Seeking feedback from Panel Practitioners in 2022

We are inviting feedback from panel practitioners about your needs and experiences of doing legally aided work to help inform how we deliver services and support you.

In November 2020 we conducted our first panel practitioner satisfaction survey to provide us with actionable feedback on your level of satisfaction with a range of Victoria Legal Aid functions and business units.

The survey provided us with valuable feedback about issues including fees structures, transparency of our processes and a need to improve our engagement with our panel practitioners.

In response to the 2020 survey we:

• Commissioned and conducted a review that developed a more in depth understanding of the issues raised in our first survey to identify barriers and incentives to panel practitioner participation. Implementation of our response to the review’s recommendations will commence in early 2023.
• Introduced standard contractual agreements for all panel practitioners delivering duty lawyer and other short legal services to give all suitably experienced practitioners the opportunity to apply to join short service schemes.
• Employed a project officer to support private practitioner duty lawyer schemes, and make our administrative processes easier to use.
• Launched a new website and developed a roadmap to build new functionality to continuously improve the way private practitioners find the information they need.

We committed to conduct the survey every two years as part of our ongoing strategic commitment to working in partnership with practice partners to ensure the ongoing viability and vibrancy of Victoria’s legal assistance sector.

Our second survey of panel practitioners will launch on 21 November.

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement we have reviewed and made minor modifications to the questions on our last survey to strengthen its methodological rigour. Whilst the adjustments may lead to some variation in comparable satisfaction levels our priority is to encourage feedback that presents an opportunity to improve the way we do things or the way we communicate about them.

This is a chance for you to tell us about your needs with and experiences of supporting clients through legally aided work. Your feedback will help us to deliver better services to all Panel members and clients.

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete, and will be open until 12 December 2022.

Next steps

In early 2023, we will circulate a summary of the results of the survey. In the meantime, if you have any questions or feedback about the survey, please contact Simon Walker at simon.walker@vla.vic.gov.au.