General News
27 September, 2024
Legal aid struggles to meet demand
ARC Justice seeks adequate funding to meet increasing demand for services.
Legal support service, ARC Justice has been forced to turn away hundreds of clients this year, with ongoing funding insecurity severely restricting the organisation’s operations.
Supporting communities across Central Victoria, including Maryborough, the not-for-profit provides free legal information, advice and advocacy aid to thousands of people in need.
This support, however, comes at a cost the organisation is struggling to pay.
In August, ARC Justice joined a nationwide call urging the Federal Government to “fix the funding crisis in the sector”.
As part of the Save Community Legal Centres campaign, the government was asked to “take a leadership role in national funding negotiations and commit to three critical investments”.
These were:
Immediate funding injection of $35 million to address the workforce crisis.
Additional $135 million each year to sustainably address overall community demand.
Additional $95 million each year to fully meet domestic and family violence demand.
Following that, the Federal Government announced $3.9 billion in funding for legal assistance over five years — including an uplift for pay parity for the community legal sector.
On September 18, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus visited ARC Justice’s Bendigo office.
The visit came as ARC Justice chief executive officer Damian Stock praised the government’s commitment to extending funding beyond June 2025, but sought more clarity on how much of the funds will be allocated specifically to community legal centres (CLCs).
“The recent announcement is an important, appreciated step forward and we’re pleased to see pay parity being addressed,” he said.
“But without more detail on how much CLCs will receive, we still don’t know if this will be enough to meet the ever-rising demand for services.
“Despite ARC’s relative stability compared to some other centres, the organisation is struggling to meet the growing demand for legal services in rural and regional Victoria.”
Due to insufficient funding, ARC Justice has turned away over 400 clients in 2024.
“While we never turn away a person at real risk of family violence, due to funding constraints we must limit the range of legal problems we can assist with,” Mr Stock said.
“For example, some people seek assistance with family law issues such as separating, dividing assets or access to children. Some of these legal problems involved family violence earlier on.
“In being unable to offer the full range of help required by these clients, ARC is seeing firsthand the human impact of the funding squeeze.”
Having to decline much-needed support to people is not easy according to Mr Stock, with the service prioritising clients based on funding agreements followed by the most urgent and severe cases.
“[We] focus on those most vulnerable, such as individuals facing housing insecurity or family violence,” he said.
“However, these decisions are never easy, and we seek to tailor resources to a person’s needs so we can provide more fulsome casework and advocacy support to those who need it most.
“It is difficult for ARC Justice staff to know that while they’re doing everything they can, the unmet need remains.
“ARC Justice is acutely aware of the potential consequences, knowing that justice should not be contingent on resource availability.”
Even with the government’s funding commitment, Mr Stock said the organisation would need additional capital.
“It is unclear from the Federal Government announcement how funding will be divided,” he said.
“But we know that the quantum is nowhere near what is needed to meet legal need.
“ARC Justice will continue collaborating with our colleagues across the sector to advocate for long-term sustainability to ensure our communities receive the critical support they need to thrive.”
As the organisation works on securing necessary funding, Mr Stock also acknowledged the community’s efforts in assisting the service reach its goals.
“We’ve had many past clients who have approved of us speaking publicly about the importance of free legal services and the outcomes we’ve achieved for them,” he said.
“We know that while we provide data to funding decision-makers, the story of real people is always most compelling to our local and federal MPs.
“We are very aware that legal problems are deeply personal, and we thank those who have allowed us to communicate the value of our work and the changes we’ve been able to make in people’s lives.”