Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Fremantle for her question and acknowledge her vigorous advocacy in this area. I am pleased to advise the House that the government will invest an additional $154 million over four years in legal assistance programs to improve access to justice. This is the largest and most significant injection of new funds into the legal assistance sector for well over a decade. The investment will play a key role in ensuring disadvantaged Australians have the means to resolve their disputes early, before they escalate and before they become entrenched.

The additional funding will be provided from 1 July this year and it will include an additional $92.3 million over four years for legal aid, $34.9 million for Indigenous legal services and $26.8 million for community legal services programs. That is additional funding. It builds on the additional one-off funding totalling $70 million that has been provided to the sector over the past three years. It takes the Commonwealth’s total funding for legal assistance services to over $1.2 billion and will give the sector greater certainty for their own planning over the next four years.

The package will make a real difference. It will support legal aid commissions in their vital work of providing legal and mediation services for disadvantaged Australians. The new funding will also underpin the national partnership agreement that is currently being negotiated with the states and territories for the ongoing legal aid arrangements. It is anticipated that the new arrangements will include a number of innovations, including focusing on early intervention and education and providing for greater flexibility, including using Commonwealth funds for state related family violence and child protection related matters.

The investment in legal aid will also increase the availability of assistance in a number of important areas, including in respect of veterans’ entitlements, consumer credit and debt, and certain civil law matters. Importantly, additional resources will also be available for outreach work to rural and regional Australia, including the rapidly growing regions of Australia.

The program will also include an investment of $34.9 million in Indigenous legal services. That will also make a real practical difference, through enhanced legal advice, duty lawyer programs and casework services in the civil, criminal and family law areas. Importantly, Indigenous women and children who are victims of domestic violence will also have greater access to assistance through the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services program. The investment is entirely consistent with the government’s policy to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.

Finally, the government’s additional $26 million investment in community legal centres will focus on supporting those experiencing family violence and homelessness. Communities in rural, regional and remote areas will benefit significantly from the package. Those members who are lucky enough to have a community legal service in their electorate will know the tremendous job they do and the value-add that they contribute with the volunteers that they enlist to assist those who are disadvantaged. These resources will provide a tremendous and well-deserved boost to their resources, I am sure all members will agree.

In conclusion, all the evidence indicates that education and assistance provided early in someone’s confronting the legal system avoids problems and additional expenses downstream. The $154 million investment, along with the $70 million the government has already injected into the sector over the last three years, demonstrates the government’s real commitment to achieving an accessible justice system, which is necessary to underpin a fair and inclusive society.

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