The organisation acknowledges the shift as a 'potential game changer'
The Local Court of New South Wales (NSW) has published its strategic plan for 2023-26 with an emphasis around a shift towards therapeutic justice – a transition welcomed by the Law Society of NSW as as a "potential game changer".
The Local Court's strategic plan focuses on the court's commitment to positively contributing to the work being done concerning the "Closing the Gap Targets" by expanding therapeutic and restorative justice initiatives, innovating and improving court operations, and increasing initiatives to support judicial well-being.
The Local Court emphasised that therapeutic justice means that considerations of punishment, denunciation and deterrence should be balanced against an analysis of the root causes of offending behaviour and involves considering what opportunities exist for addressing these factors through diversion, treatment, and rehabilitation.
The Local Court's shift to therapeutic justice is consistent with the Law Society President Cassandra Banks' Priority for 2023 to 'advocate for increased diversion for vulnerable cohorts in the criminal justice system' and elements of the Law Society's 2023 Election Platform.
By supporting programs that contribute to 'closing the gap,' the Local Court aims to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Law Society has long advocated that delivering legal services to these communities requires a holistic approach, incorporating therapeutic and other support services. Among the initiatives endorsed by the Law Society are the expansion of Circle Sentencing, the Youth Koori Court, the Walama List, and other diversionary programs like the Drug Court and the Magistrates Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) program.
The strategic plan also includes provisions for enhancing physical and digital infrastructure within the Local Court. The adoption of Audio-Visual Link technology, pioneered during the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to facilitate better access to justice and improve efficiency in the long term. This technology has been acknowledged in the Law Society's report, "A fair post-COVID justice system," published in January last year. The report resulted from the feedback from 1,500 solicitor members of the Law Society about how COVID-related justice measures affected their law practices.
As the Local Court gears up to implement its strategic plan, the Law Society, informed by the work of its expert Policy and Practice Committees, looks forward to continuing to work with the Local Court on improving efficiency and access to justice in Australia’s “busiest court.”
