Legal Support Program

On 1 July 2023, Cancer Council Victoria introduced a free legal support service in partnership with participating Victorian Law firms.

We recognise the growing need for those affected by cancer to easily access specialised legal support. By working with local providers, we aim to make this as easy as possible for patients and their families. 

 Through this service, we can help eligible people with advanced cancer to access legal services to get support with basic Wills, Powers of Attorney and Medical Treatment Decision Maker arrangements.

Eligibility Criteria

People can access this service if they are:

1. Considered as having  advanced cancer OR
2. Receiving community-based palliative care for cancer, AND
3. Reside in Victoria
4. Pass a Means test

 To ensure we’re able to support those most in need, as part of this eligibility criteria, individuals will need to undergo a Means test.

The service aims to assist vulnerable Victorians that do not have the means to put their affairs in order. The means test that we will apply includes questions to identify Victorians at or below the poverty line. They will focus on whether the person receives a Centrelink benefit, the income of the main household earner, the person’s housing situation, whether they have a core activity restriction and the amount of money in their bank account.

If your patient would not feel comfortable answering questions like this, then it may be better to encourage them to make their own arrangements for legal assistance.

Our legal support service is limited to basic Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Medical Treatment Decision Maker arrangements.

Increasingly we were hearing through our 13 11 20 cancer information and support line just how significant an impact a cancer diagnosis has on all aspects of a person’s life. Not only is there a physical and emotional toll on the individual, but cancer also impacts many practical matters that affect the whole family such as their finances, ability to work, childcare arrangements, superannuation, insurance and more.

As a result, Cancer Council Victoria has been building capacity in our Supportive Care Programs to help people manage these practical challenges.

Health professionals can make a referral via our online   Cancer Support Referral Form.

 To maximise a successful referral for your patient, please familiarise yourself with our eligibility criteria and ensure your patient is ready to proceed prior to making a referral.

1. Once you have submitted the referral via the Cancer Support Referral Form, you will receive a success message letting you know that we have received the referral.
2. One of our Legal Support Program team will contact your patient within two business days to take further details and assess their eligibility for receiving a free service. Please note, we’ll attempt to contact the patient over two weeks, however if we’re unable to reach them, we will advise you of this.
3. If eligible, we will then match them with a suitable lawyer. Where possible, this will be in their local area.
4. The law firm will then arrange the first appointment with your patient within 10 business days of being matched.
5. Once the law firm has completed working with your patient we will advise you of the outcome for your records. 

The process may take about one month or longer from referral to completion of the service and hearing about the outcome. We aim to continually improve our systems through feedback and this total time may reduce.

A Victorian-based service allows us to build relationships with local service providers as well as understand and address the challenges unique to Victorians affected by cancer. This is particularly valuable given our state-based health system as well as the many laws, regulations, policies, and authorities operating within the Victorian jurisdiction.

Our legal service providers are located throughout Victoria, including regional and rural areas. We continue to identify new law firms to partner with and assist with delivering this service.

We are only able to offer access to basic Wills where a patient has simple circumstances. Blended families or complicated family dynamics, wanting to set up a trust, having assets overseas or owning a business are examples of complicated life circumstances that require a complex Will to be drawn up. Unfortunately, we are unable to help in those circumstances.

We would like to link eligible patients with a service provider promptly. If the patient is not ready to proceed with preparing a Will or Power of Attorney, then we may be unable to assist them.

The following should be checked with the patient prior to referring them for a basic Will, Power of Attorney and/or Medical treatment Decision Maker authority.

 If they don't yet have answers to the following, please encourage them to do so before referring them to ensure they're ready to proceed.

For Wills

• Does the patient know who they want to appoint as executor for their Will?
• Does the patient know who they would like to leave their estate to?

For Powers of Attorney / Medical Treatment Decision Making:

• Does the patient know who they would like to appoint?
• Has the patient asked that person?

Unfortunately, with urgent Wills, we cannot guarantee we will be able to match someone with a lawyer within a short period (i.e., less than four weeks).

 For urgent Wills and legal advice, contact  Victorian Legal Aid or find a lawyer near you via the Law Institute of Victoria,  Find Your Lawyer Referral Service.

If there are any concerns at all about a person’s capacity, including if there is a concern that the person may imminently lose cognitive function, please do not make a referral as we will not be able to assist them.

Please do not make a referral if:

• There are any concerns about the person’s cognitive capacity,
• the person is heavily medicated,
• the person’s cognition is fluctuating,
• there are concerns the person may imminently lose cognitive capacity.

If a patient already has a Will and it has been prepared within the past five years, then ask the patient to return to the lawyer who drafted the Will to make changes. A referral to this service is not appropriate.

Lawyers will not make changes to or check existing Wills (including Will kits) – they are only able to prepare new Wills.

No. This service is for people with advanced cancer that cannot afford to pay for assistance.

Patients can be referred to the service once per legal issue e.g., they can only be referred once for a Will, Power of Attorney, Medical Treatment Decision Maker.

If your patient was referred to Cancer Council NSW’s Pro Bono Program recently but was not in a position to proceed, please contact the NSW Pro Bono team via  probono@cancercouncil.org.au or call 1300 856 199 to follow this up.

No. The current service is only available free for people with cancer that meet the eligibility criteria and means test. The law firm may offer to also prepare your patient’s partner’s Will for a fee.

You can direct patients to our website and search 'Legal Support Program" for more information.