Public Interest Law Clearing House

The Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) was a not-for-profit legal referral service, operated from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1994, following the model of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

PILCH coordinated pro bono legal assistance for Victorian not-for-profit organisations and individuals, with the aim to improve access to justice in Victoria by facilitating pro bono legal services to those otherwise unable to obtain it.

On 1 July 2013, PILCH VIC and PILCH NSW merged to become a new organisation: Justice Connect. Justice Connect continues PILCH's mission, with some slight changes and modifications to the supported programs. For details of current programs, please refer to the Justice Connect webpage.

Several schemes were run beneath the PILCH banner. Each scheme received requests for assistance, and referred cases to its members after establishing that certain criteria are met. The schemes were:

PILCH's legal initiatives which are now coordinated by Justice Connect include:

Significant referrals made through PILCH and its associated projects included:

PILCH has received the following awards in recognition of its work:

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