Submission – Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (Land Injustice)

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

This submission contends that connection to Country is both a preventative and rehabilitative measure for community, which in turn can act as a mechanism to prevent criminalisation. It details some of the positive, self-determined approaches VALS sees in the criminal legal system where connection to Country and culture are foundational elements, alongside the right to self-determination.