Information and resources

What Makes a Law Effective, and also Fair?

The Rule of Law uses the Monopoly board game as an example of what makes laws fair and effective.

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Juries: Development, Selection and Boundaries

These three pages are a great handout for students, and civics learners alike. They detail the way in which jurors are selected, the history behind the development of Victoria's jury system - and all the jury electorates.

Handout

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What is fake news, misinformation, and disinformation?

This webpage features an index of different academically based articles on how to identify misinformation, scrutinize disinformation and separate fact from fiction.

Website

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Lessons from practice Insights from funded projects

This document shares the insights from organisations funded through Victoria Law Foundation’s General Grants program.

Guide

Grants

Preventing motor vehicle crime by young people: Film Companion Guide

NOTES TO THE FACILITATOR This booklet accompanies the IMPACT Project film resource. It should be used as a guide for young Victorians aged 12 to 16 about the impact of motor vehicle crime on young people and their communities.

Guide

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Resource - Young People's Rights

Resources on young people's rights, Sourced from the Victorian Charter. Includes rights about police powers, employment, etc.

Factsheet

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Defamation in Action: For VCE Legal Studies

VCE Legal Studies: Case study suitable for classroom or online learning.

Case Study

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Civil Liability: For VCE Legal Studies

VCE Legal Studies exercises are suitable for classroom or online learning.

Handout

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Recommended Readings and Recordings on Australian Problem-Solving Courts

Guide

Research

PULS answers

The answers to the questions asked as part of the PULS. You can correct answers, why the answer is what it is, and find out about some of organisations that help when people face problems like these.

Guide

Research

VCE Legal Studies | Unit 2 Exam Preparation

Exam Preparation by David Thomson, Victoria Law Foundation (VLF) Teacher in Residence.

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VCE Legal Studies | Units 3 and 4 Exam Preparation

VCE Legal Studies Unit 4 Exam Preparation by David Thomson, VLF Teacher in Residence.

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The Australian Constitution: An Overview Designed for VCE Legal Studies

VLF Teacher in Residence: David Thomson OAM, breaks down the constitution's formation and utility.

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Vote ready resources

This talk highlights the importance of voting, and outlines how to vote and how our voting system works; ultimately providing an invaluable resource educating young people about the ins and outs of voting. This talk is especially relevant for students who will be voting for the first time in the upcoming State election.

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Principles of Employment Law: Awards

Solicitors from the Young Workers Centre, Tiarne Crowther and Leon Harper, provide valuable information about Industrial Awards and the rights provided to workers under awards

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Community Justice in Practice: The Neighbourhood Justice Centre

The team from the Neighbourhood Justice Centre outline how they support the community and uphold justice in a holistic way, combining a court, support services, legal agencies, and a program and innovation team under one roof.

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First Nations People and the Justice System: VCE Factsheet

This factsheet provides statistics for students and teachers to use in their studies of VCE Legal Studies specifically in relation to references the 2024-2028 Legal Studies curriculum has regarding First Nation Peoples

Handout

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Renter's stories

YouTube playlist of Tenants Victoria's video stories

Video

Grants

Justice and the Capability to Function in Society

Pascoe Pleasence and Nigel Balmer discuss the place of legal capability in the global tradition of legal needs surveys. They set out the importance of understanding legal capability in informing “bottom-up” access to justice policy.

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Financial Capability Research in Australia

Roslyn Russell, Jozica Kutin and Tracey Marriner provide a snapshot of Australian research landscape on financial capability – a closely related field to legal capability.

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Reshaping Legal Assistance Services: Building on the Evidence Base

Pascoe Pleasence, Christine Coumarelos, Suzie Forell, and Hugh McDonald review evidence demonstrating how legal problem-solving is patterned by people’s circumstances and explore how the concept of legal capability helps explain research findings. They also discuss how legal assistance can be better matched to the legal needs and capability of diverse users.

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Wrong about Rights: Public Knowledge of Key Areas of Consumer, Housing and Employment Law in England and Wales

Article by Pascoe Pleasence, Nigel Balmer and Catrina Denvir examining public knowledge of rights - a key dimension of capability - in key areas relating to consumer, housing and employment law.

Article

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Assessing Access to Justice: How Much “Legal” Do People Need and How Can We Know?

Hugh McDonald discusses how the shift to user-centric approaches to access to justice and legal needs requires a commensurate shift in the empirical methods and measures used to assess access to justice.

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Legal Capability and Inaction for Legal Problems: Knowledge, Stress and Cost

Hugh McDonald and Julie People use Australian national legal needs survey data to examine how knowledge, stress and cost factors whether people take action in response to legal problems. The findings show how deficiencies in legal capability can manifest a ‘paralysing’ effect resulting in inaction.

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Research