The crushing demand on Ballarat duty lawyer services will only grow worse if further funding investments are not made in the near future, Victoria Legal Aid’s annual report has revealed.
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With demand for legal help increasing faster than supply, concerns have been raised that even more Ballarat residents will miss out on the legal help they require if additional funding is not allocated to the legal assistance sector.
With a high demand of unmet legal needs in Ballarat and the Central Highlands region, Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) lawyers are being forced to prioritise the most vulnerable people facing the most serious consequences.
VLA services and innovation executive director Peter Noble said many of the services provided by VLA were stretched “wafer thin”.
“Additional investment is needed to simply ensure that existing services are staffed in a sustainable way so that staff do not burn out, and to allow us to address areas that are currently stretched too thin and ensure clients receive a high-quality, appropriate and effective service for their needs,” he said.
He said it was vital for state and commonwealth governments to provide additional funding, particularly in regional areas, to avoid further postcode injustice.
“VLA’s ability to provide effective services in regional and outer-metropolitan regions is hampered by the increased barriers to access in these areas,” Mr Noble said.
“Improving access to justice in Victoria must include ensuring courts and related support services in regional and outer-metropolitan areas are adequately resourced and available on an equal basis regardless of physical location.”
Family violence victims were among those who missed out on legal assistance, with lawyers only being able to help approximately 40 per cent of people during intervention order applications.
There were 1680 legal assistant grants in the Ballarat region over the past year, an eight per cent increase on the year before. Grants for aid in criminal cases in Ballarat were also up by the same amount.
Despite the challenges, VLA lawyers helped more than 86,000 people over the past 12 months, with almost 3000 in Ballarat alone.
The annual report mirrored findings of the Victorian Government’s Access to Justice Review which VLA made submissions to earlier this year calling for an additional $72 million investment to the state’s legal assistance sector.
VLA managing director Bevan Warner said delivering legal aid on a limited budget was difficult, particularly with funding already stretched to the limit.
“In the coming year we expect duty lawyers to once again experience immense pressure because of the number of people being brought to court,” he said.
“It is not possible to assist everyone, and deciding who and how to help people in a busy court setting can be very stressful for staff and clients.
“Additional investment is paramount to reduce the crushing pressure on existing services and to ensure we can cope with the increasing demand, now and into the future.”