MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 6 September 2024
The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited (ALS) welcomes today’s announcement of new funding for domestic and family violence services but says the included legal assistance funding won’t allow ALS to increase services to meet demand.
“Ongoing funding is welcomed, but this must be the first funding commitment to the National Access to Justice Partnership – otherwise, the National Access to Justice Partnership will guarantee that thousands of Aboriginal people will go without legal assistance over the coming years,” said Karly Warner, ALS CEO.
“The ALS welcomes investment to urgently address violence against women and children, but we are still scraping the bottom of the barrel for funding to maintain current services to all clients, including victim-survivors.
“Today’s announcement suggests that we won’t be able to reverse current service freezes at 13 courts in NSW, and that the ALS will remain locked into this funding and workload crisis for at least the next five years.
“At a time when justice targets are already not on track, or going backwards, the Albanese Government must do more to ensure access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“Where are the state and territory contributions? These negotiations are not over, and state and territory governments need to come to the table too.
“Ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have fair access to culturally safe legal assistance is the responsibility of all governments, and if any one government drops the ball, we all suffer,” Ms Warner said.
ENDS
Media contact: Alyssa Robinson [email protected] 0427 346 017
