More than 160,000 of the nation's most vulnerable are turned away from community legal centres every year, with the sector bracing itself for the impact further funding cuts will have on already-stretched operations.

In Queensland, three out of five people – mostly the elderly, immigrants, vulnerable workers, victims of violence and those without resources to fight unfair evictions and the like – are already turned away while seeking free legal advice and representation.

Community legal services, already stretched beyond limits, are bracing for further cuts. Credit:Tanya Lake

From June next year, those legal centres are slated to lose another 30 per cent of their federal funding.

Director of Community Legal Centres Queensland James Farrell said the latest National Association of Community Legal Centres Census Report found thousands of people were already being turned away each year.