All of us at the Neighbourhood Justice Centre acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation the Traditional Owners of the land on which our centre sits, and we pay respect to Wurundjeri Elders past, present and emerging.  We treat all that this acknowledgement stands for with the utmost gravity.  

Place-based justice

The Neighbourhood Justice Centre specialises in using highly tailored justice services to improve public safety.

Through our court, support services, and community outreach and engagement we:

  • Rehabilitate people swept up in crime and help victims to heal 
  • Repair places harmed by crime
  • Prevent crime from happening again or in the first place

Everything we do, we do by working alongside those most affected by crime, and in this way:

  • Our court links people to life changing treatment and support services
  • We work with residents and services to find practical, sustainable solutions to issues of crime and harm
  • Our Centre is a safe and friendly resource for community activities, information and support

We are part of the Specialist Courts and Programs Division of the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, and our authorising environment is the Courts Legislation (Neighbourhood Justice Centre) Act 2006 (the Act).

We are one of 80 community justice centres worldwide and as an International Mentor Court for Community Justice our doors are open to share our work and model with justice reformers, policy-makes, courts and allied services.

Under the roof

Multi-jurisdictional court and tribunals

  • Magistrates' Court 
  • Children's Court (criminal division)
  • Victims of Crime Tribunal

Client services

  • Social services, including mental health issues, housing, drug and alcohol addiction, financial difficulties, family violence, men's behaviour issues, and homelessness. 
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the LGBTI community, and refugee and migrants.

Legal and justice agencies 

  • Victoria Legal Aid
  • Fitzroy Legal Services
  • Community Correctional Services Victoria
  • Police Prosecutions

Program and Innovation team

  • Oversees crime prevention, community engagement, stakeholder engagement and education initiatives and develops innovative programs in response to identified community needs.
  • design prototype services to improve justice delivery across courts.

Strategic objectives

Our five focus areas are to:

  • Provide accessible justice solutions to make the City of Yarra even safer and stronger 
  • Continue with practices that make us a recognised and valued community justice model 
  • Remain a connected and trusted partner
  • Research and develop justice innovations 
  • Grow as a passionate, skilled and cohesive organisation.

Goals

  • Prevent and reduce criminal and other harmful behaviour in our community
  • Increase our community's confidence in, and access to, the justice system 
  • Strengthen the community justice model and facilitating the transfer of its practices to other courts and communities.

You can read more about our goals here.

Take a virtual tour (External link)of our centre.