Domestic Building Legal Service

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Domestic Building Legal Service
If you’re in a dispute with your builder in Victoria, the VCAT process can be burdensome and costly. If you can’t afford the legal help you need, our Domestic Building Legal Service may be able to help.

We will ask you some questions about your dispute and information we need to assess your eligibility for assistance.

I understand that this is an application only, that I am making a request for assistance, and until Justice Connect indicates that legal assistance will be provided, no client-solicitor relationship is created.

How we use and what we do with your personal information

The personal information that you provide to us in this application is used to make an assessment about whether we are able to provide you with a service or refer you to another service provider.

We respect your privacy and confidential information, and have designed robust systems to protect your information.

Some of our services are delivered by our lawyers in our pro bono network. We may share your information with these lawyers for the purposes of finding you legal assistance.

We will not share your personal information with other service providers (other than lawyers that we are trying to recruit to provide you with legal assistance) without first seeking your consent.

We may use deidentified and anonymised information collected to improve our products and services.

We collect, use, disclose and store your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy.

View our privacy policy and disclaimer.
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Has income from program sorter?
- Yes

Unfortunately, we only operate in Victoria

If you are in another state or territory of Australia, you can try contacting a community legal centre to discuss whether there are any legal services that may be able to assist you.

Unfortunately, we only operate in Victoria

In NSW, you can try contacting the Department of Fair Trading to find out whether there are any legal services that can help you.

Are you a homeowner?*
- Yes
- No

Unfortunately, we can only assist homeowners with domestic building disputes

If you have a problem that is not covered by the Domestic Building Legal Service, you can go to our Get Help page to see information about Justice Connect's other services and find out where else to look for legal help.

Have you already tried to resolve your matter through Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV)?*
This means you have either received a dispute resolution order, or a certificate of conciliation.
- Yes
- No

Unfortunately, we can only assist if you have received a DBDRV certificate of conciliation

DBDRV is an independent government agency designed to help resolve domestic building disputes. You can find out more information at www.dbdrv.vic.gov.au.

If you want to know more about what to expect – download this fact sheet.

Income too high
Based on your responses, your income is higher than our eligibility requirements.
Justice Connect's services focus on assisting the most vulnerable people. We know that there are many people with unmet legal needs who cannot afford a lawyer, and are not eligible for our services. We advocate for increased funding of legal services so that more people can access free legal help.
You can read more about our services and access self-help tools for those services, and you can also read more about where else you can look for free legal help.
Go to our free information page to look for help.
Browse all Justice Connect's services.

Describe your assets
Other than the property in dispute, do you own any other properties?*
- Yes
- No
How many other properties do you own?*
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Estimated value of your two properties combined?*
Estimated combined debt over your properties?*
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Estimated value of the property in dispute*
Estimated mortgage on the property in dispute*
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Does anyone else own the property in dispute with you? This includes anyone other than your partner or spouse*
- Yes
- No
Estimated value of assets not including property (cars, savings, shares etc)?*
Estimated value of other debts (credit cards, car loan, rates etc)?*

Assets too high
Based on your responses, your assets are higher than our eligibility requirements.
Justice Connect's services focus on assisting the most vulnerable people. We know that there are many people with unmet legal needs who cannot afford a lawyer, and are not eligible for our services. We advocate for increased funding of legal services so that more people can access free legal help.
You can read more about our services and access self-help tools for those services, and you can also read more about where else you can look for free legal help.
Go to our free information page to look for help.
Browse all Justice Connect's services.

Has VCAT proceedings in relation to your domestic building dispute started?*
- Yes
- No

Do you have an upcoming tribunal deadline, date or hearing?*
Warning: Justice Connect is not responsible for meeting any deadlines in your matter.
- Yes
- No

Please describe the date and the action you need to take by that date.

Date	Please describe what will happen on this date	Actions

There are no Dates.

Do you have a copy of the following documents?
Select as many as applicable
- Your contract with the builder
- Your VCAT application
- Your most recent VCAT order
If possible, please upload these documents. This is not a guarantee that we will be able to help, but will enable us to more quickly assess your eligibility for our service.
Drop files here or

Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, pdf, jpeg, Max. file size: 63 MB, Max. files: 4.

Do you have a copy of the following documents?
Select as many as applicable
- Your contract with the builder
- An occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection
- DBDRV certificate of conciliation
- DBDRV notice of decision
- Dispute resolution order
- VCAT order
If possible, please upload these documents. This is not a guarantee that we will be able to help, but will enable us to more quickly assess your eligibility for our service.
Drop files here or

Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, pdf, jpeg, Max. file size: 63 MB, Max. files: 6.

Please describe your legal problem in more detail*
The more information we receive, the easier it will be for us to assess whether we can provide you with assistance.
If we can help you, we can book an appointment for you with a volunteer lawyer, either in person or by telephone.
What you have told us so far:
Please indicate whether you have been affected by COVID-19*
- Yes
- No
Describe how you have been affected*
Please provide the following information about the legal problem:
- Background
- Who is involved
- What has happened and
- What help you need
Please describe your legal problem in more detail*

Please provide names of other parties to the legal dispute
By other parties we mean the people on the other side of the legal issue (eg. a person, a business), and also any other owners of the property in dispute.

Other Parties

Organisation / Individual Name	Party's Phone	Actions

There are no Parties.

Please provide your details
Your Name*
First Last
Your Address
Street Address Suburb/City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country
Your Phone*
Your Email
How did you find out about us?*
Please provide details*
Was it through an email or staff member?*
- DBDRV email
- DBDRV staff member
- Other
What is your preferred method of contact?
Do you want to tell us anything else about making contact with you?
I am happy to be contacted for feedback on my experience of applying for help with Justice Connect
- I am happy to be contacted for feedback on my experience of applying for help with Justice Connect
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Combined legal problem
Email
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Domestic Building Legal Service

Unfortunately, we only operate in Victoria

Unfortunately, we only operate in Victoria

Unfortunately, we can only assist homeowners with domestic building disputes

Unfortunately, we can only assist if you have received a DBDRV certificate of conciliation

Tell us about yourself

Describe your income

Income eligibility checks

Income too high

Describe your assets

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Assets too high

Please describe your legal problem in more detail*

Please provide names of other parties to the legal dispute

Please provide your details

CRM integration

Please provide details of other parties to the legal dispute.