A comprehensive evaluation of Help Before Court (HB4C) has backed the pre-court service to continue and grow, saying it has provided a better experience for many clients and can often lead to better outcomes.
Among the recommendations is that the service – established to complement the existing ‘at court’ duty lawyer model – continue to prioritise client feedback in driving improvement to the system, along with more detailed data collection to ensure clients are adequately supported at each step of the process.
Summary Crime Program Manager Kate Bundrock said the evaluation identified areas of improvement but also highlighted the overall benefits of the service, which began with the launch of an online intake in October 2020.
‘Giving clients and lawyers more time to consider legal matters before court sounds easy, but the key was listening to our clients, staff and panel practitioners as we designed and implemented the service,’ said Kate.
‘Not everyone is able to contact us before court, but for those that can, it was essential that we made that as simple and as accessible as possible.’
‘Setting it up at the height of the pandemic meant that we were often learning as we went, but it is hugely gratifying to know that the overwhelming majority of clients, lawyers and our administrative staff think Help Before Court has led to better outcomes.’
Eighty-one per cent of clients said they were satisfied with the service, saying they were glad they sought assistance before their court date, felt they received enough help from the service and felt less stressed about the matter as a result.
From October 2020 to January 2022, more than 11,500 people have received assistance through HB4C, getting legal information, advice and/or representation.
That equates to around 30 percent of summary crime clients over that period.
Responding to need (and a pandemic)
With most court matters moved online due to extended COVID restrictions in 2020, HB4C was implemented rapidly to provide an alternate intake model to the existing duty lawyer service at court.
It also responded to a longstanding need to reform the existing at court service to give lawyers and clients more time and space, as recommended by a previous evaluation of our Summary Crime Program.
People can request HB4C by using the intake tool, calling or using webchat to contact Legal Help, or by directly contacting one of our regional offices.
Matters are then assessed by our dedicated Intake and Triage team for support with either legal information, one-off legal advice or case conferencing and representation in court.
Building on success and learning from challenges
Satisfaction levels were high among our lawyers and administrative teams, despite some early difficulties in implementing the service.
The success of HB4C has shown the appetite among clients for greater use of technology and for greater contact options when seeking help, highlighting the value of service design that is informed by the clients who will use it.
The evaluation – which heard from at least 44 staff at Victoria Legal Aid, four external stakeholders and more than 150 clients – also found that it was often clients with complex legal matters or required extra support, such as interpreter services, who benefited the most from pre-court services.
The evaluation also found HB4C reduced adjournments and has potential to contribute to greater system improvement.
‘Help Before Court has been a massive project and we are incredibly grateful to our staff, including lawyers, administration officers and managers, as well as private practitioners, for working together to deliver a service that relieves pressure both on clients, lawyers and the justice system,’ said Kate.
‘We will continue to improve Help Before Court and ensure clients and lawyers are best supported.’
‘It is a positive reflection on the work of so many people that HB4C has helped so many people already, and that we have the opportunity to make the service even better.’
More information
Read more about Help Before .
Read Felicity’s story – how Help Before Court made her life .
Reviewed 01 June 2022