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Fewer families assisted
Date : 15 Oct 2009
Victoria Legal Aid’s annual report tabled in Parliament today reveals that fewer families are being assisted to resolve children’s issues while overall demand for services remains strong.
This year record levels of service were achieved, although a 30 per cent reduction in the past eighteen months in Commonwealth-funded assistance means it is now more difficult to access assistance for a family dispute in Victoria than anywhere else in the country.
“This impacts assistance around children’s living arrangements,” said Victoria Legal Aid managing director, Bevan Warner. “Left unresolved or without someone to help, these are known triggers for violence and intimidation.“
The sharp contraction in the number of families receiving assistance is a result of a tougher means test, introduced in February 2008 to manage available funds. Under Victoria Legal Aid’s agreement with the Commonwealth, it can only use Commonwealth funds to assist people with problems that fall under Commonwealth law, which includes family law.
“With fewer people now eligible for assistance, more people are presenting at court without advice or are left to struggle on alone,” said Mr Warner.
“A jump by ten per cent in duty lawyer services provided to people unrepresented at court follows an upward trend for advice and minor work over the past five years.
“We’ve also seen a thirty-seven per cent increase over the past five years in the number of grants for legal assistance in child protection matters.”
Other notable trends include a marked increase in the number of visits to Victoria Legal Aid’s website, nearly doubling to 614,364 visits. Calls to Victoria Legal Aid’s free legal telephone information and referrals service also jumped, having set up the Bushfire Legal Helpline to assist people affected by the Black Saturday Victorian bushfires.