Aboriginal Legal Services in crisis over lack of funding

By ERIN MODARO

Aboriginal Legal Services across the country have declared a crisis due to a lack of funding paired with increased demand for legal services in the past 5 years.

Aboriginal Legal Services nationally are calling for $250 million in government funding so they don’t have to cut essential services.

Chair of National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) Karly Warner said to ABC Canberra that since 2018 demand for legal services has increased by more than 100%.

“Core funding from the Commonwealth has declined in real terms,” Warner said.

“At its heart there is an undervaluing of the critical, specialist services that are provided by Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services around the country in the face of rising demand and rising costs.”

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services across Australia are calling for $250m in federal emergency funding.

“The Federal Govt is dedicated to listening to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and this is one way they can demonstrate that.”

— Aboriginal Legal Service (@ALS_NSWACT) April 18, 2023

The Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) represents First Nations peoples in court, offering a multitude of services. NSW and the ACT have over 250 staff working from 25 locations across the state.

In 2015, the services faced a government funding cut of 17% of its yearly budget, equating to $3.15 million lost. The cuts kicked off a campaign to save the organisation, which was ultimately successful.

Now, the ALS is once again raising the alarm about a lack of funding and over-demand for legal services, leading to Warner saying the organisation is on the ‘brink of collapse’.

History and importance

The Aboriginal Legal Service was the first indigenous legal group in Australia, and has a long history of being an influential legal resource for First Nations peoples. It was established in Redfern in 1970 when a group of activists teamed up with UNSW Professor of Law Hal Wootten to open the centre.

Through the 70s and following decades the Aboriginal Legal Service spread across NSW, and eventually nationally, where it began a campaign to reduce incarceration and stop police harassment.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service will be forced to freeze services across thirteen courts in regional areas next month if additional funding is not provided.

“There’s no point in sugar-coating it … this is an extremely dire situation,” Warner said to the ABC.