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A sector in crisis, launched at Parliament House Canberra on Monday 25 March 2024, paints a vivid picture of a community legal sector in crisis and identifies the key drivers of this crisis. Centres are struggling to respond to increasing demand for their services because funding has failed to keep pace with demand. Inadequate funding and staff shortages mean reduced capacity to deliver much-needed services. This results in a chronic cycle of increased demand, higher numbers of people turned away, mounting unmet need and staff burnout and turnover. The problems are particularly acute in regional and remote areas. Ultimately, people and communities bear the harm this cycle causes.
Community legal sector peaks wrote to Commonwealth, State and Territory Attorneys-General asking that they publish the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) review report now to increase transparency around critical government decisions regarding the future of legal assistance services.
Submissions to the review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (‘NLAP’) reveal strong consensus about major gaps in access to justice and legal assistance in regional, rural, remote and very remote (RRRR) areas. This is reflected, for example, in submissions to the review by national legal sector peaks, specialist peaks and many other contributors. Many submissions by metro-based legal efforts reflected solidarity with RRRR communities, expressing frustration that their lack of resources limit what they could otherwise contribute.
Funding for legal assistance is an investment in people and communities: our services keep people in jobs and homes, and out of debt, hospitals, courts, and prisons. And yet, the legal assistance sector in Australia is woefully underfunded, which hurts people and communities, and costs governments.
Community-based legal assistance providers face unique greater funding risks, including inflationary pressures, underfunding and a lack of long-term funding security. Our unique service model and contribution to individual and community wellbeing are at risk.
We recommend the Commonwealth Government invests significant additional funding for legal assistance services in the May 2024-25 Federal Budget. We need urgent additional funding in 2024-25 and over the forward estimates, to enable legal assistance providers to keep delivering vital support to the community
Community Legal Centres Australia supports the Voice to Parliament and the Yes23 referendum campaign.
by Amy Schneider, Environmental Justice Australia
On Friday 7 July 2023, the Royal Commission handed down its final report into the Robodebt Scheme. The report is extensive, with comprehensive analysis of the scheme spanning over 900 pages and 3 volumes) and makes 57 recommendations. It describes the scheme as a “crude and cruel mechanism,” that from its inception was known to be inconsistent with social security law. In examining the operation of the scheme, the report unravels systemic injustice and identifies areas of social security law, and administration, that require urgent reform.
by Lara Freidin, Women’s Legal Services Australia
The Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus has stated the government’s commitment to ensuring the family law system is ‘safer, more accessible, simpler to use, and delivers justice and fairness for all Australian families’ many times since taking office in May 2022. On 29 March, the government introduced the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 and the Family Law (Information Sharing) Bill 2023. Both bills were referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry on 11 May.| Read more…. | |||||||
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Community Legal Centres Australia is a proudly inclusive organisation and an ally of the LGBTIQ+ community and the movement toward equality.
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