Read the Building Justice Change grants application guidelines
Read the Justice Anew Change grant application guidelines
Strong Foundations grants offer flexible and stable funding over 3 to 5 years to eligible community legal centres in Victoria.
This funding stream gives organisations more freedom to decide where and how resources are allocated, helping them to build capacity and achieve their strategic objectives.
By supporting organisations with a proven track record, and harnessing their expertise, ambition and leadership, our goal is to bring about positive systemic change that improves access to justice for all Victorians.
The 2025 Strong Foundations grant round was open to community legal centres in Victoria that have received and acquitted funding from us within the last 5 years.
Our Change grants provide funding for individual projects that aim to address issues or gaps limiting people's access to justice.
These grants are an effective way for not-for-profit organisations to implement strategic initiatives that help Victorians prevent or resolve legal problems.
We award Change grants annually and tailor funding to suit the needs of individual projects. This sees us offer grants of up to three years, where appropriate
Through our Change grants we promote innovation in service delivery, policy and law reform, helping to reduce disadvantage in Victoria's justice system.
Change grants offered in 2026 will be awarded across two streams:
Change grants are now open and close on Monday 2 March 2026.
The PowerPoint Presentation from the Access to Justice Tech Showcase
We have the power to amend, suspend or cancel practising certificates. Each of the following is a ground for amending, suspending or cancelling your practising certificate:
In circumstances where we consider there are grounds to amend, suspend or cancel your practising certificate, we will issue a notice stating the proposed action, the grounds for the proposed action and the facts and circumstances that form the basis for our belief.
You will have a specified time to make written representations to us as to why the proposed action should not be taken and we will consider these representations before making our decision. However, where it is necessary in the public interest to immediately suspend a practising certificate, we may take this action with immediate effect. Persons subject to immediate suspension are entitled to provide written representations about the suspension. An immediate suspension will be in force until the earlier of the following:
If your practising certificate is suspended, you will be unable to practice during that period.
You can apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for review of our decision to amend, suspend or cancel a practising certificate.
We are also responsible for the receipt and handling of all complaints about lawyers in Victoria.
Where the Commissioner initiates disciplinary proceedings against a lawyer, the case will usually be heard before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The decision made by VCAT, or any other relevant court, will generally be published on the Australian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) website.
The Commissioner has the power to make binding determinations in consumer matters where disputes over legal costs are below $23,865.
In situations where the disputing parties have reached a stalemate and cannot agree on what amount should be paid, the Commissioner has the power to determine what costs are fair and reasonable under the relevant circumstances. The Commissioner will generally first refer such matters for a costs review. The outcome of the costs review will often form the basis of what the Commissioner determines to be fair and reasonable legal costs.
The Commissioner is also able to make a determination that a lawyer or law practice associate has engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct. These determinations may result in the Commissioner ordering the lawyer or law practice to redo the work; apologise or undertake either counselling, supervision or further training. The Commissioner may also issue a the lawyer or law practice with a caution or a reprimand or order that compensation is paid (under certain circumstances).
The Commissioner can initiate a complaint and commence an investigation into the conduct of a lawyer, even where a complaint has not been made by another person, or if a complaint has been withdrawn. These are called ‘Commissioner initiated complaints’. They were previously called ‘own motion investigations’.
This is an important power as it enables the Commissioner to investigate conduct that is improper or unsatisfactory where clients and/or witnesses may not be sufficiently aware of proper legal practices to raise a complaint. Conduct outside of legal practice may also be deemed inappropriate. Accordingly this is a significant consumer protection power.
A Commissioner initiated complaint may be undertaken in any number of circumstances, including the following:
There may be other occasions where the Commissioner is able to initiate a complaint.
Following an investigation, the Commissioner has a range of powers.
Where the Commissioner is satisfied that the lawyer would be found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Commissioner may:
Where the Commissioner is satisfied that the lawyer would be found guilty of professional misconduct by VCAT, the Commissioner can bring charges against the lawyer before VCAT.
VLSB+C Statement in support of the Victorian Treaty-making process
Most newly admitted lawyers are subject to a supervised legal practice (SLP) condition on their practicing certificate. This means that they must have their legal work supervised by an eligible supervisor for the first 18-24 months of legal practice.
The period of supervised legal practice begins once a newly admitted lawyer is granted a practising certificate and starts engaging in legal practice.
Once the supervised period is completed, lawyers need to apply to the VLSB+C to have the SLP condition removed from their certificate so they can engage in independent legal practice without supervision.
