A NORTH-WEST legal centre is reaching out to help small business owners unable to afford legal representation.
Khanh Nguyen, principal solicitor at the Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre, said many people started businesses without seeking proper legal advice.
He said small business owners could easily find themselves with mounting debts, leading to bankruptcy.
Mr Nguyen said that after the centre hosted a free tenancy clinic in May, he had been bombarded with approaches from business owners who were close to losing everything.
He said the centre worked with traders associations and other pro bono partners to provide advice.
It also made referrals to Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Consumer Action Law Centre.
Caroline Springs resident John (not his real name), a legal centre client, said he was on the verge of losing his home.
“I owned an energy efficiency company for more than three years,” he said.
“We went into business with another energy company in New South Wales, but when it went into liquidation they couldn’t pay us the $737,000 they owed us and we lost everything.”
Figures released by Insolvency and Trustee Services Australia in April revealed that suburbs like Caroline Springs, Deer Park, Burnside, St Albans, Kealba and Kings Park had more bankruptcies than other postcodes in the west.
John said bankruptcy was totally devastating.
“I was shunned socially by some of my friends. I was under an extraordinary amount of stress as I tried to support my wife and children and I couldn’t even afford legal representation.”
Mr Nguyen, who now represents John, said his case was not unique.
He urged business owners to take a preventive approach and seek legal assistance from a community legal centre before starting a business.
“We see people with language barriers being served with Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal forms in English and being unsure what’s going on,” he said.
The Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre is at suite 3, level 1, 358 Main Road West, St Albans. Details: 83122000
