Legal information & resources
Community legal centres, Victoria Legal Aid and other organisations produce a range of legal information resources to help you find out about the law.
The Law Handbook Online
One of the best starting points to find out about the law in Victoria is The Law Handbook Online, produced by Fitzroy Legal Service.
The Law Handbook Online is the most comprehensive, plain English guide to the law in Victoria with information on a wide range of legal topics from fines and family law to wills and tenancy.
Some of the features of The Law Handbook Online are:
- handy search function;
- thorough legislation and case indexes that are cross-referenced and linked to the content;
- contact details for relevant legal and non-legal services;
- helpful pop-up definitions of legal terms combined with an extensive glossary;
- pop-up boxes advising of the latest law changes and updates; and
- useful cross-references included throughout the text enabling the reader to link immediately to other relevant parts of The Law Handbook Online.
The Law Handbook Online also has a range of links to other websites containing legal information resources.
MoneyHelp
MoneyHelp is free, confidential and independent financial information for Victorians experiencing difficulty paying their rent or mortgage or facing job loss.
Victoria Legal Aid
Victoria Legal Aid produces a wide range of legal information resources which are available for free in the publications section of its website.
Victoria Law
Search the Victoria Law website for easy-to-understand legal information - in six different languages. Find information on debt and credit matters, housing issues, traffic offences and lots of other everyday subjects.
Department of Justice - Victims Support Agency
The Victims Support Agency within the Department of Justice represents victims of crime and coordinates a whole-of-government approach to services for victims. It funds statewide services to provide counselling and practical assistance to help victims of violent crime recover from the effects of crime.
www.justice.vic.gov.au/victimsofcrime
Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria
The Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV) is a free dispute resolution service funded by the Victorian Government. The DSCV provides mediation services, as well as training and accrediting mediators to national standards.
http://www.disputes.vic.gov.au/
The DSCV also administers the Reaching Agreement website, which has practical information and advice for communicating with neighbours about a range of issues.
http://www.reachingagreement.disputes.vic.gov.au/
Disaster Legal Help
Disaster Legal Help is a group of legal service organisations who provide free information and support for Victorians affected by disasters. It was originally formed to provide free legal support for those affected by the February 2009 Victorian bushfires and our thoughts remain with those Victorians who lost so much during the bushfires.
