Reverse the funding cuts to community legal centres
The key campaign ‘asks’ for the Commonwealth Government include:
Published on the 04 May 2017
Reverse the funding cuts
1. Reverse the $12.1 million (30%) funding cut to Community Legal Centres nationally in 2017-2018, the $11.6 million (27%) cut in 2018-2019, and the $11.13 million (26%) cut in 2019-2020 (amounting to a $34.83 million cut over the period 2017-18 to 2019-2020) under the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services.
Immediate injection of additional funding
2. In addition to reversing the funding cuts, implement the Productivity Commission’s recommendation from its Access to Justice Arrangements Inquiry and provide an immediate injection of $120 million per year additional funding into the legal assistance sector, including at a minimum an additional $14.4 million per year to community legal centres.
Long-term investment
3. Commit to implementing an appropriate process for determining adequate and sustainable longer-term funding contributions to the legal assistance sector by Federal and State and Territory Governments, in consultation with the sector and informed by robust data and evidence.