Legal Aid Crisis

For example grants of legal aid reduced by 10.9% and duty lawyer services reduced by 13.9%: See Victoria Legal Aid (‘VLA’), Eighteenth Statutory Annual Report 2012–2013, iii <http://ar2013.vla.vic.gov.au/sites/default/fles/ar_2012_13.pdf>.

Coumarelos , Legal Australia-Wide (‘LAW’) Survey: Legal need in Australia (2012, Law and Justice Foundation of NSW).

See Legal Aid Act 1978 and <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/>. For a history of Victoria Legal Aid, see Giddings Jeff Noone Mary Anne , ‘Recent developments in legal aid in Victoria’ in Giddings Jeff (Ed), Legal Aid in Victoria: At the Crossroads Again (1998, Fitzroy Legal Service).

VLA, Seventeenth Statutory Annual Report 2011–2012, 48 & 60.

For details of services see <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/get-legal-services-and-advice>.

VLA, ‘Our income and expenditure, 2012–13’ <http://ar2013.vla.vic.gov.au/our-income-and-expenditure>.

National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance (‘NPA’) at <http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/content/national_partnership_agreements/Other/Legal_Assistance_Services_NP.pdf>; also see Warner Bevan , Review of the National Partnership Agreement - an opportunity to iron out the creases (Conference Paper, National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference, March 2013) 9.

NPA Clause 17.

NPA Clause 20; in 2012–13 Information calls to VLA up 7.4%, website visits up 20.6%, referrals to external agencies up 62.1% and community legal education sessions up 18.6%. See VLA, above n 1.

Confirmed in the Law and Justice Foundation's LAW survey, above n 2; for access to all reports see <http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/publications>.

VLA, Strategic Plan 2011–14, 2.

VLA, Seventeenth Statutory Annual Report 2011–2012.

Warner , above n 7, 9; see National Pro Bono Resource Centre, Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Planning for the Legal Profession in Australia, June 2011.

VLA, above n 12, 57.

Australian Council of Social Service, Poverty in Australia: ACOSS Paper 194 2012; <http://acoss.org.au/media/release/one_in_eight_people_living_in_poverty_in_australia_new_report>

Bice Katie , ‘Legal Aid crisis looms Lawyers fear innocent could go to jail’, Herald Sun (Melbourne) 1 December 2012; the actual deficit for 2012–13 was $9.3 million, see VLA, above n 1, 4.

See, eg, ‘Who is eligible for help?’ <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/get-legal-services-and-advice/who-is-eligible-for-help>.

For discussion of use of guidelines in 1990s, see Giddings Noone , above n 3.

These categories of disadvantage for priority in provision of legal services are supported by the recent LAW survey above n 2.

VLA, ‘Changes to duty lawyer services will target those most in need’ <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/changes-to-duty-lawyer-services-will-target-those-most-in-need>.

See VLA, above n 1, 1.

Warner Bevan , Managing Director's message - Increased demand forces guideline changes, 13 December 2012 <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/managing-director%E2%80%99s-message-%E2%80%93-increased-demand-forces-guideline-changes>.

VLA, Increased demand forces changes to legal aid eligibility guidelines' <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/increased-demand-forces-changes-to-legal-aid-eligibility-guidelines>.

For detail of changes see VLA Handbook for lawyers http://handbook.vla.vic.gov.au/handbook:

See VLA, above n 1, 1.

VLA, ‘Preston office closure’ (5 March 2013) <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/preston-office-closure>.

A consequence of the closure was the end to La Trobe University's unique clinical legal education program based at this regional office. For more details on program see: Noone Mary Anne Dickson Judith , Teaching towards a new professionalism: Challenging law students to become ethical lawyers' (2001) 4(2) Legal Ethics 127.

VLA, above n 1.

For example Chief Justice Warren Hon Marilyn , Legal Aid Changes: Shifting the Burden (Speech at 40th Anniversary Forum of Federation of CLCs, Wheeler Centre Melbourne, 4 December 2012) <http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/home/library/speech+-+legal+aid+changes+-+shifting+the+burden>.

Attorney-General, ‘Budget 2013: Increasing access to justice because “everyone deserves a fair go”’ (Media release, 14 May 2013) <http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22media%2Fpressrel%2F2443601%22>.

Lee Jane , ‘Legal aid: “State should pay for 1950s law-and-order policies”’ The Age (Melbourne) 19 April 2013 (quoting Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus).

Noone Mary Anne Tomsen Stephen A , Lawyers in Conflict: Australian Lawyers and Legal Aid (2006, Federation Press).

Ibid 158–166.

Giddings , above n 3, 45

Tang Reynah , Legal Aid cuts put access to justice at risk (2013) 87 (01/02) Law Institute Journal, 4.

VLA, ‘All clients treated equally’ (28 February 2013) <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/all-clients-treated-equally>.

Merritt Chris , ‘Funding stoush leads to duel by press release’, The Australian (Sydney), 1 March 2013; Merritt Chris , ‘VLA Dismisses funding row’, The Australian (Sydney), 7 March 2013.

R v Chaouk [2013] VSC 48; MK v Victoria Legal Aid [2013] VSC 49; Farnsworth Sarah , ‘Judge slams Legal Aid over “false economy”’, 26 February 2013 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-26/judge-slams-legal-aid-over-22false-economy22/4540874>; Vic Government backs Legal Aid over funding cuts, 23 February 2013 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-23/vic-government-supports-legal-aid-cuts/4535798>.

(1992) 177 CLR 292

R v Chaouk [2013] VSCA 99.

VLA, ‘Victoria Legal Aid to introduce more flexibility for criminal trial funding’ (7 May 2013) <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/victoria-legal-aid-to-introduce-more-fexibility-for-criminal-trial-funding>.

See VLA, above n 1, 3 <http://ar2013.vla.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/ar_2012_13.pdf>.

National Legal Aid Advisory Committee, Legal Aid for the Australian Community (1990 AGPS Canberra) 96

Australian Institute of Criminology, Australian crime: Facts and figures 2011, Chapter 7 <http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/facts/1-20/2011/7_resources.html>.

Law Council of Australia, ‘What does this campaign seek to achieve?’ <http://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/lawcouncil/index.php/what-does-this-campaign-seek-to-achieve>.

Ted Baillieu, Victorian Premier, ‘More than 200 PSOs making train stations safer’ (Media release, 23 November 2012); Victorian Deputy Premier/Minister for Police and Emergency Services, ‘Vic Coalition's historic frontline police roll-out continues’ (Joint Media Release, 24 August 2012); allocation of a further 500 police, which totals the 1700 promised by the government by November 2014.

Bucci Nino , ‘Police grapple with challenges as crime rate rises’, The Age (Melbourne), 1 March 2013.

See Butcher Stephen , ‘Lawyer warns of riots in Victoria's overcrowded prisons’, The Age (Melbourne) 17 November 2013 <http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/lawyer-warns-of-riots-in-victorias-overcrowded-prisons-20131116-2xnwe.html>.

For a detailed discussion, see Mitchell Liesl , Domestic violence in Australia: An overview of the issues <http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2011–2012/DVAustralia>.

Ibid 19.

Sexton Reid , ‘Big jump in family violence reports’ The Age (Melbourne), 31 August 2011.

LeGrand Chip Ferguson John ‘Soaring family-related violence linked with drugs and poverty’ The Australian (Sydney), 4 September 2012.

Warner , above n 7, 10.

Ibid.

Neal David , ‘The continuing crisis in our legal aid’, The Age (Melbourne) 18 May 2013 <http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-continuing-crisis-in-our-legal-aid-20130517-2js2m.html>.