Legal
Service update – The UMSU Legal Service will no longer provide financial counselling assistance as of 4 June 2026. If you are looking for financial counselling assistance, we recommend you contact National Debt Helpline to speak with a financial counsellor.
The UMSU Legal Service acknowledges the significant impact to students as a result of the closure of our financial counselling service, particularly as we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, however we were not provided sufficient funds by the University in the latest allocation of funding in 2026 to continue the service at this point in time.
UMSU will continue to advocate for additional funding from the University to ensure students are better supported so they can thrive and get more out of their time at university.
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The UMSU Legal Service is a nationally-accredited community legal centre that provides free and confidential legal help to current University of Melbourne students.
The legal service is staffed by qualified lawyers, and provides assistance on various legal issues, including:
- Renting
- Employment law
- Fines / infringements
- Minor criminal law
- Consumer law
- Car and bike accidents
- Family violence / personal safety
- Discrimination
- Sexual harassment
- Debts
Before contacting the UMSU Legal Service, we recommend reviewing our Legal Information resources below - you can find the answers to many common legal issues here. Please also review our page on Working with your Lawyer below to help you understand how we operate, and what to expect when you contact us.
To contact us, please select Get Legal Help below to complete our contact form.
Our contact form is available to submit new enquiries every week from Monday to Thursday. For enquiries outside our contact hours, we recommend contacting Victoria Legal Aid here.
Please note the Service will not be operating on Monday 8 June due to the Victorian public holiday.
The UMSU Legal Service is currently experiencing high demand, resulting in longer wait times. We aim to respond to enquiries within 5 business days, however we are required to prioritise matters based on their urgency, so you may receive a response earlier or later than this timeframe.
If there are any urgent deadlines in your matter, please let us know in your contact form so we can try and respond to you in time.
We apologise for any inconvenience. You can also contact Victoria Legal Aid's helpline on 1300 792 387 or visit their website () for legal information and referrals on a range of areas of law.
Last updated: 4 June 2026