Calls for more funding as Victorian JP numbers dwindle

Loretta Cormack has volunteered as a justice of the peace (JP) in Victoria for the past 51 years but often felt hidden from view.

Now, she has found a place to base herself, offering JP services at hardware store Bunnings.

"Our poor police stations were so undermanned that they were having to close their doors," Ms Cormack said.

"We knew we had to find somewhere safe, we had to find somewhere that had plenty of parking [and] we had to find somewhere that was accessible to the community."

JPs can witness a range of legal documents, including statutory declarations and affidavits, and can certify true copies of documents.

Most JPs in Victoria operate out of police stations, libraries or council offices, with a handful of shopping centres also offering the service in Corio, Geelong, Airport West, South Morang, Waurn Ponds and Wendouree.

The Altona Bunnings in Melbourne's west, where Ms Cormack volunteers, is the first to offer Victorians access to a JP while they shop.

Ms Cormack said being in the retail space meant volunteers were able to interact with more people, particularly those who did not want to enter a police station.

"Our presence is open to the public, far more than it is in the police station," she said.

A Bunnings spokesperson said the move was part of their community service program.

"Justice of the peace volunteers are welcome to use our space, like cafe areas, to offer a convenient service to community members," they said.

Doctors, pharmacists and police are also able to sign important documents, although some might refuse due to time constraints in their busy roles. 

Huge demand 

Ms Cormack said the demand for JPs had been "booming" since she moved into the hardware store and that the Hobson Bay area needed more volunteers to keep up with demand.

"We're an older generation, we need new people coming through," she said.

"If you ask me what I want for Christmas, I'll say 20 more JPs. And I'm sure there's a lot of other people who would say the same thing."

In Victoria, there are 3,699 registered justice of the peace volunteers but Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices (RVAHJ) president Rodney Lavin said the state's active numbers were likely much lower at about 2,000.

"About 1,500 [volunteers] are in nursing homes or many of them actually died or they're very sick or they're very old," he said.

"We had two JPs who this year have turned 100. They're still active at 100 but they just can't keep doing it forever."

Victorian JP numbers are drastically lower than interstate. There are 80,000 JPs in Queensland, 65,000 in NSW and about 7,000 in South Australia. 

Succession planning

Mr Lavin said Victoria had not received government funding to train JPs since the 2021–2022 budget. 

RVAHJ members have called for whichever party forms government after the November 28 state election to fund training for 5,000 new recruits, and commit to 500 more each year.

Staff from the office of Liberal leader Jess Wilson said the party had not committed to funding JP training. The ABC also contacted the Labor Party for comment but did not receive a response. 

Mr Lavin said volunteers were ready and available, they just needed training.

"It's outrageous, the number [of volunteers] that we've got is so low,"

he said.

The Department of Justice and Community Safety said a multi-year recruitment campaign between 2022 and 2025 successfully appointed 800 new JPs.

Mildura in north-west Victoria was one of the locations to benefit from thee new recruits.

Volunteer Sue Mason said there were 20 volunteers attending the local signing station, and they were meeting demand.

"We're not too bad here in Sunraysia because we had a late intake about three years ago, which we got an extra 15 [JPs]," she said.

Ms Mason said the extra recruits relieved some of Mildura's older long-standing volunteers, but she was worried about the future.

"Some of those JPs, too, will be retiring and it doesn't take long for your numbers to diminish."