The Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner has today launched the Legal Services Research Centre, a new centre undertaking independent research to help make justice more accessible and equitable.
The Centre’s research will strengthen VLSB+C’s ability to deliver on its strategic objectives of protecting and empowering consumers, maintaining and enhancing legal practice and ethics, and improving access to justice.
Importantly, the research centre will operate with full research independence. This operating model is designed to guarantee trust in the research and ensure its use and impact.
Board CEO and Commissioner Fiona McLeay said VLSB+C has long supported legal research for an evidence base to underpin policy development.
“By investing in the Legal Services Research Centre, we are strengthening our commitment to evidence-based justice,” Ms McLeay said.
“We want our work to be underpinned by the experiences of the public and the profession, and believe it is vital that we continually engage with them to understand their experiences. The Legal Services Research Centre will deliver the insights we need to improve the way we regulate the profession and access to justice for Victorians.”
The Legal Services Research Centre is led by renowned international expert on access to justice research, Professor Nigel Balmer, who joined the VLSB+C as Research Director in 2024. He has a long-standing interest in better understanding how people experience everyday legal problems, and understand and interact with law, with a view to helping to shape a system that better meets their needs.
"The Legal Services Research Centre will conduct cutting-edge, independent research to build an evidence base that advances knowledge, addresses critical justice gaps, and drives meaningful societal impact," Professor Balmer said.
"It reinforces Victoria’s position at the centre of the global movement toward a 'bottom-up' approach to justice – one that puts the needs and capabilities of the public at its heart," he added.
Ms McLeay said that under the leadership of Professor Balmer, the Centre’s research will help shape the future of service design, policy making and regulation in Victoria and beyond.
The launch of the Centre also marks its first publication, Report of the Pilot Victorian Legal Understanding and Lawyer Use (V-LULU) Survey.
The V-LULU survey marks the beginning of an ongoing program of LULU survey research exploring how the public interact with law and legal services.
The Centre will also conduct the Census of Victorian Lawyers, an annual survey exploring the contemporary issues that matter to the legal profession. Findings from the first Census will be released in late 2025, covering topics such as the use of AI to competency and ethics, wellbeing, and workplace issues and behaviours.
The Centre’s work will involve small and large-scale research projects, analysis and literature reviews, with all work publicly available on its website.
For more information and to read the report, visit: lsbc.vic.gov.au/research-centre