Helping those who help themselves: Evaluating QPILCH’s Self Representation Service

摘要

This article reports on an evaluation of the Self Representation Service (SRS) provided by the Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House (QPILCH). The evaluation was commenced in 2012 and continued until early 2014. It involved surveys of judges, their associates and registry staff from the Queensland Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, District Court and the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The evaluation team also surveyed users of the SRS, paying particular attention to their experiences of the service from a stress and coping perspective. The article explains the nature and purposes of the evaluation project and considers the contexts within which self-represented litigants seek to conduct their own legal work. It then reports on and analyses the data collected as part of the evaluation and details recommendations in relation to the promotion and operation of the SRS as well as for the conduct of future research.