Registered numbers mask a smaller workforce
Association president Rodney Lavin estimates that roughly 1,500 people on Victoria's JP register are no longer able to serve because of age or health conditions, or have died. In the state's northwest, Mildura volunteer Sue Mason warned that the eventual departure of experienced JPs could quickly reduce volunteer numbers, despite a recruitment effort about three years ago that added 15 in the Sunraysia area.
Victoria's registered total compares with 80,000 JPs in Queensland, 65,000 in New South Wales and about 7,000 in South Australia. Lavin also highlighted the difference relative to population: in October 2026, he told the Riverine Herald that Victoria had about 50 JPs per 100,000 residents, against Queensland's 1,432.
Funding request meets no election commitment
Lavin said Victoria had allocated no government funding for JP training since the 2021-22 state budget. That budget provided $5.5 million for recruitment and other support, according to a June 2026 Brisbane Times report, which placed the most recent JP appointment in early 2025.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety told ABC News that a recruitment campaign running from 2022 through 2025 resulted in 800 new JP appointments. Separately, a government spokesperson told the Riverine Herald in October 2026 that there was "no freeze" on recruitment. The spokesperson said recruitment was continuing in local government areas where additional services were needed and that Labor's investments had supported more than 800 appointments over the preceding three years. The government did not say whether it would agree to the association's request for 5,000 additional JPs.
Representatives of Liberal Party leader Jess Wilson's office told ABC News that the party had made no commitment to fund the training. Labor did not respond to the broadcaster's request for comment.
Lavin has pointed to Queensland as the "gold standard" for recruitment, describing a system in which volunteers pay for training delivered by accredited providers, including TAFE institutes. He told the Riverine Herald that his association was prepared to train and mentor new JPs, with the government's role limited to background checks.
From police stations to a hardware store
JPs handle declarations, affidavits and certified copies of documents. Residents generally find them at police stations, libraries and local council offices, although some shopping centers also host the service.
In Altona, in western Melbourne, Loretta Cormack now provides JP services at Bunnings after 51 years in the role. The hardware store is the first Bunnings in Victoria to offer shoppers access to a JP. Cormack told ABC News that the location reaches people reluctant to enter police stations and that demand had risen significantly since the service moved to the store.
Other professionals can perform some, but not all, of the same duties. Doctors, pharmacists, nurses and teachers may sign statutory declarations and certify document copies in Victoria, the Brisbane Times reported. They cannot take affidavits, which are used in court and are restricted to a narrower group that includes JPs, lawyers, police officers above sergeant rank and court workers. JPs cannot accept payment for their services; other authorized witnesses are not subject to that restriction.
A June 2026 Brisbane Times profile described Tom Thorpe, who had recently turned 100, as believed to be Victoria's oldest practicing JP. He makes himself available to sign documents even as late as 10 p.m.
Petitions and a Parliament House rally
The recruitment push has drawn support through petitions and a public gathering. More than 5,700 people signed a June 2025 petition sponsored by Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne seeking more JPs in Victoria, according to the Brisbane Times. The Australasian Council of Justices' Associations also backed the effort to increase numbers.
On August 27, 2026, more than 70 association members, relatives and friends assembled outside Parliament House in Melbourne to seek the recruitment of 5,000 JPs. The association said Lavin addressed the gathering alongside former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Kel Glare AO APM and several members of Parliament. Its campaign is continuing through the November state election, with a petition aiming to collect 20,000 signatures.
