Every year, we assist more than 100,000 people who contact us through Legal Help seeking advice or information about their legal issues, either by webchat or phone.
It is the main channel people use to get in touch with us.
To improve the service, we are implementing a major software upgrade starting from next month which will integrate the webchat, phone and email referrals through to a single, easy-to-use platform.
The new system is more reliable and more sophisticated than our current software. It will help Legal Help run smoothly, give us a better understanding of client needs and enable us to spend more time helping people. Over time we expect it to reduce wait times, making it easier for people to get the right support.
How will it impact the current system?
We anticipate some disruption to Legal Help while the upgrade is underway, most significantly to our main phone line.
Because all of our staff need several days to learn how to use the new software effectively, we will have less capacity to answer queries during the transition.
While we are doing everything we can to mitigate the disruption, there are some ways you can help.
- using Legal Help’s webchat
- contacting your local Victoria Legal Aid directly
- checking our website for legal you may need, including what we don’t provide advice
There will be no impact to our specialist phone lines, including the Family Advocacy and Support Services, Your Story Disability Legal Support, Defence and Veterans Legal Service, Lotjpa Independent Legal Service and Disaster Legal Help Victoria.
What changes are we making in the meantime?
It will be our priority to reduce wait times and stress for people contacting Legal Help while the upgrade is underway.
We are working with stakeholders, as well as our regional and suburban offices, to alert help seekers to the change and to minimise the referral of queries to Legal Help over the next few months.
In periods of high volume, we will keep callers informed either through the phoneline itself or through our website or social media channels.
While it isn’t possible to employ short-term contractors because of the high level of legal and technical expertise required for Legal Help, we are contacting former staff who may be able to support the service temporarily.
We will continue to monitor Legal Help capacity and make improvements as needed throughout the transition period.
Why are we doing this?
This is an important change to bring our operating system into line with the latest and most reliable technology, delivering a better experience for help seekers while also simplifying the system for Legal Help staff.
Once the new system is fully operational, help seekers will be able to:
- access current wait times
- know their place in the queue
- not lose their spot if moving between the phone line and webchat functions.
We appreciate your patience while the upgrade is underway, which is due to be completed in October.
More information
Reviewed 14 June 2022