Today marks exactly one year until crippling 30% cuts to Commonwealth funding for Community Legal Centres of $34.83 million (over 3 years) take effect.

The National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC) has called on both major parties to make reversal of the funding cuts and urgent additional funding for CLCs and other legal assistance services a priority.

‘There is one day until the election and one year until the sector faces significant cuts that will have a real impact on people in every electorate across Australia. We already turn away over 160,000 people each year and that number is growing’ said Dan Stubbs, NACLC National Spokesperson.

‘We are disappointed that neither Prime Minister Turnbull or Mr Shorten have made access to justice or to vital legal help for vulnerable Australians a key election issue or priority despite the crisis facing legal assistance services, the courts and the justice system broadly’ he said.

‘While technically the cuts take effect in one year, we know that services will need to wind down ahead of that date, so we are facing a critical situation. It is absolutely vital that whichever party forms Government makes funding and support for CLCs as well as for Family Violence Prevention Legal Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services and Legal Aid Commissions a priority’ he added.

‘We will continue to work hard after the election and over the coming year to make it clear that our clients, who are some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the community, will suffer unless the funding crisis is addressed’ he concluded.

NACLC reiterates its calls for:

1. Reversal of the Commonwealth funding cuts to CLCs under the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance amounting to $34.83 million from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2020
2. An immediate injection of $200 million per year to legal assistance services, as recommended by the Productivity Commission, which should be shared between the Commonwealth (60%) and the States and Territories (40%). This should equate to at least an additional $24 million per year allocated to CLCs ($14.4 million p.a. Commonwealth and $9.6 million p.a. from States/Territories)
3. A commitment by all levels of Government to implementing an appropriate process for determining adequate and sustainable longer-term funding contributions for legal assistance in consultation with the sector.

To arrange an interview or for more information please contact:

Daniel Stubbs, National Spokesperson, 0437 253 543
Amanda Alford, Director Policy and Advocacy, 0421 028 645
Jo Scard, Media Adviser, 0457 725 953

The peak bodies for legal assistance services today joined forces calling for all parties to prioritise funding for vital legal services ahead of the Federal Election this weekend.

The National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC), National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services Forum (NFVPLS) and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) expressed concern about the funding cuts and challenges facing legal assistance services and called for urgent action.

Community Legal Centres (CLCs) and Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) face funding cuts of up to 30% nationally and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services have had their national program abolished and are significantly underfunded.

‘Community legal centres across Australia are being forced to turn away hundreds of thousands of people each year at the same time as we are seeing a rise in demand for services. Whichever party forms Government, it is crucial that ensuring people can get the legal help they need is a priority’ said Dan Stubbs, National Spokesperson for NACLC.

‘In terms of CLC funding, we are concerned that neither major party has fully committed to reversing the broad funding cuts, or implementing the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission for urgent additional funding for the sector’ he added.

Convenor of the National FVPLS Forum Antoinette Braybrook expressed concern about the situation facing FVPLS across Australia:

‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised from family violence and 10 times more likely to die of violent assault than other women. This is the epicentre of the national family violence crisis’ she said.

‘FVPLSs respond to this crisis by providing essential services for safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims/survivors of family violence. We are calling for the reinstatement of our National FVPLS Program with long-term funding to create certainty for our services across the country’ she said.

‘Whoever wins the election on Saturday we need a greater commitment to ensure that FVPLSs are adequately funded to ensure that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims/survivors of family violence can access our culturally safe services. We have been disappointed by the failure to back up stated concern for addressing family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women with adequate funding’ she concluded.

‘The ATSILS provide vital legal help to vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and they’re in crisis mode trying to cope with current demand. Without the provision of new funding the ATSILS will be required to withdraw from front line services in 2017 leaving more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to cycle through the justice system with enormous social, cultural and economic costs to this country’ said Wayne Muir, Co-Chair of NATSILS.

‘We have been fighting hard to secure funding stability, particularly to allow the ATSILS to deliver vital services in family law. Adequately funding culturally competent family law services will help us invest in the front end before our children and our families reach a crisis point. It will help us turn around the state of access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ Mr Muir concluded.

‘Importantly, neither the ALP or Coalition funding commitments are sufficient to address the broad funding cuts or to solve the crisis facing the legal assistance sector. We need an additional investment in the sector consistent with the Productivity Commission’s recommendations, as well as a long-term commitment to adequately funding the sector’ said Ms Braybrook.

‘Time is running out for the parties to show the sector and people across Australia that they care about ensuring people can get access to the legal help they need’ concluded Mr Stubbs.

NACLC, NFVPLS and NATSILS call on all parties to commit to:

1. Reversing funding cuts facing Community Legal Centres ($34.83mill over the period 2017-18 to 2019-2020) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services ($18mill over the period 2017-18 to 2019-2020) and reinstating the National FVPLS Program.
2. Implementing the Productivity Commission’s recommendation from its Access to Justice Arrangements Inquiry and providing an immediate injection of $200 million per year into the legal assistance service sector, which should be shared between the Commonwealth (60%) and the States and Territories (40%).
3. Committing to implementing an appropriate process for determining adequate and sustainable longer-term funding contributions to the legal assistance sector by both Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments, in consultation with the sector.
4. Funding for NACLC, NFVPLS and NATSILS in recognition of their key role as peak bodies.

