Lawyer groups warn funding crisis could leave vulnerable Australians without legal support
Legal Aid NSW has announced significant cuts to its family law representation services, citing growing demand and insufficient federal funding under the latest federal budget.
The agency announced that from 1 July, eligibility for representation in parenting and property proceedings will be limited to domestic violence victims and Aboriginal people. Further changes are expected later this year, including restrictions on appearances by Independent Children’s Lawyers in final hearings unless one or both parties are self-represented.
Executive Director of Family Law Katie Kelso said the organisation was facing mounting pressure from increasing demand and limited resources. “Pressure on Legal Aid NSW’s funding has reached crisis levels. We are facing unprecedented demand for our services, with family law advice services growing 30 per cent in the last three years,” Kelso said.
Kelso further said funding provided under the National Access to Justice Partnership was insufficient to maintain existing service levels. “As a government agency, Legal Aid NSW has limited resources and we must now make difficult choices about how those resources are used,” she said.
Legal Aid NSW acknowledged the tighter eligibility criteria would affect vulnerable groups including people with disability, people experiencing mental illness and non-English speakers who may struggle to navigate family law proceedings without legal representation.
The announcement follows criticism from both the Law Society of NSW and the Law Council of Australia over the lack of additional legal assistance funding in the federal budget.
Law Society president Ronan MacSweeney warned the funding outcome would severely disrupt access to justice and place additional pressure on the courts. “Legal aid commissions form an indispensable part of the nation’s justice system, ensuring that the rule of law can extend to all Australians no matter their level of income, location or background,” MacSweeney said.
He said while domestic violence victims and Aboriginal people required ongoing support, many other low-income and vulnerable individuals would be left without assistance in family law matters. “Our courts are already under pressure, and continued lack of adequate resourcing for Legal Aid NSW for family law matters will adversely affect efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and vulnerable parties appearing before it,” MacSweeney said.
Law Council of Australia President Tania Wolff likewise criticised the federal budget. “This will impact vulnerable older people, people with disability and people who do not speak English. This is not a warning about the future. It is happening in weeks,” Wolff said.
She said legal assistance services were essential public infrastructure and warned that underfunding was increasing the risk of delays, inefficiencies and miscarriages of justice. “The rule of law means nothing if we cannot keep a child safe in the justice system. It is long past time the government funded these services as the essential infrastructure they are,” Wolff said.
The Law Council said budget measures, including funding for protection visa matters, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) appeals and family violence cross-examination programs, failed to address broader funding pressures facing legal assistance services across Australia.
Legal Aid NSW said it would continue advocating for sustainable funding and that the service reductions could be reconsidered if additional funding became available.
