Want to make a meaningful Volunteer contribution to your community?

• Help your community by witnessing important legal documents.
• Applications now open for new Justice of the Peace volunteers.
• People of all cultural and professional backgrounds encouraged to apply.

The Department of Justice and Community Safety is now recruiting new honorary justice volunteers across Ballarat and Geelong. If you’re good with people, consider attention to detail as one of your strengths and enjoy helping others, you might make a great Justice of the Peace volunteer.

Who is a Justice of the Peace?

Justice of the Peace (JP) volunteers are a vital part of our justice system. In Victoria, JP volunteers have the power to witness many legal documents, including statutory declarations and affidavits, and to certify true copies of documents and a person’s identity. These documents can be required for a wide array of personal situations. In one appointment, a JP volunteer could be sitting alongside an excited couple signing the contract to buy their first home; in the next, they could be witnessing a statement that will be rushed off to court immediately, or certifying visa documents with new Australians.

“I enjoy it. Justices of the Peace offer an important service and it’s a great way for me to give back to the community. It’s a nice feeling helping people out.” – Ravi, Justice of the Peace, Melbourne

The role of a JP volunteer is primarily focused on:

• attesting to the execution of a document
• witnessing a statutory declaration
• witnessing an affidavit for use in court
• certifying true copies of an original document
• certifying a person’s identity.

Where would I be doing this work?

As a Justice of the Peace, you can provide service from a range of different locations including document signing stations (DSS) situated across Victoria. Justice of the Peace volunteers operate out of local sites such as police stations, libraries, community hubs and members of the public attend to have their documents certified.

All JPs who would like to volunteer on DSS’s are warmly welcomed. This is a great way to be part of the life of the community. JP volunteers make themselves available to the public and stakeholders on a consistent basis and the workload and times can be flexible. Typically, members of the community requiring your services will book an appointment and then come to you.

What qualifications will I need?

There are no specific qualifications required to become a Justice of the Peace in Victoria. However, to be eligible for appointment as a JP volunteer, applicants must:

• be of or over the age of 18 years
• be an Australian citizen
• not be an insolvent under administration.

Applicants must also satisfy the Attorney-General that they:

• have satisfactorily completed the course of training prescribed for appointment as a JP volunteer.
• have sufficient proficiency in the English language to perform the duties of a JP volunteer.
• ordinarily reside in Victoria.
• are a fit and proper person to be appointed as a JP volunteer.

What kind of people make great Justice of the Peace?

While this is an administrative role, you will be working face-to-face with people and not every appointment is always straightforward. That’s why the personal traits listed below are so highly valued when choosing new JP volunteers.

• Computer literacy
• Customer Focus
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Influence and Persuasion
• Interpersonal Skills
• Managing Difficult Conversations
• Partnering and Co-creation
• Promote Inclusion
• Self-awareness
• Working Collaboratively

Attend an information session to apply

It’s important that our Justice of the Peace volunteers are representative of the residents of our state, so we strongly encourage people of all cultural backgrounds to attend an information session and apply. Please be advised that to be considered for a position as a Justice of the Peace, you must attend an information session prior to applying. Please view the information session dates and times and register on Event Brite to attend.

Applications will only be accepted from residents residing in Ballarat or Greater Geelong local government areas.

A registration link will be sent to you to register for the Event Brite information session once you have submitted your application form.

The 6:00PM to 7:00PM AEDT information session will be on:

Wednesday 27 October, 2021

The information sessions will be held on the Zoom platform with separate Zoom invitations to follow.

If you have a passion for helping your community, becoming a justice of the peace can be a great way to help people in significant moments of their lives. We hope you consider applying to join our team of honorary justice volunteers.