For further information or to arrange an interview contact:

Dan Stubbs, National Spokesperson NACLC, 0437 253 543
Andy Gargett for Antoinette Braybrook, Convenor, National FVPLS Forum, 0457 544 591
Karly Warner for Wayne Muir, Co-Chair NATSILS, 0423 610 587
Amanda Alford, Director Policy and Advocacy NACLC, 0421 028 645

The National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC) today called on the Commonwealth Government to continue and increase funding for national Community Legal Centres (CLCs).

There are almost 200 Community Legal Centres across Australia, including a small number of national Community Legal Centres such as the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre, Arts Law and the Insurance Law Service at Financial Rights Legal Centre. The national centres receive funding directly from the Commonwealth Government rather than through the National Partnership Agreement for Legal Assistance (NPA).

‘We are extremely concerned about the future of CLCs across Australia, including our national CLCs. CLCs funded under the NPA are facing a 30% cut nationally. In addition, many centres are underfunded and there is no guarantee of any funding for two of the national centres past 1 July next year’ said Dan Stubbs, NACLC National Spokesperson.

‘Under the NPA Commonwealth funding is provided to the States and Territories to allocate. That system doesn’t work for national centres so they are still directly funded by the Commonwealth Government. However, there doesn’t appear to be a plan or a commitment for these national centres’ he added.

‘The services that these national centres provide are a crucial part of the work CLCs do across Australia. They help children and young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people who have a problem with their insurance company’ said Mr Stubbs.

Children and Young People

The award-winning National Children’s and Youth Law Centre provides free online legal assistance to children, young people and their parents across Australia, directly helping 2,300 people in 2015 and providing online information to 1 million visitors.

‘We help children and young people solve their legal problems such as family and domestic violence and homelessness. Because our innovative, online model really works there is an ever-increasing demand for our help, but we are now being forced to turn away one in every three young people that contact us’ said Matthew Keeley, Director of the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre.

‘Up to 1,000 young people will miss out from 1 July because our Commonwealth grant allows us to support only one and a half staff. You would think that ours is exactly the type of service that the Commonwealth Government should be supporting more fully – innovative, online and effective’ he said.

‘By helping kids solve their legal problems, we improve their overall wellbeing and ensure they can get on with their lives. Without an increase in funding, there will be a real impact on children, young people and their parents across Australia’ he added.

Consumers in Financial Stress

The Financial Rights Legal Centre provides free legal assistance to consumers in financial stress across consumer credit, banking, debt recovery and insurance.

‘We helped over 26,500 people with free legal assistance or financial counselling last year. One of our key services is the Insurance Law Service (ILS), a national specialist consumer insurance advice service, which took roughly one third of those calls (8,500). For people facing the double whammy of being seriously ill and then being refused an income protection claim, or having their house burned down only to find they are the subject of suspicion by their insurer, we are the only free, specialist service available in the country. Unfortunately, the future of the ILS remains in question even as demand for the service continues to grow’ said Karen Cox, Coordinator of the Financial Rights Legal Centre.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists and Arts Organisations

Robyn Ayres, CEO of the Arts Law Centre, is concerned about the future of the Artists in the Black program: ‘Our Artists in the Black program provides crucial legal help to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and arts organisations nationally. We help to prevent exploitation, ensuring artists are fairly rewarded for their work and that Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property is respected and protected’ Ms Ayres said.

‘We are extremely concerns that the Artists in the Black program is threatened due to a lack of Commonwealth funding’ she added.

As a result, NACLC calls on the Commonwealth Government to:

1. Reverse the Commonwealth funding cuts to CLCs under the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance amounting to $34.83 million from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2020
2. Provide guaranteed and sustainable funding to national CLCs funded outside the NPA from 1 July 2017 onwards
3. Immediately inject $120 million per year into the broader legal assistance system, including at least an additional $14.4 million per year allocated to CLCs (both NPA and non-NPA funded)
4. Commit to implementing an appropriate process for determining adequate and sustainable longer-term funding contributions for legal assistance in consultation with the sector.

Event alert:

The national centres are involved in and are available to comment on a number of events this week, including:

• Wednesday 8 June 2016: National Arts Election Debate
• Friday 10 June 2016: National Child Rights Taskforce (co-convened by the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre and UNICEF) launch of the Australian Child Rights Progress Report at the Australian Human Rights Commission, including a chapter on access to justice.

To arrange an interview or for more information please contact:

Matthew Keeley, Director, National Children’s and Youth Law Centre, 0434 046 120
Karen Cox, Coordinator, Financial Rights Legal Centre, 0409 835134
Robyn Ayres, CEO, Arts Law Centre, 0404 054 639
Amanda Alford, NACLC Director Policy and Advocacy, 0421 028 645
Jackie Hanafie, NACLC Media Adviser, 0412 652 439