Improving how we listen to and assist people with legal needs

We’ve launched our Client-first strategy 2020–23 to improve how we listen to and assist people with legal needs over the next four years and into the future.

The strategy will create more opportunities for clients to tell us what is important to them and be involved in the design of future services.

It will help us work together with other organisations to address common challenges faced by people when finding and getting legal help, such as a lack of consistency in services and confusion about how to access services.

Our strategy launch event for staff and stakeholders brought together a diverse panel of speakers for a discussion about client-centred work in the legal assistance sector.

The panel shared their insights about client-centred initiatives currently underway, the challenges involved and future opportunities to do things differently as a system to improve clients' experiences.

L–R: Whittlesea Community Connections CEO Alex Haynes; VLA Client Advisor Chris MacBean; Legal Aid NSW Client Service Manager Judith Levitan; VLA Client Intake and Inclusion Manager Carman Parsons; VLA Family Violence Associate Director Leanne Sinclair

‘The launch was a great opportunity to hear from leaders in our organisation, client advisors and people from other legal services who are grappling with the same challenges we have at VLA. This strategy shows we recognise we need to keep working to better understand and address clients’ needs,’ Carman said.

‘To achieve the best outcomes and experiences for people with multiple needs and experiences of inequality, we need to offer connected services that address peoples’ needs as a whole, not just their specific legal issue.

‘This means continuing to work closely with other organisations, communities and client groups will be essential in putting this strategy into action.’

Carman said the Client-first strategy has been informed by feedback from people who have used our services.

‘While overall satisfaction levels with our services are generally good, many clients have told us it is difficult to find and get legal assistance, and that they do not always understand or feel involved in how we respond to their needs,’ she said.

‘The Client-first strategy will support us to think much more concretely about the experience of our clients, take on board what they’re telling us and use that to improve how we deliver our services and programs.’

Many projects are already underway across the organisation to improve our services and systems for better client experiences. This includes re-developing our website to make it easier for people to find the information they need and designing and delivering new specialist family violence services.

More information

Find out more or download the Client-first strategy.