Member for Yuroke Ros Spence today announced the Northern Community Legal Centre will receive a $300,000 funding boost as part of a grants program under the Andrews Labor Government.

The funding will help the Northern Legal Centre to provide vital legal assistance to vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the Yuroke electorate.

The Northern Community Legal Centre will use the funding to:

• $100,000 from the Community Legal Centre Assistance Fund to employ a Youth Lawyer at 0.6 FTE over two years that will support the existing full time Youth Lawyer to provide legal assistance and community legal education;
• $100,000 from the Family Violence Duty Lawyer Fund to continue the employment of a Family Violence Duty Lawyer at 0.5 FTE over two years to provide duty lawyer services at the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court;
• $100,000 from the Community Legal Centre Family Violence Fund to employ a Family Violence Lawyer at 0.6 FTE over two years to support the work of their current family violence lawyers and extend capacity to provide responsive outreach services at various sites, including the Newbury maternal child care centre in Craigieburn.

The Northern Community Legal Centre is one of 38 community legal centres across Victoria to successfully apply for a grant under the funding programs, including the Community Legal Centre Assistance Fund, the Family Violence Duty Lawyer Fund, and the Community Legal Centre Family Violence Fund.

The grants – totaling $8.9 million – will help support more than 100,000 Victorians each year with free advice and support on a range of legal matters including family violence proceedings and family law disputes.

The Victorian Budget 2017/18 provided $24.8 million in new funding to help community legal centres across the state to deliver critical legal services and advice to Victorians.