By PAUL MILLAR
A GEELONG legal service for the disadvantaged and victims of crime has received a major funding boost.
Barwon Community Legal Service will receive $100,000 from 2015-2017 under the State Government’s community legal centres’ assistance fund and $52,174 from a family violence duty lawyers’ fund.
Geelong MP Christine Couzens said the extra cash was vital to ensure vulnerable Victorians in Geelong continued to receive support with legal matters.
“Community legal centres have a critical role in our community by providing essential services to disadvantaged and vulnerable Victorians,” Ms Couzens said.
Barwon Community Legal Service is one of 28 recipients of a Community Legal Centre Assistance Fund grant.
The grants will assist the Barwon service in providing help to victims of family violence, through improved legal assistance and services to women and children attending court for family violence intervention.
The Community Legal Centre Assistance Fund will provide $2 million to centres over the next two years. The Barwon service received the maximum grant of $50,000 a year.
The grants fund a range of key frontline resources and programs including legal support for family violence matters, improved access to justice for newly arrived and refugee communities and online services for regional and remote youth.
These grants will increase the availability of family violence duty lawyers who provide crucial legal services to victims with proceedings before magistrates’ court,” Ms Couzens said.
Nick Hudson, the Barwon service’s executive officer, said the additional funding was a welcome announcement.
“There are often people we simply can’t assist because we don’t have the resources,” he said.
“This funding will provide additional resources which means we will be able to help more people and, potentially, with more-complex matters.”
