Community legal services in the western suburbs will reach more vulnerable and disadvantaged Victorians following the amalgamation of three legal centres.
Wyndham Legal Services, Footscray Community Legal Centre and Western Suburbs Legal Services have merged to form WEstjustice, combining resources in a bid to make the community legal centres work more efficiently.
Speaking to Star Weekly at the launch of WEstjustice last week, its chief executive Denis Nelthorpe said the merger meant the west was now home to one of the largest legal centres in Melbourne.
“We’re now better off than we’ve ever been,” he said. “We’re triple the size we were, meaning we have more funding and can offer more services to the community.”
Mr Nelthorpe said the closure of the legal centre in Newport earlier this year was inevitable and not a result of the merger.
“We’re still working in the Hobsons Bay area and looking at different opportunities in Newport to open another centre and maintain our presence in that community,” he said.
Mr Nelthorpe said the merger was not a result of government cuts to funding.
Merger welcomed
The former chairman of the West Community Legal Centre, Werribee MP Tim Pallas, welcomed the merger. He thanked the centres for their contribution to the community and the council, police and courts for their input.
“Inaccessible justice is no justice at all,” he said. “We have an obligation as a community to help people get the right access to legal services and processes. This is a very powerful and positive thing.”
State Attorney-General Martin Pakula announced a $50,000 grant at the launch, funding an employment law project aimed at improving working outcomes for newly arrived and refugee communities.
WEstjustice provides free legal advice to the vulnerable, refers people to other organisations to assist with issues, and provides interpreters for interviews.
It is also responsible for other community initiatives, including an in-house lawyer at The Grange P-12 College to assist families with legal problems, and a legal service at Werribee Mercy Hospital for victims of family violence.
