Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is expanding its service across the Ovens Murray region in response to rising demand for the legal service.

VLA’s Wodonga-based team will be transitioning from a satellite of the Shepparton office to a standalone service operating in courts at Wangaratta, Myrtleford, Corryong and Mansfield.

The rising demand was pinpointed on the back of the release of the Legal Services Research Centre study earlier this year which used Census data to forecast legal needs for everyday legal problems including debts, rental disputes and family violence across local government areas in Victoria.

An interactive Small Area Modelling map identifies the predicted volume of legal issues at a neighborhood level.

Wodonga emerged as one of the state's primary hotspots for forecasted legal problems while other North East LGAs showed consistently high demand.

VLA also considered research on the back of a Victoria Law Foundation survey, which highlighted a significant barriers of access to legal help and unmet legal needs present in the Ovens and Murray region.

VLA Ovens Murray regional manager Susie Crowe said the service was pleased to now have additional legal aid lawyers in the North East to provide more access for people to legal help.

“We’re growing this service to focus on these areas of legal need, complementing the work of local lawyers representing legal aid clients, and working in partnership with community and First Nations legal services in the region,” she said.

“Regional communities across Victoria access critical legal services through a range of providers including community legal services, private lawyers and Victoria Legal Aid’s lawyers.”

The new Wodonga-based team will work in partnership with existing panel practitioners and community legal services to increase access to justice for Ovens Murray communities.

VLA lawyers provide crime, family violence and child protection duty lawyer services at Wodonga Magistrates’ Court and oversee the rostering of duty lawyer services at satellite courts across the North East.

VLA also take case work across those practice areas and will expand to family law work in the coming months.

The VLA Wodonga office opens to the public later this year.

The office is currently taking referrals only within the Ovens Murray region and can be contacted on (02) 6043 7099.