Adequate legal assistance funding is vital to improving health and wellbeing outcomes

SYDNEY,Sept. 11,2024 -- Health Justice Australia has welcomed last week's announcement that the Australian Government will provide $3.9 billion in funding to the legal assistance sector through the new National Access to Justice Partnership. Commencing in July 2025,this agreement delivers funding for frontline legal assistance services including community legal centres,Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services,legal aid commissions,and family violence prevention and legal services.

While this announcement is an encouraging first step in addressing the chronic underfunding of the sector,there is still much to do to ensure the sustainability of legal assistance services so they can continue to support people's health and wellbeing.

This funding was announced in the context of the national crisis of gender-based violence. Many of the complex problems that legal assistance services address,like domestic and family violence,credit and debt,fines,social security,insecure housing and discrimination,have negative effects on health and wellbeing. When people don't have adequate access to legal assistance,these problems often escalate until they reach crisis point costing the individual,their family and the community much more.

As broader socio-economic conditions contribute to an increase in legal need,legal assistance services are having to turn away clients in positions of real crisis. This in turn has detrimental effects on the health,safety and wellbeing of individuals and families. 

Health and social sector leaders have been urging the government to increase investment in legal assistance. Last week,Health Justice Australia sent a letter co-signed by more than 25 leaders from across the sectors to federal health and social services ministers outlining the important role that legal assistance plays in improving health and wellbeing through person-centred,integrated care that seeks to address the complexity of intersecting issues in people's lives.

Health Justice Australia CEO Sheree Limbrick says: "Legal assistance is an essential tool in preventing crisis in people's lives. A well-funded sector means that people can access the help they need when and where they need it,before they reach a crisis point. It is essential we fund services so they can provide timely intervention to deal with problems before they escalate.

"The government's recent funding announcement is a welcome first step in addressing access to justice,but there is much more work to be done."