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Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership: final report
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 Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership: final report
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The National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) is an agreement between Commonwealth and all State and Territory governments, under which the Commonwealth provides funds to legal assistance providers. Not all Commonwealth, State and Territory legal assistance funding is provided through the NLAP.
The NLAP’s objective is to contribute to integrated, efficient, effective and appropriate legal assistance services that, within available resources, focus on improving outcomes and keeping the justice system within reach for vulnerable people facing disadvantage.
Beyond substantial funding increases identified in this report, significant changes are required from all governments, their officials and service providers to achieve NLAP’s intended objectives. The outcomes sought by governments should support access to justice, thereby delivering reduced unmet legal need to the benefit of both the individuals involved and the community as a whole. Thus, the Reviewer’s recommendations seek to shift the focus from ‘legal assistance’ to ‘access to justice’ to increase the intensity of focus on intended outcomes.
Key recommendations:
- Governments should work with service providers and organisations like Victoria Law Foundation and the NSW Law and Justice Foundation to better understand these geographic areas of legal need and the nature and cost of the services needed to efficiently fill any gaps.
- To address the persistent gaps in civil law assistance first identified by the Productivity Commission in 2014, and to help Australians experiencing legal issues as a result of cost of living increases, governments should provide additional funding for civil legal assistance services, including early intervention and mediation, to allow legal assistance providers to offer a greater number of services and prevent unresolved civil matters becoming criminal matters.
- The Reviewer recommends that governments include sufficient funding for legal assistance providers to develop and maintain suitable preparedness to respond to community legal need in the event of natural disasters.
