Research partnership on self-represented litigants

People represent themselves in court for many reasons, including the cost or availability of legal assistance, personal circumstances, the nature of their dispute, or a belief that they can best present their own case. Self-representation is increasingly common and can affect how people participate in proceedings and how courts design fair, accessible and effective processes. Yet relatively little is known about people who represent themselves in the federal jurisdiction or how their cases proceed.

An initial pilot study will analyse de-identified information from Federal Court records to examine:

• the incidence of self-representation;
• the types of matters in which self-representation commonly occurs;
• how self-represented matters progress through the Court; and
• whether self-represented matters progress differently from matters involving legal representation.

The pilot will use existing data to provide insights into court processes. It will not assess individual litigants, determine the merits of particular cases, or comment on individual judicial officers, court staff or decisions.

Subject to funding, ethics approval and appropriate agreement with relevant partners, future research may build on the pilot through direct engagement with people who represent themselves, judicial officers, court staff and legal professionals. This work may explore how people understand and experience legal processes, including how different understandings of law and legal authority may shape participation, interactions with the legal system and well-being. It may also examine opportunities to improve communication, support and service responses through the development and evaluation of evidence-based approaches.

The project is being led by:

• Professor Kristy Martire, UNSW School of Psychology; and
• Associate Professor Harry Hobbs, UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice.

The Federal Court of Australia is providing in-kind support for the pilot. The project has also received support from UNSW Science Translational Impact Seed Funding and the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration.

This project is separate from the Court’s case-management functions and cannot provide advice about an individual case.

People seeking information about self-representation can consult:

• The Federal Courts information for litigants
• LawAccess NSW resources for people representing themselves.

For information about a current proceeding, court procedures or filing requirements, please contact the Federal Court of Australia or seek independent legal advice.

For information about future research on self-representation, please contact:

representingyourselfresearch@unsw.edu.au

This email address is not confidential. Please do not send case documents or detailed information about a current or past proceedings.