- Published:
- Tuesday 14 May 2024 at 10:49 pm
We are encouraged by a positive evaluation of our pilot program providing tailored family violence legal advice through our online Legal Help Chat.
Funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner, it is the first time we have tested and evaluated the benefits of extending our online chat service beyond just legal information.
‘Since 2018, our Legal Help Chat has made it possible for people to live chat with a staff member to discuss their needs and obtain general legal information,’ said Director Jon Cina from Legal Help.
‘People have told us how useful it is to be able to get that support quickly and online.’
Associate Director, Family Violence, Sharika Jeyakumar said the choice was clear to test the effectiveness of providing individual legal advice to people seeking support from us to deal with family violence issues.
‘The results have been very promising, with the evaluation showing a high satisfaction rating amongst help-seekers and supporting a higher proportion of women and people from culturally diverse backgrounds than through our phone service,’ she said.
People told us that they found the service:
- safer as they couldn't be overheard
- easier to use because they did not need to take notes and had more time to process what the lawyer was saying, as well as think about follow-up questions
- more convenient because they could use it from work and do other things while chatting online, including looking after children
- more useful because they felt better equipped to take action with the chat transcript advice than receiving advice by phone or in person.
Online chat an effective way to provide more complex services
The evaluation found the pilot had achieved all 10 of its intended outcomes, which included providing a quality, consistent and trauma-informed service, providing faster service and supporting help-seekers to not retell their stories.
Among the other results:
- clients reported an overall satisfaction rating of 85 per cent
- 96 per cent said they would use the service again
- 96 per cent said they would recommend the service to a friend or family member
- 93 per cent were able to progress or take action with their legal problem within one month because of the advice given during the online chat.
The evaluation also highlighted the importance of the service’s inclusion of trauma-informed language and processes in online chat intake and messages.
Modern and responsive assistance through Legal Help Chat
Most people seeking assistance from Victoria Legal Aid reach us through Legal Help, either through the phone line or online chat.
Around 30 per cent of enquiries come through online chat, benefiting people who have trouble talking over the phone, including some people living with disability, those who are at work when they contact us and people who are concerned about being overheard.
Many people also value the convenience of receiving a transcript of the chat compared to needing to take notes when seeking help over the phone.
‘We already operate a general enquiry online chat service and a dedicated family violence online chat so it made sense for us to run a trial of to understand the impact for providing legal advice for people looking for support with family violence,’ Jon said.
‘We developed a webchat legal advice model in consultation with people with lived experience to ensure legal, professional, and ethical regulatory obligations were met.
Two lawyers operated the pilot from August 2023 through January 2024, and we closely monitored access, quality, safety and efficiency.
‘We are now looking for opportunities to resume and expand the webchat service,’ said Jon.
Read the summary evaluation report
More information
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