Hume Riverina Community Legal Service

27/08/2026

Last week the Victoria Law Foundation organised an Information Sharing Exchange in which we attended alonsgide Victoria Legal Aid Victorian Ombudsman, the Australian Electoral Commission and other service providers from across our region to share insights, strengthen relationships, and discuss the challenges facing the people we support.

These discussions reinforced the importance of collaboration and information sharing in helping our clients navigate complex issues.
Time and again, we see that legal problems are often intertwined with non-legal challenges such as housing, financial hardship, health concerns, and recovery from trauma.

By working together, our organisations can better understand these connections and provide coordinated, holistic, and trauma-informed support that responds to the full range of a person's circumstances.

We value the opportunity to connect with our community partners and learn from one another as we continue working towards improved access to justice and better outcomes for the people and communities we serve.

We are a service of UMFC

📷 HRCLS Managing Lawyer Gabby & Bec from VLF

22/08/2026

Last week, HRCLS attended a community roundtable hosted by the Victorian Ombudsman, Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) (EWOV) and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman in Wangaratta

The session brought together community organisations to learn more about the services they provide, discuss the challenges faced by people in rural communities, and explore referral pathways that can help community members access support when issues arise with government agencies, utility providers and telecommunications services.

The roundtable provided a valuable opportunity to share local insights and strengthen connections between services. We appreciated the chance to learn more about the escalation and dispute resolution options available to our clients, helping ensure we can connect people with the right support when matters cannot be resolved directly.

Thank you to the Victorian Ombudsman, EWOV and TIO for facilitating this important discussion and creating a space for collaboration between community organisations.

We are a service of UMFC



📷 Representatives from the Victorian Ombusdman, EWOV, TIO, UMFC, HRCLS, Anglicare Victoria vincent de paul

21/08/2026

Always a privilege to speak about our Invisible Hurdles program - a 4 way partnership with Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service, NESAY and Wodonga Flexible Learning Centre empowering young people impacted by family violence. After 10 years of practice and evaluation by Dr Liz Curran we can confidently say this model works. “These outcomes aren’t achieved because a lawyer is available (which they absolutely need to be); they’re achieved because a lawyer is trusted”.
Thank you Attorney General, the Hon. Sonya Kilkenny MP for your time and support for the work of CLCs. And thank you Eastern Community Legal Centre for hosting us.

We are a program of UMFC

Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria

21/08/2026

When things go wrong, we all need somewhere to turn. That might be a doctor or a hospital. That might be a homelessness or mental health service. It might be food relief or Centrelink. For many, it will be a community legal service. Last year, community legal services assisted more than 75,000 Victorians with over 170,000 legal problems. We’ve got your back.

Community legal services are an important part of Victoria’s safety net. We support people to escape family violence. We prevent homelessness. We relieve financial pressure. We help communities rebuild after disasters. When things go wrong and Victorians are faced with problems and crises, community legal has their back.

However, funding shortfalls mean that we are forced to turn away two people who seek our support, for every one we can help. These people miss out on the help they need to avoid issues escalating, resolve their problems, or recover after a crisis. It is time to give Victorians the support they need to thrive.

Our services are free and we work in every Victorian community to help people get through life’s toughest times. We have Victoria’s back and now we need your support. Ahead of the November State election, please join the campaign and make sure Victorians get the help they need when they need it most.

Show your support at fclc.org.au/gotyourback



We are a program of UMFC

📷 Hume Riverina Community Legal Service's Principal Lawyer Deb Fisher along with Allied Justice CEO Narelle Laing

14/08/2026

Proud to support the WINGS program through our HALO partnership with Gateway Health

We are a service of UMFC

WINGS is a safe and supportive small group program for women who have experienced family violence, a FREE and respectful healing space for women to explore the impacts of family violence, strengthen resilience and connect with others who understand.

Term 4, 2026 - 6 Week Program (10am to 12pm)
• Wodonga: starts - Tuesday, October 13, 2026
• Wangaratta: starts - Thursday, October 15, 2026

Enquiries: [email protected] or call 0260228888

(Ask to speak to the Domestic and Family Violence Case Management team)

13/08/2026

Join our UMFC Board of Directors

We are seeking community-minded individuals to join our Board of Directors and contribute to the governance, leadership and future direction of our organisation. As two current Board Directors reach the end of their terms, we are looking to appoint two new members with strong connections to the Ovens Murray region of Victoria and/or southern New South Wales.

We value a broad range of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds, recognising that diversity strengthens decision-making and helps us better support children, young people and families. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people living with a disability, members of the LGBTIQA+ community, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and individuals with experience in community services, health or related sectors.

Learn more or apply:
https://employmenthero.com/jobs/position/upper-murray-family-care-umfc-board-director-upper-murray-family-care-el1ia/

13/08/2026

Collaboration is at the heart of effective community recovery.

We're grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our colleagues at Consumer Action Law Centre and Legal Help Victoria building strong partnerships that help ensure people impacted by disasters can access the support and legal assistance they need.

Together, we continue to learn from one another and strengthen our collective response to the challenges faced by communities across our region.

📷 Deb Fisher from HRCLS with Su Robertson from Consumer Action Law Centre and Bronwyn Lay from Disaster Legal Help Victoria at the recent Community Sector Recovery Day

We are a service of UMFC

07/08/2026

After our weekly casework meeting today, a group of us walked over to The Close Collective for our coffees as they were donating $1 from every coffee sold today to support people experiencing homelessness through local grassroots services. ☕

05/08/2026

Today marks the first day of Homelessness Week (3-9 August).

This years theme being "Homelessness Action Now".

Did you know that on any night, 47,871 children and young people (0-24) have no safe place to call home.

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05/08/2026

Last week, HRCLS joined community organisations and recovery partners for the Upper Murray Community Sector Recovery Day at Hall.
The workshop brought together local, regional and statewide services to share updates on the current recovery landscape, discuss the challenges communities continue to face following disasters, and explore ways we can work together to support people impacted by recovery-related issues.
Through case study discussions and collaborative planning, we were able to work through key local priorities, including psychosocial support, impacts of disasters, and improving coordination between services.

We appreciated the opportunity to participate in this workshop alongside colleagues from Consumer Action Law Centre and Disaster Legal Help Victoria to connect and learn as we continue our work supporting communities affected by disasters across our region.

📷 Hume Riverina Community Legal Service's Deb Fisher, Debbie Ireland and Anthony Nguyen

Collaboration strengthens communities.

We are a service of UMFC .