Touchstone 7: Commonwealth and state agencies and family-focused courts working together better to ensure acutely vulnerable families and children do not fall through the cracks Touchstone 8: More equitable access to therapeutic justice programs to break the cycle of reoffending and keep our communities safe, regardless of postcode Touchstone 9: Properly resourced courts and tribunals with processes that place citizens and court users at the centre, including through improved listing practices Touchstone 10: A strengthened evidence and innovation base to spark adaptation and improvements in the sector Recommendations Our submission makes 29 recommendations to improve access to justice in Victoria. The availability and priorities for funding the legal assistance sector Recommendation 1 Support role in sector planning – VLA’s Support role in sector planning at the state and regional level and in making VLA’s evidence-based decisions about allocation of resources. Recommendation 2 Support CLC innovation and reform – Continue to support innovation and reform in the community legal sector. Recommendation 3 Improve the evidence base and spark innovation – Establish an independent function to research and explore better service design. Recommendation 4 Increase State funding – Increase State funding by $42.01 million per annum to address critical underinvestment. This should consist of: an extra $22.03 million per annum to reach parity with NSW (the most comparable state or territory in Australia) an extra $19.98 million per annum to address the funding shortfall identified by the Productivity Commission with respect to civil and family legal assistance. Recommendation 5 Increase Commonwealth funding – Increase Commonwealth funding by $29.96 million per annum, being fair per Victoria’s capita share of the extra $120 million in Commonwealth funding recommended by the Productivity Commission. Recommendation 6 Reduce pressure on duty lawyers – Alleviate time-pressured and over-stretched services to ensure duty lawyers can provide high-quality assistance that meet immediate and future needs. clients’ Recommendation 7 Properly fund policies that impact on the justice system –
Touchstone 7: Commonwealth and state agencies and family-focused courts working together better to ensure acutely vulnerable families and children do not fall through the cracks Touchstone 8: More equitable access to therapeutic justice programs to break the cycle of reoffending and keep our communities safe, regardless of postcode Touchstone 9: Properly resourced courts and tribunals with processes that place citizens and court users at the centre, including through improved listing practices Touchstone 10: A strengthened evidence and innovation base to spark adaptation and improvements in the sector Recommendations Our submission makes 29 recommendations to improve access to justice in Victoria. The availability and priorities for funding the legal assistance sector Recommendation 1 – Support VLA’s role in sector planning Support VLA’s role in sector planning at the state and regional level and in making evidence-based decisions about allocation of resources. Recommendation 2 – Support CLC innovation and reform Continue to support innovation and reform in the community legal sector. Recommendation 3 – Improve the evidence base and spark innovation Establish an independent function to research and explore better service design. Recommendation 4 – Increase State funding Increase State funding by $42.01 million per annum to address critical underinvestment. This should consist of: an extra $22.03 million per annum to reach parity with NSW (the most comparable state or territory in Australia) an extra $19.98 million per annum to address the funding shortfall identified by the Productivity Commission with respect to civil and family legal assistance. Recommendation 5 – Increase Commonwealth funding Increase Commonwealth funding by $29.96 million per annum, being Victoria’s fair per capita share of the extra $120 million in Commonwealth funding recommended by the Productivity Commission. Recommendation 6 – Reduce pressure on duty lawyers Alleviate time-pressured and over-stretched services to ensure duty lawyers can provide high-quality assistance that meet clients’ immediate and future needs. Recommendation 7 – Properly fund policies that impact on the justice system
vla-access-to-justice-submission.docx