National Legal Aid is calling on the government to urgently increase funding to Legal Aid Commissions following the release of a report on domestic violence yesterday that contained a key finding on the need for frontline and crisis services to be better and more sustainably resourced.
Legal Aid Commissions are a critical frontline service providing over 32,000 family law grants of aid and over 14,000 domestic and family violence related duty lawyer services nationally each year. An extra $317 million is needed annually to meet demand for assistance and stop women from being turned away by legal aid.
The legal assistance sector is calling for an urgent funding commitment from the Federal Government to address the domestic violence crisis after the release of the Yearly Report on the Progress of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.
National Legal Aid Executive Director Katherine McKernan said that increased legal aid funding was essential to address the domestic violence crisis and stop women from being turned away as a result of only 8 per cent of Australians being eligible for legal aid.
“The crisis in funding for legal assistance services means that Legal Aid Commissions have to turn some people away because these Commissions can only work with the most disadvantage people in Australia,” said Ms McKernan.
“We urge the government to provide critical additional legal aid funding by December, under a new National Legal Assistance Partnership Agreement, to ensure domestic violence victims never have to be turned away.”
National Legal Aid is concerned that the limited funding for family law services means the sector is unable to meet current demand and that this could put women at risk. Due to restrictions on legal assistance eligibility, some women have been turned away.
In NSW alone, Legal Aid has seen a 61 per cent increase in duty lawyer services provided by the Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) and a 36 per cent increase in calls to its DVU hotline, with 60 women waiting to be called on any given day.
Melanie Alexander, a Legal Aid NSW Domestic Violence Unit senior solicitor, said she is seeing a clear increase in demand for services.
“As a duty solicitor, on any given day I see between six to 10 clients, and most of these women present with a real risk of them, or their, being harmed,” she said.
“The volume of clients accessing our service continues to increase on a daily basis. I have noticed women presenting with more and more complex issues – often requiring help with an ADVO, as well as housing, debt and parenting issues. They need more of our time.”
Case study
One single mother who had no family support in Australia was experiencing homelessness and domestic violence. She was denied legal aid because her partner owned a property, which was solely in his name, however, is was still considered to be partially her asset under eligibility criteria. This meant she failed the assets test, despite not having any assets in her name. This is an example of women and children with high needs missing out on legal representation due to funding limitations.
Modelling in the Justice on the Brink report identifies the sector needs an additional $317 million annually to meet the need for family and civil law assistance, including for domestic violence services. That report also found that an investment of funds would prevent more than $307 million in domestic violence costs.
The family law system plays a critical role in our community’s response to family violence and women’s safety, with Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia data showing that 80 per cent of cases involve family violence.
Ms McKernan said that without adequate legal assistance funding, it’s the most disadvantaged women – including victim-survivors of domestic violence – who lose out.
“Legal assistance services, including Legal Aid Commissions, are critical to addressing the crisis because they help thousands of women and children experiencing domestic and family violence across Australia. Access to legal aid can stop violence from continuing and can keep women safe,” she said.
“Federal funding for legal assistance under the National Legal Assistance Partnership is currently under renegotiation. This is a critical time to advocate for the most disadvantaged women and children in Australia, through additional funding for legal assistance services.
“There should be no doubt that the legal assistance sector should receive additional funding to assist with the crisis in domestic and family violence. However, this is far from the current reality of likely funding priorities. We hope that the renegotiation of the National Legal Assistance Partnership and opportunities for funding take steps in the right direction to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged women and children in Australia.”
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