Operations and performance

Our key organisational goal is to provide legal help to disadvantaged clients with diverse needs. Our three in-house practice areas work alongside private practitioners, sector stakeholders and teams with specialist skills to ensure the best possible outcomes.

Key achievements

• We launched our new co-branded Legal Aid NSW and LawAccess NSW website, delivering digital solutions to improve access for our clients. 
• We continue to pursue our commitment to Closing the Gap, including finalising guidelines for the Family Law Service for Aboriginal Communities (FamAC).
• We launched the expanded Family Advocacy and Support Services (FASS). 
• We worked with stakeholders to advocate for the new NSW Drug Court in Dubbo.
• We continued to develop and maintain strong partnerships within the justice sector. This year, we have continued our close partnership with the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) through the Legal Assistance for Families: Partnership Agreement and the expansion of Youth Koori Court.
• We uplifted our cyber security, including rolling out multifactor authentication for panels, our learning management system, Grants Online and the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Program.

The year ahead

• We will implement the first year of the Legal Aid NSW Strategic Plan 2023–28.
• We will continue to monitor the progress of Project Respect, including through the Racism and Inclusion Special Consultative Committee.

Key challenges

• The independent review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) 2020-2025 commissioned by the Commonwealth Attorney-General, is a critical opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness and value of our legal assistance services and to demonstrate the challenges faced by us and sector in providing legal services to those who need it most.