YOUNG people in Melbourne’s west have poor access to legal information and help, a new research report has revealed.
Compiled by the Wyndham Legal Service, it identified a need to immediately boost youth legal services after discovering in some suburbs young people had no where to go for assistance. The report also found young people in the western suburbs were largely unaware of their legal rights.
Community development lawyer Shorna Moore said it was also clear traditional community legal education models had failed to engage young people.
“Of particular concern are the young people living in the outer suburbs of Wyndham, such as Wyndham Vale, Truganina and Tarneit, who get no access in terms of legal assistance or services until they literally end up in the cells,” she said.
The report, funded by the Victorian Law Foundation, aimed to identify what community legal education was required to better assist young people and what was preventing them from accessing legal help. Some were were unable to access a lawyer because of unemployment, low incomes and a lack of local accommodation.
