ABOUT YOU

As our ideal candidate, you will possess:

• Experience in leading and managing a team.
• Demonstrated capacity to work as a lawyer in complex civil law matters including substantial knowledge or practical experience in civil law with a focus on mental health and disability law and relevant court procedures.
• Experience in designing, planning, monitoring and evaluating services and initiatives and proven experience in working autonomously, meeting deadlines and making complex decisions in a timely way.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the capacity to influence and negotiate with people across all levels.
• A current Australian practising certificate which entitles you to practise in Victoria as a government legal practitioner (mandatory).

Don’t meet every requirement? At VLA, we understand that your work and life experiences can be just as valuable. If you’re excited about this role but your CV doesn’t align perfectly with our job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or one of our many other opportunities.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

• Full time maximum term position up to September 2026
• This role is a parental leave backfill position
• Salary range: $127,334 - $150,485 plus super plus salary packaging
• Up to $15,900 in salary packaging and hybrid WFH & office model

ABOUT THE ROLE

In this role, you will lead the design and provision of high-quality mental health and disability legal services across the State, including compulsory mental health treatment and detention, guardianship and administration orders, Disability Act 2006 and Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 matters.
You will work collaboratively with a management team to lead, train and supervise a team of lawyers based largely in Melbourne, as well as supporting lawyers in regional and suburban offices, in the delivery of specialist high quality legal services. You will develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support effective service delivery and strategic advocacy and law reform initiatives.
You will also work collaboratively to support development, implementation and evaluation of MHDL program objectives. In addition, you will support the ongoing implementation of the new co-designed Mental Health Legal Rights Service model – a consumer-centred and trauma-informed model for mental health legal services in Victoria delivered in partnership with the Mental Health Legal Centre and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.
This role is based at our Melbourne CBD office on Wurundjeri Country.