Member Spotlight — JustFund
JustFund is Australia’s only family law funding specialist helping individuals to access legal representation and pay legal fees during a separation or divorce.
Concept and Founding
JustFund provides an innovative and flexible line of credit to pay legal bills so that Australians can access legal advice and support when going through a marital divorce or separation. By re-imagining the credit approval process, JustFund has transformed the ability for financially disadvantaged Australians to achieve a fair and equitable distribution of relationship assets and to rebuild their lives. The business was founded by Jack O’Donnell, Andy O’Connor (both ex-lawyers) and fintech founder/investor Craig Carroll. The business has raised $92M in debt and equity since 2022.
Company Mission
JustFund is a mission-driven, social impact lender committed to enabling clients to live and embrace a better tomorrow.
By reimagining finance and lending against a borrower’s legal entitlement, JustFund is able to provide a line of credit regardless of a borrower’s income, employment or credit score. This levels the playing field by addressing gender, social and economic inequalities and enabling individuals to get the legal support and confidence they need to rebuild their lives. Approximately 70% of JustFund’s applicants are women. Sadly, 58% of all borrowers self-report as victims of domestic abuse and 68% are victims of financial control. Overall, 74% of borrowers are the primary carers of children.
A Fintech Product Tailored to a Unique Market
JustFund’s unique ability to assess inherently complex legal entitlements to relationship assets and predict outcomes has enabled the company to empower individuals by unlocking the value of their entitlements early. The company’s client-centric product has features that include:
Clients can use as much or as little of the facility without penalty;
The lending is non-recourse with JustFund only repaid from property settlement proceeds;
There is no fixed term and all interest and fees can be fully capitalised until the borrower is in a position to repay from their relationship settlement;
Individuals who are unemployed, have low credit scores, have low or no incomes (because they are the primary care-giver or because of other circumstances) are still eligible for funding based on their legal entitlements;
Interest is payable on funds drawn rather than the total amount of the line of credit.
Making an Important Social Impact
JustFund’s flexible payment options enable clients to get the advice they need now and only pay when their matter resolves. It’s a far more flexible way to provide funding to cover legal fees that doesn’t rely on someone having an income, regular employment, or a credit score, which traditionally is the case.
Sadly, many Australians find themselves trapped in distressing relationships characterised by emotional, financial, or physical abuse. If their matter ends up in court, legal fees escalate and so does the risk of not getting a fair outcome, which is particularly dangerous for victims of domestic violence.
Annually, Australians navigating divorce or separation confront the daunting task of formalising the division of over $67 billion in financial assets. Recent data suggests that up to 50% of Australian marriages end in divorce.
JustFund is proudly demonstrating the ability for private-sector solutions to tangibly address social issues that have confounded successive governments. The company’s journey to-date shows that innovative fintech solutions can effectively address inequity and disparities in financial sophistication, access to funds, income capacity, and/or credit scores between parties.
Since launching in 2022 JustFund has:
Establishing partnerships with 600+ family law firms nationwide
Approved more than $90M of credit for clients to enable them to pay legal bills
Assisted in the resolution of more than $1 billion in relationship property settlements
The company was awarded the “Positive Impact Fintech of the Year” Award from FinTech Australia in 2024.
Visit website: justfund.com.au/
