Thursday, 18 June 2026

 Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (03:50): (2612) My adjournment matter is for the Attorney-General. I was proud today to attend and support the Federation of Community Legal Centres’ launch of its We’ve Got Your Back campaign here at Parliament house. ‘We’ve got your back’ is an important message to every Victorian who may need legal assistance. It says that when things go wrong, there is somewhere to turn. It is also a clear ask of the government: adequately fund the community legal sector so it can meet the legal needs of the communities it serves. Victoria’s 50 community legal services provide free, trusted legal help across the state. Last year they assisted more than 75,000 Victorians with over 170,000 legal problems. They give people information, advice, support and representation, helping prevent small problems from becoming serious crises. These services keep people safe from family violence, help people remain in their homes, ease financial hardship, support children and young people, work in hospitals and schools and stand with communities affected by fires and floods. Demand has far outstripped capacity. For every person a community legal service assists, another two are being turned away. The Victorian Law Foundation has produced data cited by the federation that shows that 78 per cent of legal needs go unmet, often because people cannot afford a private lawyer. That unmet need has real consequences. Without early legal assistance, housing problems can become homelessness, debt can become a financial crisis and family violence risks can escalate. It also creates greater pressure on our courts, health services, housing services and other government systems.

The federation is asking for secure five-year funding for existing community legal programs and an investment of an additional $120 million over the next term of the Parliament. That investment would enable community legal services to assist another 120,000 Victorians. Legal help should depend on need, not income, location or postcode. This is a practical investment in fairness, in prevention and in community safety. Secure funding would also give services the certainty that they require to retain their skilled staff, to plan effectively and to provide consistent support. Attorney, I ask the government to back this campaign and to commit to secure five-year funding and the additional $120 million investment so that community legal services can genuinely have the backs of every Victorian who needs help.