Legal aid battles funding cuts as COVID-19 and bushfires spark demand

Bushfire victims’ continuing legal fights and COVID-19 have SA’s legal aid services straining under unprecedented pressure.

Government-funded lawyers are experiencing record demand, as people hit by bushfires and COVID-19 continue to battle financial problems.

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) annual report, tabled in state parliament, showed there were a record 19,827 applications for legal aid in 2019-20 – up 9 per cent on the previous year.

Of those, almost 18,000 applications for financial assistance were successful, also a 9 per cent increase.

The report said insurance battles caused by last summer’s bushfires, especially on Kangaroo Island, as well as business, workplace and rental struggles caused by COVID-19 lockdowns, were behind the increase.

LSC director Gabrielle Canny, pictured, said funding for people who could not otherwise afford it was essential for a fair legal system.

“It also ensures we can have confidence in the decisions of courts,” she said.

“We anticipate COVID-19 will only increase the demand for legal assistance as South Australians grapple with a range of problems arising from the pandemic and the economic downturn that is accompanying it.

Legal Services Commission director Gabrielle Canny.

“This includes an increase in domestic violence and family-law problems.”

In her written introduction to the annual report, Ms Canny took aim at State Government funding cuts, which the LSC has battled since 2018.

“The commission continues to feel the impact of State Government funding cuts initiated in 2018, which reduced the commission’s budget by $6.07m over five years,’’ she wrote.

“This year, the State Government has not paid the commission’s funding in advance, resulting in a deficit due to the timing difference.

A government spokeswoman said funding for the LSC was $24m in 2020-21.

She said the government was also providing funding earlier, which has helped the LSC maximise investment returns.

And the LSC would receive an extra $2.3m in federal funding, to assist with the impact of COVID-19, and $200,000 over two years, to help with the increased demand created by the summer bushfires.

In May, federal Attorney-General Christian Porter announced $63.3m in funding for the national legal assistance sector, in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bulk of the LSC’s work is made up of property settlements, fences and retaining wall disputes, intervention orders and motor vehicle property damage.

As well as the legal funding, it provided almost 138,000 legal assistance services in SA last financial year, the bulk of which were questions answered over the phone or online.