National campaign to fix crisis in legal assistance sector

Thursday, 25 July 2024

The Law Society is part of a national campaign calling on all governments to significantly increase their support for Australia’s legal assistance sector.

Read the open letter to Federal and State Governments.

Our legal assistance sector - Legal Aid Commissions, Community Legal Centres, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services - is designed to be there for members of our community during times of life when they experience significant vulnerability, need, hardship and stress.

On a daily basis, these services are relied upon by people who may be experiencing family violence, elder abuse or are at risk of homelessness.

However, our legal assistance sector has suffered greatly under decades of funding neglect and cannot keep up with demand for services. It is a sector in crisis.

On 28 May 2024, the Final Report of the Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) was released. This Report is a thorough investigation into the legal assistance landscape and provides clear guidance for how access to justice in Australia can be dramatically improved. Urgent action is needed as confirmed NLAP funding ends in less than 12 months.

Join us to create change by supporting the campaign. Let's make a difference to fund justice and empower communities.

To support the campaign, we encourage you to take a photo with the A4 Campaign Sign or publish the Open Letter on your social media platforms and other networks. To bolster the campaign, you can follow and tag the Law Council and include the hashtag #A2J4ALL in your posts. To find out more or to access campaign material, visit Access To Justice For All - Law Council of Australia.