CEO's report

Introduction

I acknowledge and pay my respects to the Traditional Owners and Custodians on whose land we live and work.

It is my pleasure to present Legal Aid NSW’s annual report for 2023–24.

Cultural competence and diversity at Legal Aid NSW

We are proud of the work we have done this year to continue building cultural competence and diversity across Legal Aid NSW. The new Respectful Workplace Support Team has commenced and is finalising the implementation of our anti-racism and anti-discrimination policies. The new team will implement new procedures for handling complaints and grievances following recommendations from our Project Respect report. We have finalised our new Cultural Competency and Diversity Framework and have begun implementation. Significant work has been completed on our Disability Inclusion Action Plan and our Aboriginal Employment and Career Development Strategy, and we look forward to launching and implementing this work in 2024–25. The diversity and inclusion program of work is a key priority for the Legal Aid NSW Executive.

Staff wellbeing

Staff wellbeing has continued to be a strong focus for the Legal Aid NSW Executive this year. We have delivered training to key leaders across the organisation to develop an understanding of psychosocial risk, rolled out onsite Employee Assistance Programs, delivered training in preventing and recognising vicarious trauma and run training sessions for mental health first aid officers and wellbeing champions, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and first aid officers. Staff wellbeing is an ongoing priority for 2024–25.

Digital transformation and corporate strategy

The Digital Transformation Team is collaborating on projects with a wide range of teams across the organisation. This work includes Project Delta, which will transform the grants management system, put clients at the centre of the process and make our systems smoother for in-house staff and private practitioners. We are transforming our HR systems and processes, which will include improving our recruitment and onboarding processes and pathways for staff career development. We are engaged in a program to improve our information and communication technology (ICT) systems and ensure staff have access to the best tools possible to deliver services to our clients. We are committed to continuing to modernise and improve our corporate service functions and this will continue to be a priority in the coming year. The Law Access Team is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to more effectively provide legal information to the public, which will reduce hold times and improve the customer experience.

Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) and private practitioner fees

The independent review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) was released in May this year. We welcomed the report and its acknowledgment of significant underfunding across the legal assistance sector.

We look forward to continuing to work with both the state and Commonwealth governments to ensure urgently needed investment is made across the legal assistance sector nationally. We have identified a number of key areas where we see investment as most urgent, including the expansion of family and civil law grants and increasing private practitioner fees. We welcomed the NSW Government’s 2024 budget announcement, allowing Legal Aid NSW to maintain the increase in private practitioner fees provided in July 2023 for another four years. We will continue to work with the government to ensure a strong ongoing partnership with the private profession.

For more information, see Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership 2020-25 on the Attorney-General's Department website.

Closing the Gap

Legal Aid NSW has continued its ongoing commitment to addressing the National Agreement on Closing the Gap by including Closing the Gap (CTG) in the Strategic Plan 2023–2028, and through the identification of projects and initiatives that address CTG’s socio-economic targets and outcomes. The CTG Project Board and Working Group are currently overseeing projects including the Aboriginal Women on Remand Project, the enhancement of the Aboriginal Field Officer Program, the redevelopment of the Aboriginal Client Services Strategy, and reviewing and updating the Best Practice Standards for Representing Aboriginal Clients to ensure we continue to provide culturally safe and high-quality services to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

National Legal Aid initiatives

Over the last year, Legal Aid NSW has continued to play a leading role in the delivery of two National Legal Aid initiatives: the Defence and Veterans Legal Service (DAVLS) and the Your Story Disability Legal Support service. These services ran in parallel with the Disability Royal Commission and the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. These services (delivered by Legal Aid NSW in collaboration with legal aid commissions across Australia) supported people in making submissions to the royal commissions and resolving legal problems. DAVLS and Your Story each delivered about 7,000 free legal services.

Legal Aid NSW, along with National Legal Aid, continues to advocate for the creation of national services that enable legal aid commissions to deliver cohesive and specialised support to disadvantaged groups across Australia.

Legal Assistance for Families: Partnership Agreement

The Legal Assistance for Families Partnership Agreement (LAFPA) is an agreement between Legal Aid NSW, the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited and the Department of Communities and Justice. Legal Aid NSW has led this new way of working where all families, particularly Aboriginal families, are guided toward early legal advice if there is a risk of a child being removed from their care. When families access quality, culturally safe legal advice before court, the results can be extraordinary. Under this landmark agreement, more than 900 families in NSW have been referred to receive early legal advice to help prevent their children being taken into care.

For more information, see Legal Assistance for Families Partnership Agreement (LAFPA).

Strategic law reform work

Last year, we saw an increase in the amount of law reform work in which we are engaged. The Strategic Law Reform Unit works closely with practitioners to contribute to current law reform by both proactively engaging and providing input when requested. We bring a unique perspective to law reform as our work in this area is always informed by our casework. Examples this year have included urgent engagement on the Bail and Crimes Amendment Bill 2024 and the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) and Other Legislation Amendment (Knife Crime) Bill 2024. Across all practice areas, the amount of law reform activity has increased significantly, and I acknowledge the work of the Strategic Law Reform Unit alongside practice area solicitors who engage with law reform work over and above their day-to-day legal practice.

Year ahead

We have renewed our commitment to Closing the Gap in 2024–25. We will explore opportunities to continue our work by building relationships and partnering with Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations, incorporating data sovereignty principles into our work, and continuing to implement culturally appropriate and best practice service delivery for Aboriginal people and communities across the state.

We are pleased to be establishing two new services targeting priority client groups. We are establishing a multidisciplinary legal service in the Family Law Division, focused on children and young people who have experienced out-of-home care, and an accessible, trauma-informed legal support service for people with disabilities and their families and carers, assisting with issues such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and access to healthcare in prisons.

We will enhance services in Moree by conducting close consultations with the community to respond to service gaps, which will include opening a shopfront satellite office with permanent Aboriginal staff.

We will continue the implementation of the strategic plan, focusing on wellbeing, cultural competence and diversity, and digital transformation.

Our staff

While this report highlights some of our priorities and major achievements, this work is only possible due to the dedication, hard work and resilience of all of our 1,772 staff across the organisation. Our lawyers achieve outstanding results in courts, tribunals and alternative dispute resolution forums across NSW every day. This work would not be possible without the support of our allied professionals and the myriad of teams across Legal Aid NSW who ensure our systems run smoothly, our people are supported, and our clients receive the highest quality legal services. Without all your expertise, diligence and teamwork, the achievements we celebrate would not be possible. I thank you for your commitment to Legal Aid NSW and our clients.

Thank you

I would also like to thank private practitioners on our panels, without whom we could not deliver the services we do across the state. In 2023–24, we delivered 561,064 services across NSW – an increase of nearly 10 percent on the previous year. Private practitioners provided 87,843 duty services and worked on 28,667 cases. We thank you and acknowledge the important work you do.

We are part of a broader legal assistance sector. I acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our legal assistance sector partners, the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited and community legal centres across NSW.

Long-standing and highly valued Board member Anna Cody resigned in September 2023, having been appointed Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner. We congratulate Anna on her appointment and thank her for her eight years of service on the Legal Aid NSW Board.

I thank the Legal Aid NSW Board for their invaluable stewardship, expertise and guidance over the past year. I look forward to the coming year, building on our successes and focusing on opportunities that lie ahead.

Finally, I would like to thank the Legal Aid NSW Executive and executive officers and assistants for their dedication to supporting our organisation, the talent and skill they bring to their roles, and the strong collegiate support they provide to me and each other on a daily basis.

Monique Hitter
CEO, Legal Aid NSW