Mapping Justice

In our final Research Network webinar for 2023, we heard from Dr Hugh McDonald, Principal Researcher and Lynne Haultain, Executive Director at Victoria Law Foundation, and Richard Hodge, Director, Innovation & Service Experience at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.

In this session, Hugh and Lynne presented findings from Victoria Law Foundation’s Data Mapping Project.

This foundational and expansive work examines how administrative data is collected in the Victorian civil justice system: what data is available, its accuracy and consistency, how it’s used, and what needs to be done to maximise its utility.

The Project generated three reports focusing on key institutions: the legal assistance sector; courts and tribunals; and dispute resolution and complaint bodies.

We then wrote a fourth report, Calibrating Justice, which draws together the findings and implications from the first three.

One of the new innovations in Victoria is the establishment of a service centre for people with matters in the Magistrates’ Court.

Richard joined us to discuss this new service, its data, and what impact the service centre has had on court users.