The National Legal Assistance Partnership 2020-25 (NLAP) has been announced by the Attorney-General Christian Porter, which will see $2 billion distributed between all states and territories for Commonwealth funded legal assistance.
The NLAP builds on the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services 2015-20 (NPA) and incorporates recommendations from recent reviews of the NPA and the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program.
The $2 billion in funding includes:
- $1.2 billion in funding for Legal Aid Commissions
- $284 million for Community Legal Centres
- $441 million for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS)
- $51 million for Domestic Violence Units/Health Justice Partnerships
- $20 million for Family Advocacy and Support Services, and
- $20 million for state and territory governments to administer the NLAP.
The $2 billion includes additional funding of $248 million over five years, which includes $151 million in legal assistance funding that was cut in 2013.
Community Legal Centres Queensland Director Rosslyn Monro said: “The announcement of the NLAP will provide five years of funding certainty to Queensland community legal centres and their communities.
“The investment, while welcome, does not go far enough to meet all the legal needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged Queenslanders.”
The NLAP will commence today, 1 July 2020.