MHLC – Mental Health Legal Centre
Mental Health
Legal Centre

The Mental Health Legal Centre provides free, professional and confidential legal services to people in Victoria with lived experiences of mental illness or involvement with the mental health system.

The Mental Health Legal Centre provides free, professional and confidential legal services to people in Victoria with lived experiences of mental illness or involvement with the mental health system.

Our Online Help

Online Help guides you to:-

  • services offered by the Mental Health Legal Centre,
  • some information in different areas of law that may assist people with mental health challenges and
  • other services that may be able to help.

Anyone can use our Online Help service. We encourage family members, carers and friends of people with mental challenges to use our Online Help. Referring organisations can also use it to find help for their clients.

MHT Representation

Mental Health Tribunal Representation

The Mental Health Legal Centre (MHLC) provides Mental Health Tribunal hearing representations. MHLC recognises the alarmingly low level of legal representation available to those on compulsory treatment orders in the public mental health system. We believe that everyone has a right to representation and should be empowered and supported throughout the process.

Day Service

General Legal Advice

MHLC offers free legal advice on a range of matters to mental health consumers. Our telephone line 9629 4422 is open:
Tuesday to Friday
9 am – 12 pm and 2 pm – 4 pm.

Advance Statements

Advance Statements

We can help you to prepare an Advance Statement. We work with consumers to understand what treatment is wanted and to ensure that this is expressed clearly in their Advance Statements.

Other Services We Offer

Inside Access

Inside Access

Inside Access provides civil legal and other support services to people in correctional and forensic facilities in Victoria.

Bolton Clarke

Bolton Clarke

The MHLC and Bolton Clarke’s Homeless Person Project has been very successful in working together to deliver an effective, responsive and high quality Health Justice Project (‘HJP‘). This HJP provides increased access to justice and improved outcomes for a vulnerable cohort of Victorians.

About us

The Mental Health Legal Centre (MHLC), established in 1987, provides a free and confidential legal service to people with a lived experience of mental illness or involvement with the mental health system.

Our multidisciplinary team (law, social work and financial counselling) provide a range of innovative services in the community, in treatment facilities and in prisons. We work in partnership with other agencies to provide integrated services that address the needs of some of the most marginalised members of our community.

How You Can Help

Volunteer

Volunteer

To express your interest in volunteering at the Mental Health Legal Centre, please get in contact with us.

Donate

Donate

Your donation will enable the MHLC to continue its critical work in assisting and supporting people with mental illness through independent specialist legal advice, representation, education and systemic advocacy.

Support

Support

None of MHLC’s services would be possible without the support and resources we receive from our funders and stakeholders.

Support

Support

None of MHLC’s services would be possible without the support and resources we receive from our funders and stakeholders.