Connecting people with free legal help

Our Access Program team connects people who can’t afford a private lawyer with our network of pro bono lawyers to help with some civil legal problems.

We do this by answering your legal questions online, offering clinic appointments to people representing themselves in court, and making pro bono referrals.

The quickest and best way to see if we can help you with your legal problem is to make an application.

Apply for help Learn how our service works

 

Justice Connect Answers

Pro bono referrals

Self-representation clinics

Disaster legal help

 

Justice Connect Answers 

Justice Connect Answers connects people with real lawyers who can provide free advice online.

Justice Connect Answers can help you:

  • Understand your legal rights
  • Learn what steps you can take to resolve your legal issue
  • Access free legal help online, at a time that suits you

Pro bono referrals

We can refer you to a law firm for pro bono legal help for some legal problems.

Eligibility guidelines apply. The quickest and best way to find out if we can help with your legal problem is by making an application online.

We’ll will ask you some questions about you and your legal problem to match you with the right help.

Self Representation Services

Federal Self Representation Service

We can assist people representing themselves in some types of cases in the Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court. Our service operates in Victoria, NSW, ACT, and Tasmania.

Issues we help with:

  • bankruptcy
  • employment law
  • human rights
Apply now Find out more

Victorian Self Representation Service

We can assist people representing themselves in some types of cases in the County Court and Supreme Court in Victoria.

Issues we help with:

  • appeals with VCAT
  • appeals from lower courts
  • civil matters
  • commercial matters
Apply now Find out more

Domestic Building Legal Service

If you’re in a dispute with your builder in Victoria, the VCAT process can be burdensome and costly.

For those who can’t afford the legal help they need, our Domestic Building Legal Service may be able to help.

You can access our service if you have gone through Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV), and have not been able to reach a resolution with your builder.

Apply now Find out more

Legal help for people affected by disasters

We can provide free legal help for individuals, small business owners, farmers, and other primary producers affected by disasters including floods, bushfires, storms, and cyclones.

We may be able to match you with free legal assistance to help with disputes, or to assist you to better understand your legal rights and obligations.

How our service works

Click the headings below to find out more about our services.

You can call us and leave a message for us on 1800 727 550. We do not answer our phone line, but we will listen to your message and return your call as soon as possible.

What is a clinic appointment?

A clinic appointment is a one-off 1 hour session with a lawyer in relation to the legal matter that you are representing yourself in at court. A clinic appointment may be focussed on providing you with legal advice, or helping you with court processes, forms, or other documents.

The purpose of a clinic appointment is to support you in continuing to represent yourself at court, and does not mean that Justice Connect is representing you.

We provide clinic appointments for matters that are eligible for our Federal Self Representation Service, Victorian Self Representation Service, and Domestic Building Legal Service.

What is a pro bono referral?

A pro bono referral is where we connect you with one of our member law firms who agree to take on your matter without charging you fees for their work (pro bono). Once we have referred you to the pro bono law firm who has agreed to help with your matter, you will then be a client of that law firm, and not a client of Justice Connect. Justice Connect will no longer have any involvement in your matter, and you should direct all future communication about your matter to the law firm that is assisting you.

Eligibility criteria apply to our pro bono referral service, and we cannot always guarantee that we will find a pro bono firm who is able to take on your matter.

Am I eligible for your services?

Each of our services has its own specific eligibility criteria that our staff will apply when determining if we can help you.

Generally, our eligibility criteria will include consideration of the following:

  • Is your legal problem in an area of law covered by our services? There are some areas of law that we cannot help you with. Some common examples include family law, criminal law, personal injury, compensation claims, and migration matters.
  • Are you eligible for legal aid? If you are eligible for legal aid, it is unlikely that you will be eligible for Access Program’s services.
  • Can you afford a lawyer? We apply a means test when deciding whether someone is eligible for our help. This will take into account your income, the value of your home and other valuable possessions, whether you have children, and the likely cost of your legal expenses.
  • Is your legal problem likely to be successful at court?
  • Is providing you with pro bono representation in the public interest? For example, is the outcome of your legal problem likely to impact a wider group of people?

Do I have to pay?

No. We will never charge you for our services.

If we refer you to a pro bono law firm for ongoing assistance, you are not required to pay for the legal fees of your pro bono lawyer.

However, you may be required to pay for disbursements. Disbursements are expenses other than legal fees (e.g. photocopying costs, court fees). You should confirm with your lawyer whether you are required to pay for disbursements and ask for an estimate of the amount of disbursements likely to be payable.

You also may be asked to sign a conditional costs agreement. Please ask your lawyer to explain the agreement to you and ensure you understand it before signing it.

If I apply, when will you contact me?

We will progress your application as soon as possible, but there is a high demand for our services so there may be a short delay before we can respond. We aim to contact you by phone or email within one week of receiving your application.

The best way to apply for our service is to make an online application. You can also telephone and leave us a message on 1800 727 550 and we will return your call.

If we can help you, we will let you know how long we think it will take to give you that help.

Are your services online or in person?

Our services are mostly delivered online or by phone. For example, our online legal clinic, Justice Connect Answers is entirely online, while our pro bono referrals and Self Representation Services are largely provided by phone and email.

Our Federal and Victorian Self Representation Services are able to take details from potential clients in-person during days we are in attendance at court:

  • Federal Self Representation Service: Thursdays (Sydney & Melbourne Federal Court registries)
  • Victorian Self Representation Service: Fridays (Melbourne Victorian County and Supreme Court registry only)

If you can't help me, what happens next?

Unfortunately, Justice Connect cannot always assist. If we cannot help you, we will always try to refer you to another free or low-cost legal service that might be able to help you.

Sometimes there are no free services available, and we may refer you to your State or Territory Law Society to search for a private lawyer.

Where information may be helpful to you, we will guide you to relevant resources either on our website or external to Justice Connect so that you can understand your rights and options as much as possible.

What other resources do you have available?

We have published a large range of self-help resources on our website which you can access for free.

You can use the filters to search for information on a legal topic, or use our AI-powered tool SmartAssist to find the right legal information using your own words.

For disaster-related information (for individuals, frontline workers, or community legal workers), please see our Disaster Legal Support Resource Hub.