Reports and resources

Employment law is a complex area of law that impacts directly on the 2.9 million workers currently in Victoria. In 2012, the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales published the Legal Australia-Wide Survey (‘LAW Survey’), a comprehensive study of unmet legal need in Australia. This study identified that 5.9 per cent of respondents in Victoria had employment law problems in a ...

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is now the centerpiece of Victorian and national civil justice policy. This report by Lucie O'Brien analyses the use of ADR in community legal centres and makes recommendations as to how it may be used to maximise its benefits while ensuring it does not compromise the rights of disadvantaged people.

This report summarises the proceedings at a 2008 forum convened by the Federation, Western Suburbs Legal Service and the Australian Tamil Rights Advocacy Council in which Muslim, Kurdish, Tamil and Somali communities affected by anti-terror laws came together to share information and experiences. The report highlights that communities impacted by anti-terror laws often share common experiences ...

This report outlines future directions for this scheme, under which private law firms provide a range of support to CLCs to promote access to justice in Victoria.

The Capacity Building Final Report examines the key needs around CLC capacity and ways of building capacity. The action plan contained in the report has formed the basis for the Federation’s sector development work in 2007 and 2008.

Employment law is a complex area of law that impacts directly on the 2.9 million workers currently in Victoria. In 2012, the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales published the Legal Australia-Wide Survey (‘LAW Survey’), a comprehensive study of unmet legal need in Australia. This study identified that 5.9 per cent of respondents in Victoria had employment law problems in a ...

This report is a joint project of the Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and the Footscray Community Legal Centre (FCLC) and Dr Liz Curran of the Australian National University. The report examines an approach to solving legal problems which is strategic in the hope that this will promote further dialogue and discussion around ways of solving clients’ legal problems which can ...

The practical guide is to help managers and coordinators of CLC comply with the rights and obligations contained in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (the Charter). CLCs will be able to use the information and checklists in the guide to review existing policies and procedures to ensure human rights are considered in all aspects of CLC operation and service delivery...

The Federation's report, 'Saving Lives by Joining Up Justice' released in March 2013 urges comprehensive national reform of Australia’s flawed coronial system. It makes 11 recommendations to ensure coronial recommendations result in meaningful, effective action to better prevent future avoidable deaths, and ensure families are properly supported to participate in investiga...

Our work on this issue culminated in the release in December 2012 of our report "Council debt collection: Alternatives to suing ratepayers in hardship". The report analyses court data showing significant increases in the frequency at which Victorian local councils are suing rate payers for unpaid rates, despite protections guaranteeing rates revenue, the existence of effective alternative payme...

These are the materials from the Infringements Working Group Professional Development day on 14 November 2017. Topics covered on the day included: Overview of the fines system Introduction to Fines Victoria, new powers of the Sheriff and the consolidated payment system Work and Development Permits Enforcement and internal review, family violence and the role of the Court ...

This report documents cases of Protective Services Officers exceeding their powers by demanding personal information from commuters without legal justification and where no offence has been committed, forcibly searching commuters who do not comply, and using excessive force in a range of circumstances, including against vulnerable people. Recommendations include the removal of firearms from...

The Federation’s report Taser Trap – Is Victoria Falling For it? brings together internal Victoria Police documents obtained by the Federation through freedom of information legislation, as well as publicly available information and the experience of CLC's to warn the Victorian public that death and serious injury in connection with Taser use in Victoria is a real possibility. ...

This report discusses the extremely low rates of reporting, investigation and prosecution for sexual assault crimes against people with cognitive or communication disabilities. The report recommends establishing an advocacy support service for victims of these crimes and outlines a model for the service.

This report documents the work of the Taxi Driver Legal Clinic, a joint project conducted by the Federation of Community Legal Centres (Victoria) and Footscray Community Legal Centre in 2011.