Child protection panel quality assurance reviews commencing in December

Our Quality Assurance team will be working with child protection panel members to support the delivery of high-quality legal services through quality assurance reviews.

The Quality Assurance team will be in contact with child protection panel members to support practitioners to meet their obligations as outlined in the Practice Standards and our Compliance terms and conditions.

The aim of the Quality Assurance reviews is to ensure that a minimum quality standard is being met, and encourage improvements where a need is identified.

We seek to improve the quality of legal services that clients receive and to identify and promote those practitioners who are leading the way by demonstrating high quality services to their clients. The Quality Assurance team will also use this time to recognise the high-quality work conducted by our panel members.

What to expect

Child protection panel practitioners selected to undergo a Quality Assurance review will be contacted via phone with a request for specific files to be audited and/or compliance checked.

As COVID-19 is continuing to impact our capacity to assess physical files, the Quality Assurance team have implemented some changes to better support our practice partners.

To ensure information security, we request that files are provided either uploaded via our Sharepoint file sharing platform or e-mail ahead of the Quality Assurance review. Child protection practitioners will receive an email with a Sharepoint link created by Victoria Legal Aid which will enable the secure uploading files.

Should you need additional time to electronically scan your paper files, please discuss this with your quality assurance team member. We recommend using Sharepoint as emails have size limitations and will not accept files that exceed 10 Megabytes in size.

All correspondence should be forwarded to qualityaudits@vla.vic.gov.au

Once your files have been reviewed, your Quality Assurance team member will forward you a quality assurance outcome letter. We may also be in touch to arrange a conference call to discuss the quality assurance findings with you.

Tips to prepare for a quality audit

Preparation is key to a successful and smooth audit. To support our practice partners, the Quality Assurance team recommend the following in preparation for a review:

1. Files should be submitted on time to the quality assurance team member to avoid a failed quality assurance review.
2. Include all relevant documents and reports in the file
3. Files should be presented in an ordered fashion and in chronological order
4. Separate files should be kept for separate matters
5. Conflict checks should be documented on the files
6. File notes should be included and legible
7. Client instructions, including personal history relevant to the matter, should be documented on the file
8. Advice to the client should be recorded on the file
9. Evidence of a final outcome letter to clients should be available
10. Contact your Quality Assurance team member if you have any questions ahead of the file submission date.

More information

If you have any questions, please contact qualityaudits@vla.vic.gov.au.