Web design for community legal centres: Requirements and risk
Community legal centres have specific digital obligations that go beyond standard charity website requirements. Client confidentiality, accessibility law, Google Ad Grant compliance, and the nature of the people CLCs serve all shape what a well-built CLC website needs to do.
Why CLC websites are different
A community legal centre’s website is not simply a marketing tool. It is often the first point of contact for people in genuinely difficult situations. People facing family violence, housing insecurity, debt, discrimination, or criminal proceedings all in need of advice. What they find when they search for help matters enormously.
CLCs operate under obligations that most other not-for-profits do not. The legal professional privilege that attaches to client communications creates specific requirements around how online intake and contact processes are structured. Privacy Act obligations are heightened when sensitive legal information is collected. And the communities CLCs serve — often people with disability, low literacy, financial hardship, or cultural and language backgrounds other than English — make accessibility not a courtesy but a core service requirement.
Many CLCs are also eligible for the Google Ad Grant — up to $15,000 AUD per month in free Google Search advertising. For a resource-constrained sector, this represents a significant opportunity that is widely underused.
Client confidentiality and online forms
Online contact and intake forms on a CLC website sit at the intersection of client confidentiality obligations and digital security. Most CLCs collect some form of personal and legal information via their website — and most do not have the technical governance in place to handle it appropriately.
What is required
- All forms must transmit data over HTTPS — unencrypted form submissions are not acceptable
- Form submissions must not be stored in publicly accessible locations or plain-text email inboxes without additional security measures
- Forms must collect only the minimum information necessary at initial contact
- A clear privacy notice must accompany any form that collects personal or legal information
- The privacy policy must accurately reflect how submitted information is stored, used, and retained
- Access to form submissions must be restricted to authorised staff
What to watch for
- Form submissions delivered to generic info@ email addresses that multiple staff access
- WordPress contact form plugins that store submissions in the database without restriction
- Intake forms that ask for case details at first contact — more information than is needed, too early
- No documented retention period for form submissions
- Forms built on third-party platforms (Google Forms, Typeform) where data governance is unclear
We work with community legal centres, not alongside them. That means we understand duty lawyer rosters, referral pathways, Legal Aid NSW obligations, and the realities of small digital teams with no margin for error. If your website is overdue for attention, or you’re not sure whether it’s doing its job, we’re happy to talk it through.
Build a compliant, best-practice CLC website →Accessibility obligations for community legal centres
CLCs have the same legal accessibility obligations as all Australian organisations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 — but the nature of CLC clients makes those obligations particularly significant in practice.
The communities CLCs serve frequently include people with disability, older Australians, people with low literacy, and people from non-English-speaking backgrounds. An inaccessible website is not simply a compliance gap for a CLC. It is a direct barrier to service for some of the people the centre exists to help.
Specific considerations for CLCs
- Plain-English language — legal information must be written for a general audience, not a legal one
- Full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, with particular attention to screen reader compatibility
- Accessible contact forms — labels, error messages, keyboard navigation
- Phone numbers presented as clickable links (not images) for mobile users
- Translations or Easy Read versions of key service information where the community requires them
- TTY contact details where available
- Content that does not assume familiarity with the legal system
For a full breakdown of accessibility requirements, see: WCAG accessibility requirements for Australian not-for-profits.
Content requirements — clarity over comprehensiveness
The most common content failure on CLC websites is prioritising legal comprehensiveness over practical clarity. A page that accurately sets out every aspect of tenancy law but cannot be understood by someone facing eviction has failed its purpose.
What CLC website content needs to do
- Clearly state what legal services the centre provides and who is eligible
- State geographic catchment area clearly — people searching for legal help need to know quickly whether a CLC can help them
- Provide a clear path to contact — phone, email, and online intake where available
- Give realistic information about wait times and how intake works
- Include safety planning information for clients accessing the site from a shared or monitored device
- Provide clear referral pathways for matters outside the centre’s scope
- Be kept current — outdated opening hours or intake processes cause real harm
CLCs providing services to people experiencing family violence should include a clearly visible “quick exit” button on relevant pages — allowing users to rapidly leave the site if they are being monitored. This is a widely adopted practice in the domestic violence sector and is considered best practice for any CLC with a family law or family violence practice area.
The Google Ad Grant for community legal centres
ACNC-registered community legal centres are eligible for the Google Ad Grant — up to $10,000 USD (approximately $15,000 AUD) per month in free Google Search advertising. This is the single most cost-effective digital marketing tool available to the CLC sector, and it remains dramatically underused.
For a CLC, the Grant can be used to:
- Appear in search results when people in the catchment area search for legal help
- Target specific practice areas — tenancy, family law, debt, employment, discrimination
- Reach people at the moment they are looking for help, not before or after
- Promote legal information resources and self-help guides
The website must meet Google’s quality requirements to be eligible, and ongoing compliance — including maintaining a 5% click-through rate — is required to keep the Grant. Many CLCs that have the Grant are not using it effectively, or have lost it due to compliance failures that could have been prevented.
For a complete guide: Google Ad Grant for Australian charities — eligibility, application and compliance.
Digital risk summary for community legal centres
| Risk area | Common issue | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Client confidentiality | Insecure form submissions; intake data in unprotected email inboxes | High |
| Accessibility | WCAG failures preventing service access for clients with disability | High |
| Privacy compliance | Privacy policy that does not reflect actual data handling practices | High |
| Google Ad Grant | Grant suspended or never applied for; lost advertising value | High |
| Security | Outdated CMS or plugins; no uptime monitoring | High |
| Content currency | Outdated service information, hours, or intake processes | Medium |
| Search visibility | Not appearing in local search results for relevant legal help queries | Medium |
| Governance | No named person accountable for digital; credentials not managed securely | Medium |
Digital governance for community legal centres
Many CLCs have a significant gap between the importance of their digital presence and the governance structures around it. The website is critical infrastructure — but it is frequently managed informally, with no documented processes, no named accountability, and no regular review.
For a CLC, a minimum digital governance framework should include:
- A named staff member or external provider accountable for website health and compliance
- Documented access management — who has what level of access, reviewed when staff change
- A regular content review process — at minimum quarterly
- Annual accessibility review
- A data retention and deletion policy covering form submissions and client information
- Board-level reporting on digital health — at least annually
- A documented incident response process for security events
Digital stewardship — ongoing external accountability for website health — is particularly well-suited to CLCs that lack internal technical capability. It replaces ad hoc crisis management with quiet, consistent oversight.
Working with community legal centres.
Marzipan works with CLCs on digital stewardship, Google Ad Grant management, and accessibility compliance. A Digital Capacity Diagnosis is a practical starting point. Clear findings, plain-English recommendations, board-ready. $1,500 + GST.
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