Legal Services
INFORMATION FOR WOMEN
If you are at risk of harm please dial 000.
Legal Advice Line
If you are a woman experiencing family violence or relationship breakdown, please call our Legal Advice Line.
Phone:
Melbourne: 8622 0600
Regional: 1800 133 302
Hours of operation:
Tuesday 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm
Thursday 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm
If you need urgent legal advice outside these hours please call Victoria Legal Aid's Legal Help phoneline.
Our lawyers provide legal advice on family law (such as property settlement and parenting arrangements), family violence (intervention orders) and child protection matters. We do not give second opinions.
Advice is provided to women only and all our lawyers are women. Interpreter services are available.
Before calling our Legal Advice Line, please:
- Write down your questions
- Write down important events that have happened
- Have relevant documents handy so you can refer to them
Lawyers at Court
Duty lawyers are available to assist with Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO) cases at most Magistrates' courts across Victoria. We provide this service at Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
If you have a Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO) case being heard at Melbourne Magistrates' Court, our duty lawyers can provide free advice, representation and referrals. Please go to Level 6 and ask to see the Women’s Legal lawyer.
There is also an Applicant Support Worker at court who can provide non-legal support.
We also provide a duty lawyer service at the Children’s Court in Moorabbin five days per fortnight. Please go to the Victoria Legal Aid counter at Moorabbin Justice Centre if you need assistance from a lawyer the first time you go to court.
You may be at court all day, so please arrange childcare if possible.
INFORMATION FOR PRACTITIONERS
Legal advice and referrals for your clients
If you have a client who needs legal assistance, please call our On-Call line on 8622 0600 during business hours and our lawyer will return your call within 1-2 days.
Our On-Call lawyer provides preliminary advice and referrals on family law, family violence law, child protection and victims of crime assistance.
Legal representation for your clients
We represent women experiencing significant disadvantage in family law, family violence and child protection cases. We assess eligibility on a case-by-case basis – see our Casework Guidelines here.
We only accept referrals through partner organisations, community workers and other practitioners working with women experiencing family violence.
Education & Training
Our education team delivers practical and accessible legal training programs specifically designed for support practitioners.
From learning how to identify when your clients need legal help to understanding the laws around child protection, our courses will equip you to better support your clients.
We can also tailor a training session for your organisation – please contact us to find out more.
What's News
Senior Social Worker
28 October 2020
Reporting to the Director of Legal and Policy, you will provide social work support and advocacy for disadvantaged women experiencing family violence or relationship breakdown.
Women's welcomes extension to child protection timeframes during COVID
22 October 2020
New Victorian legislation will give vulnerable women extra time to address child protection concerns during COVID-19 but more permanent reform is needed. Read our media release here
Budget fails to deliver for family violence victim-survivors
7 October 2020
Women's Legal Services Australia says the Federal Budget's failure to provide $25 million in emergency funding will impact women needing legal help. Read our media release here.