Chair's report

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which we live and work and I pay my respects to Elders both past and present.

It is my privilege to chair the Board of Legal Aid NSW, and I am pleased to introduce the Legal Aid NSW 2023–24 Annual Report.

This report details the excellent work of Legal Aid NSW during the year. The Board is impressed with the outstanding results achieved in improving services, supporting staff and achieving positive changes in the justice system.

Legal Aid NSW is a values-based organisation committed to justice and fairness. This commitment includes providing free legal services to all people in NSW through the LawAccess contact centre, community legal education, self-help material and duty lawyer services at all Local Courts. While Legal Aid NSW is proud of the high number of services we provide, we are always working on ways to better ensure that the most disadvantaged members of our community are aware of and can access our services.

Legal Aid NSW funds are carefully managed. The Legal Aid Board establishes strict policies in relation to granting legal aid. The policies include means tests, generally a merit test and may refer to conditions to be applied to a grant of aid. These policies are aimed at assisting socially and economically disadvantaged people. In 2023–24 Legal Aid NSW granted aid in 50,650 matters. Of these grants, 32,005 were for criminal matters, 15,154 for family law matters, and 3,491 for civil law matters.

Legal Aid NSW has a well-deserved reputation for excellence thanks to the wonderful work of our staff. A testament to the quality of their work is that 86% of our clients say they would recommend Legal Aid NSW to others.

Legal Aid NSW is supported by a large number of barristers and solicitors who undertake cases for Legal Aid NSW clients at below-market rates. Legal Aid NSW depends on this partnership with the private profession to deliver legal services, and I thank these practitioners for their commitment to the cause of justice and high-quality work. We are acutely aware that remuneration for this work needs to be fair and sustainable in order to maintain our crucial partnership with the private profession. In 2023–24, the Board increased the private lawyer fee scale for Commonwealth criminal law matters to the same rate paid for state matters. The Board also increased the private practitioner fees in family law matters. The impact of these decisions on the Legal Aid NSW budget will be closely monitored. We anticipate that a new National Legal Assistance Partnership Agreement will commence in July 2025. We are working closely with the Commonwealth government to ensure the new agreement allows us to maintain our partnership with the private profession in the delivery of quality legal services to clients of Legal Aid NSW.

Legal Aid NSW is part of a broader legal assistance sector. I acknowledge the crucial work of our NSW legal assistance sector partners, the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited and 32 community legal centres across NSW.

Legal aid is an essential service for a just society. The primary sources of funding for Legal Aid NSW are the state and federal governments. I acknowledge the Hon. Michael Daley MP, NSW Attorney General, and the Hon. Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General of Australia, for their ongoing strong support.

This year was the first year of the Legal Aid Strategic Plan for 2023–2028, and on 30 April 2024, the Board established an evaluation and learning framework to help ensure that the plan delivers the outcomes sought. This framework provides rigour in implementing the initiatives in the strategic plan and will assist the Board in evaluating the outcomes.

On 29 August 2023, the Board endorsed the report on Legal Aid NSW’s Project Respect – Building a Fair, Respectful and Inclusive Workplace. The key actions recommended have been included in the strategic plan. A Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board, chaired by the CEO, has also been established to oversee work in this area.

The Legal Aid NSW Board took note of the decision in Kozarov v Victoria [2022] HCA 12 that considered the obligations of employers to mitigate the risk of psychiatric injury from vicarious trauma experienced at work and considered the relevance of that case to the work undertaken at Legal Aid NSW. The Board commissioned a report on actions taken by Legal Aid NSW in managing the health and wellbeing of staff. We are confident we have a strong overarching framework for managing this risk, which we will continue to monitor and develop.

Almost a quarter of Legal Aid clients are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. It is a matter of deep concern for the Legal Aid NSW Board that Aboriginal people are incarcerated in NSW at 13 times the rate of non-Indigenous people. The Board is committed to action on closing this gap.

The Board supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart. On 29 August 2023, the Board supported the proposed Voice to Parliament. The Board considered that providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a constitutionally recognised Voice to make representations would help in developing solutions for Closing the Gap and advance the cause of reconciliation.

Legal Aid NSW is an active contributor to law reform processes. Our law reform contributions are always informed by our casework experience. We are proud of the contributions we make to policy and law reform discussions, articulating the impact particular policies and laws can have on the most disadvantaged groups in our community. The Board is grateful to the work of the Legal Aid Strategic Law Reform Unit and all our business units for their expert advice and submissions.

Actions to reduce both domestic violence and elder abuse are priorities for the Board. On 20 February 2024, the Board approved the Legal Aid NSW Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Strategy 2024–2025. The strategy focuses on providing high-quality targeted services and equipping our workforce to deliver these services.

The Board approved the Legal Aid NSW Strategic Law Reform Agenda 2024–2025, which is directed at improving conditions and outcomes in the mental health space and improving the NSW social housing system.

During the year, a communication channel was established between all Australian Legal Aid Boards through the respective Chairs. This channel will enable the sharing of information and ideas that may be of common interest.

In August 2023, the Board acknowledged Alexandra Rumore, Senior Solicitor, Disaster Response Legal Service, who won the Anthea Kerr Award at the Premier’s Award Ceremony. The Board has taken a keen interest in the important work of the Disaster Response Legal Service, and we are so pleased that Alexandra’s work has received this recognition.

Thank you to my colleagues on the Board and the members of the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) for your support and your dedication to Legal Aid NSW. The members of the Board and the ARC bring exceptional qualifications, knowledge and experience to their respective roles.

In September 2023, Anna Cody resigned from the Board following her appointment as the Sex Discrimination Commissioner. Anna served on the Board with distinction for eight years. I thank Anna for her contribution to the Board and wish her well.

On behalf of the Board, I acknowledge the outstanding leadership of Monique Hitter and her Executive, and I thank them for their support. The material they provide to the Board is of the highest standard. It is clear to the Board that Monique and her Executive are committed to client service and to supporting their staff in seeking to ensure Legal Aid NSW is the best it can be.

Craig Smith
Chair, Legal Aid NSW