Working in Community Legal Centres in Victoria: COVID-19 experiences and lessons

How the community legal centre workforce adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publication date

May 11, 2022

Authors

Jozica J. Kutin
Hugh M. McDonald
Tenielle Hagland
Clare Kennedy
Professor Nigel J. Balmer

Capturing the work of community legal assistance

The Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria Inc. engaged Victoria Law Foundation to conduct a survey of the community legal assistance sector workforce with the aim of capturing issues, experiences and views of their workforce across diverse roles, centres, and geography.

The COVID-19 report explores how the community legal centre workforce pivoted and adapted to the pandemic. The report outlines how community legal centres embraced new technologies but also highlights the issues that emerged for clients, staff and management in the face of pandemic-fuelled changes. The impact was not all negative, rapid change has facilitated benefits that will continue into the future.

This report focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on the community legal centre workforce, clients, and services and is one of a series of reports from the Community Legal Centres Workforce Project

Key findings

Technological change long overdue

Many of the changes associated with improved technology, widely driven by the need to increase online service capacity, were described by many as being long overdue in community legal centres. COVID-19 conditions drove much needed upgrades and increased options for communicating with clients, other professionals and services, and courts and tribunals, as well as intra-centre communications and operations.

Positives from remote working

There were also some positives from remote working, in terms of improved services for particular client cohorts. For example, online services worked well for tech-literate clients, who were seen as having improved access to legal assistance. Despite initial problems and difficulties with changed justice system procedures, many also indicated there were time and travel benefits of remote working

COVID-19 had a profound impact on clients

Many respondents also noted that COVID-19 had a profound impact on clients, and that this added to workload, complexity, and stress. This included reports of increased numbers of people seeking help, clients presenting with a greater number of legal problems, and clients also experiencing greater numbers of related issues, such as financial distress, family and relationship.

COVID-19 increased both the volume and complexity of work

For some, work pressure was exacerbated by inability to conduct face-to-face client meetings, as well as loss of additional service capacity ordinarily provided by volunteers and students. Many respondents indicated that COVID-19 (and increased workloads) had a negative effect on their own wellbeing.

Adapting to new technology and ways of working was not easy

Different IT starting points and service models meant that some centres found it easier than others to adapt to COVID-19 requirements. For many, remote working meant loss of valuable interaction with colleagues and clients; difficulty separating traumatic experiences at work from home life; and challenges balancing work with home schooling and care.

Implications and way forward

Working in Community Legal Centres in Victoria: COVID-19 experiences and lessons

How the community legal centre workforce adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working in Community Legal Centres in Victoria: COVID-19 experiences and lessons

How the community legal centre workforce adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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