Legal Services Commissioner
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About us
On this page:
Establishment
Functions
About the Commissioner
Establishment
The Legal Services Commissioner was established on 12 December 2005 under the Legal Profession Act 2004.
The Legal Services Commissioner replaced the Legal Ombudsman and three other bodies that previously dealt with complaints about lawyers.
All regulatory power and decision-making for the handling of complaints is now vested in the Legal Services Commissioner.
Functions
The Legal Services Commissioner’s core function is to receive and handle complaints about lawyers.
The Legal Services Commissioner also has an educative role, which involves:
- educating the legal profession about issues of concern to the profession and consumers of legal services
- educating the community about legal issues and the rights and obligations that flow from the client-practitioner relationship.
About the Commissioner
Victoria Marles is the State’s first Legal Services Commissioner. Prior to this, Ms Marles was the Deputy Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
The Legal Services Commissioner is also the CEO of the Legal Services Board. The Board is another regulator of the legal profession in Victoria, responsible for issuing and renewing practising certificates, and maintaining the registers of legal practitioners and disciplinary action.
You can access these registers on the Legal Services Board website.