Finding where to complain shouldn’t be this hard
Across Victoria, thousands of people try to make complaints every week. It might be about housing, healthcare, discrimination or a government service.
But with more than forty complaint bodies to choose from, most people don’t know where to start.
When a complaint goes to the wrong place, it often gets rejected or redirected. People get tired, confused, or lose faith in the process. Research shows that around 30% of complaints go out of jurisdiction, and 78% of people with a legal problem never get help at all.
That’s the gap Hear Me Out is here to fill.
Hear Me Out is now live in Victoria
This month marks an important step for us. Hear Me Out is now operating in Victoria, thanks to support from the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner.
The platform helps people and service providers find the right body to hear their complaint, using simple questions and plain-English guidance. It’s free to use, and it’s built to make something complicated feel possible again.
For community workers, it’s also a time-saver. Instead of searching through long lists of agencies, they can guide clients through the right pathway in minutes.
Why this matters
When complaints reach the right place, problems get solved faster and people feel heard.
It also means that stories of harm or unfairness can be seen in context, helping regulators and advocates push for real change.
Making it easier to complain isn’t about creating more paperwork. It’s about giving people a fair way to speak up and to be taken seriously.
Built with community, not for it
Hear Me Out is a project of the National Justice Project, developed in partnership with the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW.
It’s been shaped through conversations with community legal centres, social services and advocates across Victoria.
Many community workers say that one of the biggest barriers their clients face is knowing where to go. When the process gets confusing or people are sent from one agency to another, many simply stop trying.
By giving clear, step-by-step guidance, Hear Me Out helps people stay engaged and finish what they started.
What’s next
More than 1,700 people have already used Hear Me Out across Australia. With Victoria now live, we’re working to include even more local complaint bodies and support services so people can get accurate information wherever they live.
We’ll soon be expanding to the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and we’ll keep improving the technology behind the platform as we grow.
Try Hear Me Out
If you live or work in Victoria, explore your options by navigating to the Hear Me Out chat.
Whether you’re making a complaint yourself or helping someone else, Hear Me Out is here to make the process faster, fairer and free.
[Hear Me Out is a project brought to you by the National Justice Project.]