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Peak bodies agree it is an encouraging first step towards ending the funding crisis threatening local legal services and jobs.
The announcement comes amid national negotiations between federal, state, and territory governments on a new national funding agreement for legal assistance services, including community legal centres, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services, Legal Aid Commissions, and Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services.
The community legal sector has called for funding security with the current 5-year agreement expiring on 30 June 2025.
The $3.9 billion announced today confirms the Commonwealth’s ongoing commitment to legal assistance funding and includes an additional $800 million over five years to be split across all legal assistance providers over the life of the next agreement.
Community legal centres will only receive a fraction of this amount.
The impact of chronic underfunding over the last decade has pushed many local services to the brink of closure and led to poor pay and conditions for staff supporting local community members.
In 2023, community legal centres turned away over 1,000 people a day nationally, including at least 340 victim-survivors of domestic and family violence.
The Save Community Legal Centres Campaign is calling on the Federal Government to save the community legal sector and provide fair pay and conditions.
CEO of Caxton Legal Centre, Cybele Koning says
“We assist over 25,000 people per annum. Close to 50% of our clients are affected by domestic and family violence.
Community legal centres like ours across Australia who respond to a broad range of legal issues – family law, child protection, consumer credit and debt, employment, criminal law, sexual harassment, elder abuse – we need funding to respond to this alarming rate of domestic and family violence."