Grants totalling $28.4 million will help improve access to justice for Victorians, including youth, victim-survivors of family violence, people with disability, renters, whistleblowers and those living in regional, rural and remote communities.
The funding is provided through the Public Purpose Fund – a unique Victorian fund managed by Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner (VLSB+C) that reinvests interest earned on lawyers' trust accounts into initiatives that strengthen the legal system and improve access to justice.
Funds are allocated through two grant programs:
- $5.5 million in Strong Foundations grants, which provide community legal centres with multi-year funding to strengthen organisational capability and long-term sustainability.
- $22.9 million in Change grants, which support innovative projects that address barriers to justice through collaboration, service integration and new approaches.
Seven organisations have been awarded Strong Foundations grants: Barwon Community Legal Service, First Step Legal, inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, Mental Health Legal Centre, Southside Justice, Tenants Victoria, and Whittlesea Community Connections.
Nineteen Change grants will see community legal centres, universities, health services, advocacy organisations and technology partners collaborate to tackle some of the state's most pressing legal and social challenges, including family violence, climate-related disasters, disability rights, youth justice and access to legal help in regional communities.
Victorian Legal Services Board CEO and Commissioner Fiona McLeay said the grants highlight the sector’s commitment to sustainability, innovation and collaboration in tackling entrenched barriers to justice.
“These grants support organisations that are making a real difference in their communities. Through Strong Foundations grants, we are helping successful legal services build the capacity and resilience they need to remain sustainable and impactful into the future,” Ms McLeay said.
“Through Change grants, we are providing communities with immediate assistance while supporting the testing of new ideas, strengthening partnerships and scaling approaches that can deliver long-term systemic change.”
“Together, these investments reflect the expertise of the legal, health, community and technology sectors and will help improve access to justice for Victorians.”
Among the Change grants, $8 million is allocated to the establishment of a localised legal response model for disaster-impacted regional Victorian communities. Led by ARC Justice, the project will bring together 8 community legal centres working across regional, rural, remote and peri-urban Victoria to embed legal assistance into emergency preparedness, response and recovery systems to break the cycle of compounding legal problems for people in disaster-affected areas of Victoria.
Outcomes of these grants will be delivered over the next one to five years and are expected to benefit thousands of Victorians by increasing access to legal support, strengthening service integration and addressing systemic barriers to justice.
See the full list of grant recipients: