The Federation of Community Legal Centres offers staff and volunteers at our member community legal centres opportunities to develop their professional skills throughout the year. We offer diverse training sessions in areas including climate justice, cultural safety, finance, governance, leadership, management, media, and mental health first aid through trusted facilitators.
The Federation appreciates feedback from members as we gauge interest in new sessions of proven training offerings, or to flag new training areas for us to investigate.
Below you will find out how to keep up-to-date with training announcements, training details and upcoming sessions.
Training Communications
If you would like to be kept informed of upcoming learning and development opportunities, please email [email protected] with your name, your CLC, and your contact details.
Those on this list will be assured of hearing about new training sessions as soon as they are announced.
Who can attend?
Most training sessions offered by the Federation are for Federation members only. If you are a staff member, board member, committee of management member, volunteer, or student placement (PLT) at a community legal centre, you are welcome to join our training sessions.
Occasionally, we have the capacity to extend the invitation to additional participants outside the Victorian community legal sector.
CPD Points
Whilst the Federation’s diverse training program contains sessions relevant for more than just the legal staff at community legal centres, many of the training sessions can count towards the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for Victorian lawyers. Attendance will be recorded by the Federation to ensure all details are noted for any CPD reporting.
CPD obligations are regulated by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner and their CPD information for lawyers can be found on this page of their website.
Federation’s Annual CPD Event 2026
The Federation will deliver its annual CPD Event between 16-26 March 2026. While the Federation offers training throughout each year, this annual event is a fantastic opportunity for community legal centre staff to share details of their work with peers within the community legal sector, as well as with those from the wider community and legal sectors with an interest in the work we do.
Sessions will be presented by Federation members and other interested professionals at 2pm each event day.
Key details
- Dates: 16-26 March 2026
- Time: 2pm
- Costs: Free for members (Victorian community legal centre staff). All non-members will be required to pay a nominal fee.
- Delivery: All sessions will be held online via Zoom to maximise members’ ability to both present and attend.
Expressions of Interest – Now Open
Expressions of Interest to present a session at this annual event are now open.
Although we are open to a wide range of different topics, prospective presenters should note that the final program will address all four CPD areas:
- Ethics & Professional Responsibility
- Practice Management and Business Skills
- Professional Skills
- Substantive Law
EOI application form
EOIs should be submitted using the EOI form.
The information you provide here will:
- help the EOI review committee understand your session and how it could fit into the program
- be used to promote your session. Please include a descriptive title and detailed description of your session content in the Brief Overview section. This can in prose or bullet points - whichever helps clearly describe what attendees will learn from you.
EOI closing date
EOIs should be emailed to Gabby Talmadge via [email protected] by 6pm Friday 30 January 2026.
Reflections on successful sessions
Feedback from former CPD Event sessions has highlighted the following tips for a successful presentation:
- Structure your presentation clearly, using information to support your points.
- Allow sufficient time for information to be presented in an unhurried fashion.
- Leave time at the end for questions.
- Provide support materials and resources after the session to enable continuous learning.
Sessions will not be recorded
Please note that CPD Event sessions will not be recorded.
In the past we have found that recording a session can result in fewer attendees and reduced participation. Through our CPD Event sessions, we aim to bring the sector together to share information, expertise and experiences in real time, and this cannot be achieved via recorded sessions.
