Published on Wednesday, 10 December 2025
IMCL and The Royal Melbourne Hospital celebrate a decade of partnership
Inner Melbourne Community Legal and The Royal Melbourne Hospital are marking a decade of partnership during which more than 600 people have received often life-changing legal help.
The partnership was formally celebrated on Wednesday morning at an event featuring Victoria’s new Public Advocate, Daniel Stubbs, who was Chief Executive Officer of IMCL when the partnership began in October 2015. He launched a new report evaluating the success of the Health Justice Partnership (HJP).
The HJP with the RMH is one of three partnerships that IMCL has with major Melbourne health providers, the oldest of which dates back to 2009.
Health Justice Partnerships integrate legal assistance into healthcare settings to improve access to justice and health outcomes.
Lawyers and health care professionals work together to provide collaborative support of patients/clients to ensure they can obtain appropriate and fair legal and health services.
Under the model, hospital staff are trained to identify patients who have unresolved legal issues that can be referred to IMCL’s lawyers for assistance.
“Legal issues are often at the root of someone’s health, financial or social problems and they can make those problems worse,” said Molly Williams, Director of Engagement and Projects at IMCL.
“But access to legal assistance is a constant barrier to obtaining justice. That’s why partnerships like this are so important because they can link hospital patients who would otherwise fall through the gaps with a lawyer.
“We know that people are almost twice as likely to disclose legal problems in the first instance to a health and welfare professional as they are to a lawyer. The HJP enables clients to take that first step in obtaining legal advice.
“At the same time, our lawyers benefit by developing skills and capacity to understand and navigate the healthcare system and how to access social supports in the community for our clients.”
In the first decade of the HJP at the RMH, 628 clients were assisted and 1495 instances of legal information, advice, tasks and referrals were provided.
The most common legal issues included family violence intervention orders, powers of attorney, tenancy, fines, elder abuse, family law parenting orders, criminal law and victims of crime financial assistance.
Almost a third of clients (29%) were experiencing or at risk of homelessness; 38% were experiencing or at risk of family violence; 21% were culturally or linguistically diverse; and 80% had a disability or mental health issue.
More than 1000 RMH staff have been provided with tailored education sessions on the key legal issues impacting patients.
The strength of the partnership was demonstrated during the COVID pandemic, when IMCL lawyers were able to continue to deliver services over the phone.
“Our Health Justice Partnership with The Royal Melbourne Hospital has had an incredible impact over the past decade, changing the lives of hundreds of clients from all over Victoria for the better,” Molly said.
“Feedback from our clients is that 60% showed signs of reduced stress and anxiety, improved financial situations and a greater capacity to focus on their health and quality of life after receiving legal help through a hospital setting.
“We are immensely proud of our partnership with RMH and look forward to many years of continuing to work together.”