Community legal centres

Community legal centres are non-government, not-for-profit organisations that provide free and independent civil, family, and criminal legal services to people experiencing financial disadvantage, discrimination or violence and abuse. They also provide holistic, trauma-informed non-legal supports, community legal education, and law reform and advocacy to deliver our vision for progressive change. We assist communities across Australia in metropolitan, regional, rural, remote, and very remote communities. 

Find legal help here. 

Centres work to develop and facilitate partnerships between legal assistance providers and other legal and non-legal services (for example, domestic violence organisations, community health organisations, housing services and drug and alcohol services). This allows centres to provide holistic help to people and is designed to avoid escalation of legal problems.  

Centres also work together in National Networks, supported by Community Legal Centres Australia, to share information and good practice and undertake policy and advocacy work. Active National Networks include: 

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Network 
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men’s Network 
• Animal Law Network 
• Community Services Network 
• Disability Rights Network 

• Disaster Resilience Legal Network 
• Employment Law Network 
• Human Rights Network 
• Older Persons Legal Services Network 
• Professional Indemnity Insurance Network 

• Regional, Rural, Remote and Very Remote Network 
• Student Legal Services Network 
• Youth Advocacy Network.