for the services provided by Victoria Legal Aid.
More than 1500 people were consulted as part of the research, with 92 per cent of respondents agreeing that it was important or very important for a government funded agency to help people who can’t afford legal services.
The community consultation was undertaken to inform the development of Victoria Legal Aid’s strategic directions for the next three years and beyond, and was the first such research VLA have ever conducted.
Respondents nominated people on a low income (79%), people experiencing or at risk of experiencing family violence (73%) and people with a disability (72%) as most deserving of legal aid. This is aligned with Victoria Legal Aid’s priority clients
Characteristics of respondents charged with breach of family violence intervention orders
No full textBreaches of family violence intervention orders are one of the fastest growing offences in Victoria, so understanding who breaches and why, is important for agencies that provide services to both respondents and applicants.
This paper identifies the common characteristics of respondents who receive legal assistance when charged with breach of a family violence intervention order. It also analyses the characteristics of clients who have received legal assistance multiple times when charged with breaching a family violence order.
The paper reinforces the need to ensure:
people charged with breaches receive appropriate legal advice
orders are tailored to the circumstances of each client
that we make appropriate referrals to other agencies, including non-legal agencies if necessary.
Providing appropriate legal advice and support may help increase the rate of compliance with family violence intervention orders, reduce recidivism and increase safety for victims.
The research draws on data relating to Victoria Legal Aid clients exclusively, however the findings are consistent with international studies of those breaching intervention orders and these are noted in the report.
The research report was launched on 18 February 2016 by the Attorney-General, the Honourable Martin Pakula and Victoria Legal Aid\u27s Managing Director Bevan Warner, followed by a panel discussion with:
Deputy Chief Magistrate Felicity Broughton, Magistrates’ Court of Victoria Supervising Magistrate for Family Violence and Family Law
Assistant Police Commissioner Dean McWhirter, Victoria Police Head of Family Violence Command
Jacqui Watt, No to Violence Chief Executive Officer
Annette Gillespie, Safe Steps Chief Executive Officer.
Listen to the highlights of their discussion, presented by Alison Caldwell, as the panel explore the significance of the research
Case study of the Below the Belt 'phone app: learning from projects that don’t meet expectations
No full textIn early 2013 the Community Legal Education Program (CLE) at Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) planned a project to develop an interactive mobile phone application, offering targeted, relevant and free legal information to young people on legal issues that affected them.
It came at a time when mobile technology and mobile audiences were rapidly expanding and there was much anticipation about the potential of these platforms. Traditional pre-digital services could now be delivered right into people’s pockets, onto their smart-phones. A seemingly natural fit was legal information via apps. A seemingly obvious target market was young people, the usual early adopters of technology.
The app project complemented and extend existing CLE projects for young people and was one component in a suite of tools that VLA provides to educate young people about sexting, cyberbullying and age of consent. The app was seen as a new way to convey much needed information in a popular format that the audience uses and understands.
The project was supported by research, anecdotal evidence and technology reports about smart-phone usage. Most of the 60 submissions to the Victorian Law Reform Committee inquiry into sexting identified the need for more targeted, effective educational strategies about sexting, and the related issues of cyberbullying and consent. This came at time when the legal assistance sector was encouraging innovation and the CLE program was reducing the number of print-based educational products and looking to diversify formats by increasing the number of digital products available.
Below the belt was launched in November 2013 but within six months the install rates were low and the uninstall rates were high. After evaluating the take-up of the app, CLE decided to formally discontinue the app in November 2015. While this outcome was disappointing, and many stakeholders were surprised, the process of producing the app was instructive for the CLE program.
The urge to create apps, and use new technologies in education, remains strong. While this is valid, this case study documents key learnings from the Below the belt project which will assist agencies considering developing technological solutions to legal problems
Access to legal aid
No full textOverview: The audit found that Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is performing its role delivering legal aid services across Victoria, and prioritising the most vulnerable people based on a sound understanding of demand drivers and funding risks.
VLA is providing its services in a challenging environment of increased demand and with fixed funding that is largely based on demand levels from 2008.
Determining the extent to which VLA is providing services effectively, efficiently and economically is constrained, however, by its performance monitoring framework, which does not clearly inform VLA\u27s board or the public about how well it is achieving its statutory objectives.
Increased demand has resulted in VLA tightening eligibility for its more intensive and costly legal services in order to remain financially sustainable. This has had the effect of reducing the number of people who are eligible for legal representation, while moving more people to less intensive services. While these actions are consistent with VLA\u27s legal obligations, this has implications for access to justice.
