Community legal centres play a vital role in ensuring everyday people can access the legal help they need, at the time they need it most.  Centres help everyday people and people experiencing discrimination and disadvantage with a range of problems, which means they don’t spiral out of control or create other problems.

Community legal centres are independent community-based organisations that provide free, or low cost legal help. 

This help can include:

  • information,
  • referral,
  • legal advice,
  • non-legal support,
  • duty lawyer services,
  • casework (including representation services) and
  • community legal education. 

Some centres are generalist centres providing general community legal services for people living in a geographic area, either in the metropolitan area or in regional and remote areas. 

Others centres are specialist centres providing services within one area of expertise, for example, mental health, tenancy, employment law or consumer issues. Some 'generalist' centres also provide some specialist services. 

Find a community legal centre

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Author: Chantelle Lines

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