The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW was approached by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice in September 2021 to prepare an assessment of legal needs in the jurisdiction. The purpose of this assessment was to provide a starting point for consultation and inform the development of the NSW Legal Assistance Jurisdictional Strategy and Action Plans and ongoing policy and jurisdictional level planning of legal assistance.

The analysis aims to summarise what we know from legal needs research about the nature and extent of legal needs, and what sources of data can be used to further explore some aspects of that need.

This report comprises three sections:

• Section 1. Summary of the estimated level and nature of legal need in NSW
• Section 2. An assessment of legal needs in NSW (2021)
• Section 3. Legal needs data profiles by Collaborative Service Planning (CSP) area