Family violence is one of the biggest issues in the Whittlesea area, so family law dominates our casework. We also provide assistance for those affected by family violence. Over Christmas we had a spate of family law inquiries, with people fighting over custody into the New Year. We also usually notice an increase in clients in the first few months of the year with financial issues.

We increased the number of appointments we took in the last financial year with the help of some federal funding but there’s still a huge demand for our services and a waiting list of at least two weeks. We’ve used some funding to help support outreach work at the Greensborough Family Relationship Centre so we’ve been able to see more clients who don’t come from Whittlesea. About 25 per cent of our cases come from outside our traditional catchment areas as there are black spots for community legal services in Greensborough, Eltham and the Diamond Valley region. There is also a lack of legal services in bushfire-affected areas.

This year we will be looking at opportunities to see clients in other locations through the Whittlesea area, but that will depend on staffing and funding.