Submission – Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (Health)

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation with 50 years of experience providing culturally safe legal and community justice services to First Peoples across Victoria.

This submission includes the experiences of VALS clients and Community, including the way that violent and racist systems continue to impact Aboriginal social and emotional wellbein. It also examines racism and discrimination across the health system (with a particular focus on the mental health system and the custodial healthcare system), the critical need to continue to invest in culturally safe healthcare – including for Aboriginal people in custody – and the need for robust oversight and accountability mechanisms.