Victoria's peak Indigenous legal service says they have been left behind by the Albanese government's lack of funding, arguing some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people won't be able to access culturally safe legal services at the current funding levels.

It comes as reports last month revealed up to 1000 people a day were being turned away from community legal centres.

The federal government announced the National Access to Justice Partnership on Friday, with close to $800 million in funding over five years from 2025-26 to the legal assistance sector, "with a focus on uplifting legal services responding to gender-based violence".

"I have spent decades fighting for a better deal for the legal assistance sector," Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said.

"Legal assistance is essential to ensuring access to justice and equality before the law for all Australians, and safety for victims and survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence."

The new National Access to Justice Partnership will commence on expiry of the current National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP), but comes after months of silence from the government after receiving an independent review into the funding of legal services by Dr Warren Mundy.

The review found current funding levels are drastically insufficient to meet the needs of Australia's population, especially for marginalised groups like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, with legal groups arguing they have been raising these concerns for years.

In response, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) called on the Prime Minister and Attorney-General to "meet the demand of the communities they serve", arguing the new funding was a re-badging of existing funding plus funding for indexation and wage parity.

They also noted there is no new funding to expand services to meet growing demand, nor any details on the "implications of a new funding stream for Aboriginal Legal Services".

VALS' chair, Crystal McKinnon noted: "Their own review said that we are funded inadequately and that our people are being denied justice – but they ignored the review, and they ignored us."

Chief executive Nerita Waight said the announcement wasn't one that "says it believes in Aboriginal Justice".

"VALS has spent so much time working with community to develop plans for how we can deliver the services they want, and it hurts that the Federal Labor Government has chosen not to invest in those communities," she said.

"It stings worse because Anthony Albanese has spent so many years claiming to be a champion for Aboriginal people, and he has failed us at every turn. You can speak nice words at media opportunities, but it means nothing when you take away the resources our communities need."

VALS said they may even be worse off due to changes in how funding is provided to different jurisdictions, arguing that funding for indexation and wage parity would not allow the organisation to maintain their current level of services.

"Over recent years we have secured a range of one-off funding sources that have allowed us to pilot new services and cover a new small amount of the unmet demand for our services," a VALS spokesperson said.

"The Federal Labor Government's announcement will not allow us to continue any of those services."

Over the life of the previous agreement, VALS said cases opened has almost tripled, while the number of custody notifications has risen close to 50 per cent.

In a statement, the organisation said they had tried to engage with the PM and Attorney-General over two years about the need to negotiate a new agreement that addresses the "systemic underfunding of Aboriginal Legal Services".

"It is hard not to think that Anthony Albanese and Mark Dreyfus contrived this situation to silence Aboriginal voices," Ms Waight said.

"It is entirely because of the process they created that we have not had an opportunity to properly discuss the new agreement with the Federal Labor Government."

In opposition, she noted Minister Dreyfus had campaigned against the former LNP governments' cuts to NLAP but had now "locked them in".

"This will mean that services like Balit Ngulu, our dedicated legal service for Aboriginal children, and our regional offices are at risk of cutbacks and closure," she said.

"We are particularly concerned that Victoria might be worse off under the new agreement. VALS has been underfunded for so many years and it will be devastating for the people who rely on us if the Federal Labor Government cuts our funding."

Ms McKinnon, said they didn't get, nor ask, for a lot from the federal government, but just wanted to provide culturally safe legal service to those who need it.

"Anthony Albanese could find the money we need down the back of a chair in cabinet given our funding requirements are so small compared to the Federal Budget. The Federal Labor Government chose to ignore us, like so many governments before it," she said.

She called on the Prime Minister and Attorney-General to come to a VALS board meeting to hear first-hand stories of Aboriginal people who are unable to access VALS' services.

"I am sure they would make a different decision if they took the time to understand what is happening," Ms McKinnon said.