Crossbenchers in parliament have told the country’s attorneys-general they must “act now” to fill an urgent funding gap to help women fleeing domestic violence.
The group of crossbenchers is urging the top federal and state legal officers to commit an additional $174 million to support the country’s community legal services which are buckling under a heavy workload.They say they are making the demands after the Albanese government’s May budget allegedly failed to meet recommendations of a recent review into the sector.
The inquiry painted a picture of frontline services struggling to meet growing community needs, as vulnerable woman and indigenous people were unable to access legal assistance.
In the May budget, the government committed $41 million for the legal assistance sector, leaving a $174 million shortfall, the MPs said in an open letter to state and territory attorneys-general.
That funding gap will leave vulnerable people with nowhere to turn for help, family violence prevention advocates, First Nations groups and the community legal sector have said.
“Over 52,000 women facing domestic violence were turned away from legal services last year due to capacity shortages in the sector,” the MPs wrote in the open letter.
Gunnai Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung Senator Lidia Thorpe is one of the signatories and said people are at risk of further harm.
“The government must act now,” she said.
“Everyday they delay, more people are being denied justice and put in danger.”
In 2022-23, legal services helped more than 420,000 clients and 52 per cent of those services were accessed by women, according to the ABS.
The Warren Mundy independent review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership, which provides for legal services for the vulnerable who can not afford their own lawyers, reported its findings earlier this year.
Dr Mundy provided 39 recommendations to the state and territories attorneys-general.
The main recommendation was an investment of $215 million into legal aid services in the financial year just started, the letter said.
Twenty-three crossbench parliamentarians signed the letter ahead of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General quarterly meeting later on Friday.
