Free Legal Service for Yanchep Residents
11 January 2023
Local residents with money problems and in need of legal advice will soon have a new legal aid service at Y.hub in Yanchep.
The service starts on 16 January 2023 and has come about largely thanks to the efforts of Yanchep-based Uniting WA Financial Counsellor Paul Jordan, who worked with the City of Wanneroo, Y.hub management and Legal Aid WA to launch this service.
Mr Jordan had seen how invaluable legal advice had been to clients at Uniting WA’s financial counselling service in Merriwa and was determined to get the same deal for Yanchep/Two Rocks residents.
“Not every financial counselling client needs legal advice but certainly clients facing complex money problems, for example, default notices and repossession of property and homes, may need to speak to a lawyer,” Mr Jordan said.
It was expected more people would seek advice from financial counsellors and lawyers in 2023 as mortgage stress and defaults increased, he said.
“And it’s important for clients to be able to talk with someone face-to-face about these serious matters. That’s why easy access to a local service is so important,” he said.
Uniting WA Co-CEO Jen Park added that the agency had seen a 25% rise in the number of people using free financial counselling services in the last quarter of 2022.
“More than 60% of these people are new clients and of all the clients we see, mortgage stress accounts for 15% of clients seeking help.
“Clearly cost of living pressures are biting, with many more people and especially families needing help to keep their heads above water.”
Mr Jordan, a long-time Yanchep resident, feels strongly about residents having local services, instead of travelling to Perth.
It took nearly 12 months of discussions to get all parties on board, Mr Jordan said.
“Everyone worked hard to make sure we got this service off the ground for local residents,” he said.
Financial Counsellors are a free service funded by government to help people experiencing financial hardship.
For more information about Financial counselling at Uniting WA visit:
https://unitingwa.org.au/services/financial-wellbeing/financial-counselling/
Legal Aid appointments at Y.hub: 9261 6378
Financial Counselling appointments at Y.hub: 9220 1255
Available for interview: Paul Jordan, Financial Counsellor, Uniting WA / Jen Park, Co-CEO, Uniting WA
Media Contact: Marissa Williams – Marketing and Communications, Uniting WA
M: 0417 716 771 E: marissa.williams@unitingwa.org.au