Shaping a More Responsive Legal Sector for Victorians experiencing bankruptcy
8 Oct 2024
In October, Justice Connect released our newest research report, Navigating Financial Legal Problems in Victoria: Understanding Help-Seeking Behaviour to Enhance Intervention, developed with the support of the Victoria Law Foundation.
This 18-month study highlights critical gaps in the legal support available to Victorians facing financial legal challenges and the urgent need for systemic change. As community legal centres and practitioners, these findings call for us to reassess how we provide services and respond to the growing demand for early intervention.
“You know, a lot of the information there is … I’m going to say it’s superficial and pretentious. It doesn’t deliver you a result.
Okay, there’s a lot of explanation in there, but it doesn’t refer back to actual applications”. One participant told Justice Connect researchers.
Early Intervention: A Missed Opportunity
The report reveals that many debtors actively seek legal help at the onset of their problems but are unable to access support. Barriers such as complex service pathways, unclear eligibility, and the focus on crisis intervention mean that clients often do not receive the help they need before their issues escalate.
For community legal centres, this signals the need to shift resources toward early-stage intervention, preventing legal issues from reaching crisis points. By addressing problems earlier, we better support clients and alleviate pressure on our strained services.
Debtor Behaviour and Legal Capability
The report introduces five researched debtor archetypes: A Model Debtor, the Surprise Respondent, the Repeat Player, the Dogged Debtor and the Accidental Client. Each group faces different challenges, but all share a common need for early legal help. The findings reveal that legal services often overestimate debtors’ abilities to navigate legal systems, especially under stress.
“You get into a fog. You know your life’s pretty well turned upside down and you can’t think straight and you’re looking, you’re desperately looking around for help” the same participant told researchers.
To address this, we must design services that better accommodate a range of legal capabilities. Rather than expecting debtors to adapt to our processes, we must align our services to meet their needs. This means providing clearer, more accessible pathways to legal support that respond to real-world debtor behaviour.
“[services] string you along. They keep saying I’ll call you back, and then, they don’t, or they say sorry we can’t help you”. Another participant said.
Practical Recommendations
The report emphasises the need to rethink how legal services are structured to meet better the diverse needs of debtors seeking early assistance. It calls for more transparency in service delivery, with more precise eligibility guidelines and simplified processes that help clients understand their options without unnecessary confusion. This approach doesn’t necessarily require additional resources but instead a shift in focus towards improving existing systems.
By refining current service pathways, legal centres can reduce barriers to access, making it easier for clients to seek help before their issues escalate. These practical steps—clarifying eligibility, simplifying navigation, and providing tailored guidance—are within the sector’s current capabilities. By optimising these aspects, services can become more responsive to the real-world challenges debtors face.
Moving Forward: A More Client-Centric Legal Sector
The report highlights that many of debtors’ challenges stem from reactive rather than preventative services. To make a sustainable difference, the legal sector must continue to shift its approach to early intervention, prioritising proactive strategies that prevent legal problems from reaching crisis points.
This means adopting a more client-centric model, focusing on understanding and responding to debtor behaviour at every stage of their legal journey. Rather than waiting for problems to escalate, services should be designed to intervene earlier, providing support that evolves with clients’ needs. Implementing this change will require sustained collaboration across the legal sector and a commitment to ongoing evaluation and adaptation.
