Croydon electorate
Mr HODGETT (Croydon) (14:48): (6488) My question is to the Attorney-General, and it relates to the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria not being available to assist constituents with dispute matters. I have been contacted by a constituent who is trying to resolve a family issue and has attempted to lodge an application through VCAT to finalise this matter. VCAT have advised my constituent that before they will accept the application for a hearing date he must contact the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria and seek their services first. The issue that my constituent faces is that the dispute settlement centre have currently closed their general service inquiries and are only focusing on assisting renters and rent providers to resolve disputes. This leaves countless others who are also wishing to resolve their matters without any way forward and waiting in limbo until the backlog is cleared. Attorney-General, as part of their website the purpose of the dispute settlement centre is put as:
… to empower and assist the Victorian community to … resolve issues, ease pressure on the judicial system …
How can this be done when the centre is closed to all new calls for help? How can my constituent seek help in resolving his issue and get the support and help he deserves?