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Law graduate Zhuer Wang never thought tracking down a justice of the peace would be so difficult.
After all, two CBD police stations listed JPs as available during a three-hour window in the middle of the day. But when she turned up, no one was available.
“It’s really hard to find them,” she said.
Wang eventually connected online with a JP, who signed documents related to her legal training, but she said many people would find the process surprisingly challenging.
“Not everyone knows how to use tools and online websites and not everyone is speaking English, so I think it’s quite a big barrier for them,” she said.
The number of JPs in Victoria has reached crisis level as the current group of volunteers age, according to the head of the peak body.
“They’re dying off, and they’re not being replaced,” Rod Lavin, president of the Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices said.
“There’s just not enough people out there to do the job any more.”
Lavin said he often heard from clients such as Wang who had tried to get documents signed several times and worried it would become even more difficult in coming years. He urged the state government to recruit 5000 more justices by 2027.
Lavin said signing times could be as quick as a couple of minutes, but he also recently spent more than an hour with a couple who needed dozens of documents signed.
Justices of the peace are volunteers who witness documents for official purposes, including legal cases. Their role includes certifying copies of identity documents, witnessing statutory declarations and taking affidavits. Applicants do not need to have legal qualifications, but they must be a citizen over 18 who is not insolvent.
JPs must also satisfy other requirements such as being a “fit and proper person”, and they must undertake training. The Justice Department appoints justices of the peace, but only when recruitment is open. Presently, it is not, according to the department’s website.
There are just 3628 justices of the peace in Victoria, compared with about 64,000 in NSW, according to state government figures.
However, Victoria also allows professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, nurses and teachers to take on many of the same responsibilities including signing statutory declarations or certified document copies.
It does not extend to other roles such as taking affidavits, which are used in court and can be done only by a smaller group including JPs, lawyers, police above sergeant rank and court workers. JPs are forbidden from taking payment for their work, but there are no restrictions on authorised witnesses doing so.
Tom Thorpe, who recently turned 100, is believed to be the oldest practising JP in Victoria. He proudly makes himself available to sign documents whenever people need him – even as late as 10pm.
In addition to signing wills and power of attorney documents, he is frequently asked to take affidavits.
Thorpe believes staying mentally active and meeting new people through volunteering are among the reasons he remains “young at heart”. He said many of his friends who were JPs had died, and he worried recruitment was not keeping up with demand.
“We are getting some young ones, but obviously not enough to replace ones that are disappearing,” he said.
Geoffrey Penna lives in the Wimmera and earlier this month made a 70-kilometre round trip on two consecutive days to sign 150 pages related to changes to a family trust following a death.
“It had to be that weekend because family were home from across the state,” he said, noting he was happy to help the family in need.
A state government spokesperson said recruitment continued in local government areas with a need for additional services, and 800 JPs had been recruited in the past three years. The spokesperson said JPs played an important role, providing accessible services to the community at all hours.
The 2021-22 state budget included $5.5 million for recruitment and other supports, with the most recent appointment taking place in early 2025.
More than 5700 people signed a petition sponsored by Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne to increase the number of JPs in June 2025, while the push to bolster numbers in Victoria also won the backing of the Australasian Council of Justices’ Associations.
Lavin believes recruiting more JPs would help free up busy professionals’ time and said he had been contacted by retired police officers looking for ways to give back to their community who want to become JPs.
“There are thousands of people out there that want to put their hand up – all the government needs to do is simply open up the floodgates,” Lavin said.
Australian Medical Association Victoria president Dr Simon Judkins said administrative demands on doctors were a concern, particularly in general practice, where witnessing and certification requests could add to non-clinical workloads, so improving access to justices of the peace or other authorised witnesses warranted consideration.
However, it’s not a major concern for Victorian Pharmaceutical Society of Australia state manager Jarrod McMaugh, who said members had not raised it as an issue and some pharmacists chose to become a JP upon their retirement.
Law Institute of Victoria chief executive Adam Awty said the organisation supported certain authorised witnesses undertaking JP work but noted they could often have competing professional obligations, which could limit access or availability in regional and remote areas. He said he would support government action aimed at increasing the number of trained JPs.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said JPs helped free up “a significant amount of police time”, and having signing offices in libraries or councils would ensure station were available for members of the public in need of police services.
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Rachael Ward is a journalist in the City team at The Age. Contact her at rachael.ward@theage.com.auConnect via email.From our partners
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