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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.