There are gaps in some areas of its service delivery, and VLA is actively addressing these gaps to improve services
Are you on a treatment order?
No full textA treatment order is a legal document that allows a hospital or mental health clinic to give you treatment for a mental illness. While you are on an order, you lose some of your rights and freedoms. You may have to stay in hospital. You can be given treatment even if you do not agree to it.
This free publication contains information about:
what compulsory treatment is
how orders are made
getting your order revoked
getting free legal hel
VPRS 8702 Inward and Outward Correspondence With Other Legal Aid Organisations
No full textInward and Outward Correspondence With Other Legal Aid Organisation
Legal Australia-wide survey: legal need in Victoria
No full textThis survey provides the first comprehensive quantitative assessment across Australia of an extensive range of legal needs on a representative sample of the population.
It examines the nature of legal problems, the pathways to their resolution, and the demographic groups that struggle with the weight of their legal problems.
The present report is one in a series of nine reports that provides the initial findings of a national survey of legal needs — the LAW Survey. The series consists of a report on Australia as a whole and a report on each state/territory.
The LAW Survey deals with key questions that go to the heart of understanding the legal and access to justice needs of the community, and how to address these needs. It assesses the prevalence of legal problems across the community, and the vulnerability of different demographic groups to different types of legal problems. It examines the various adverse consequences that can accompany legal problems, as well as the responses people take when faced with legal problems and the outcomes they achieve.
Significantly, incorporating 20 716 interviews across Australia, the LAW Survey is the largest legal needs survey to date conducted anywhere in the world. It provides an unrivalled dataset for the ongoing investigation of the types of legal problems that are often captured by smaller surveys in insufficient numbers for meaningful analysis, such as rare legal problems and the legal problems experienced by minority demographic groups.
The report series brings together the results of the detailed analysis of the data from the LAW Survey with the most up-to-date review of the leading legal needs research internationally and in Australia. Not surprisingly, there are many consistencies — and some differences — across time and across jurisdictions
Legal Aid in Finland
No full textThe chapter describes and analyses civil legal aid in Finland. It gives a brief introduction to the history and development of the Finnish legal aid scheme, a detailed description of the current system and its functioning, and the relation to the welfare state. Third sector legal aid initiatives and legal aid policy are also discussed. In general, the Finnish system is notable for its reliance on public legal aid offices and liberal eligibility criteria. The public legal aid offices are supplemented by judicare lawyers, in a mixed legal aid model. The model gives access to legal assistance in a holistic and quasi-universal way. However, also the Finnish model is challenged by issues such as funding cuts and critique of lacking independence. Current developments of the scheme strive to meet these challenges, by implementing new measures such as e-services and other modern legal aid approaches. © The Author(s) 2018.The chapter describes and analyses civil legal aid in Finland. It gives a brief introduction to the history and development of the Finnish legal aid scheme, a detailed description of the current system and its functioning, and the relation to the welfare state. Third sector legal aid initiatives and legal aid policy are also discussed. In general, the Finnish system is notable for its reliance on public legal aid offices and liberal eligibility criteria. The public legal aid offices are supplemented by judicare lawyers, in a mixed legal aid model. The model gives access to legal assistance in a holistic and quasi-universal way. However, also the Finnish model is challenged by issues such as funding cuts and critique of lacking independence. Current developments of the scheme strive to meet these challenges, by implementing new measures such as e-services and other modern legal aid approaches. © The Author(s) 2018.Peer reviewe
VPRS 12215 General Correspondence Subject Files (Regional Offices Division)
No full textThis series recorded the correspondence of the Legal Aid Commission's (VA 877) Regional Offices Division. The series consists of files containing memoranda, letters, legal reports and other items. The files document the agency's policies, precedents and administrative arrangements
Feasibility of Group Legal Services in Australia: Survey of Solicitors Practising in Victoria, 1980
No full textOne of several surveys conducted for the 'Feasibility of group legal services in Australia' project, this survey examines the level of support from solicitors practising in Victoria for the introduction of group legal services and to assess solictors' opinions on group legal services feasibility in Australia. Questions regarding whether solicitors believe there is a need for group legal services in Australia and reasons; perceptions of benefits to general community and to members of legal profession; type of scheme preferred; and major obstacles to the establishment of group legal service schemes. Background variables include age, employer and year began practising in Victoria
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