THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP

Attorney-General
Minister for Emergency Management

Special Minister of State

Minister for the Public Service and Integrity

MEDIA RELEASE

Funding boost for Fitzroy legal service 

The Fitzroy Legal Service in Victoria will receive a one-off funding injection of $100,000 to assist with the production of its highly regarded Law Handbook.

The Law Handbook is a plain English legal resource for people in the community facing legal issues and helps to empower people to deal with legal issues before they escalate and become more serious.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC today visited the Fitzroy centre to announce the funding injection.

“This funding boost recognises the importance of plain English resources in helping people deal with everyday legal issues in areas such as tenancy, consumer protection, family law and employment,” Mr Dreyfus said.

“Community legal centres such as the Fitzroy Legal Service play an invaluable role in the delivery of legal services to disadvantaged people in the community.”

“The Government is committed to improving access to justice and our total nation-wide contribution to legal assistance services over the next four years will be $1.35 billion.”

The Law Handbook was first published by the Fitzroy Legal Service in 1977 as the Legal Resources Book. 

It was the first plain English guide to the law in Australia. 

Since then it has grown to become a 1000 page book that is published free on the internet.

 ENDS

And just while I'm at it, I was in Gertrude Street Fitzroy with the Czechoslovakian Princess a few weeks ago and I spied this bronze plaque re-writing history on the side of the greatest blood-bath of a pub I have ever known, the Builders'Arms.   As a young copper I attended full on riots there, I can attest personally to the fact that a lot more than "mixing with the Fitzroy millieu and forging friendships" went on at the Builders'Arms.