Between 18th June and 18th August 2026, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) consulted on legal privilege and integrated legal assistance services, examining whether stronger protections are needed for patients/clients when legal assistance services are delivered alongside health and social services.
Health Justice Australia (HJA) welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the inquiry through a written submission, drawing on evidence from health justice partnership (HJP) practice, as well as insights from practitioners across the legal, health and social service sectors. In particular, our submission is informed by two exploratory sessions convened by HJA specifically to gather practitioner perspectives for this inquiry.
Our submission highlights how legal privilege can create challenges for collaborative, patient/client-centred, trauma-informed service delivery and explores opportunities for, and potential consequences of, reform.
In our submission, we highlight:
- the unique challenges legal privilege presents in cross-sector partnerships, where legal, health and social service practitioners work together across organisations to support people experiencing complex and intersecting needs.
- that any reform process centres the needs, safety and wellbeing of patients/clients, supporting access to justice without creating unnecessary barriers to collaboration.
- the role of ongoing shared learning, workforce capability development and partnership development in supporting practitioners to navigate legal privilege and information-sharing challenges effectively.
Read the full submission to find out more about how the experiences of health justice partnership practitioners across Australia informed HJA’s contribution to the inquiry.
