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19 Torrens St Braddon
ACT 1612 || GPO Box 1989
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone +61 2 6246 3788
Facsimilie +61 2 6248 0639
MR3909
8 December 2009
Law Council Supports Calls for
Improvements to Access to Justice
The Law Council has backed the findings of a Senate Committee report
which reveals that
legal service providers, such as legal aid commissions,
are not sufficiently providing Australian citizens with access to justice.
Law Council President John Corcoran said, “The committee has presented
a damning report on the current funding levels provided to legal assistance
service providers.”
“This situation must be urgently
addressed by the Commonwealth
Government to ensure the best interests of children and socially
disadvantaged members of the community,” Mr Corcoran said.
In its report released today, the Senate Legal and Constitutional References
Committee unanimously recommended that the federal, state and territory
governments review existing
funding
arrangements for
legal aid
commissions, community legal centres and Indigenous legal services.
“Low income earners who are denied legal assistance due to the shortage
of legal aid funding are forced to go elsewhere to try to obtain help, or to
conduct their own cases without legal representation, or to simply give up,”
Mr Corcoran said.
“People are increasingly being forced to represent themselves in difficult
family law matters or to live with a criminal record that may be undeserved.
This can lead to loss of employment opportunities and poor housing as well
as increased costs to the community at large through a greater demand for
health and social security payments,” he said.
“The committee points out that the legal system is currently afloat, due to a
considerable amount of goodwill
(from the legal profession), which could
evaporate at any time –
and the Law Council wholeheartedly agrees with
this concern.”
“The Law Council
is looking forward to the Government addressing this
crucial issue by way of a long overdue injection of funds for access to justice
in the next Federal Budget,” Mr Corcoran concluded.
Media Contact:
Elenore Eriksson, Director Public Affairs
P. 02 6246 3716 || M. 0419 269 855
The Law Council of Australia exists to represent the legal
profession at the national level, to speak on behalf of its constituent
bodies on national issues, and to promote the administration of
justice, access to justice and general improvement of the law.
NEWS 
