Annual Report 2021 - 2022
Collaborating with our partners
Partnerships and collaboration are essential to achieving our goal of delivering client-centred services and ensuring the most efficient use of resources.
Staff from the Legal Aid NSW Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Program (WDVCAP) and colleagues from Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services (WDVCAS) attend an Aboriginal cultural workshop at their recent conference.
Key achievements
- We reviewed the eligibility criteria for private lawyers representing adults and children in the care and protection system and introduced mandatory training and experience requirements.
- We continued to implement our Private Lawyer Quality Framework, undertaking audits, investigating complaints, and conducting regional visits to hear feedback.
- We supported community legal centres to provide essential disaster response support to local communities following flooding in February 2022.
- We commissioned the biennial Community Legal Services Client Survey which showed client satisfaction with services provided by community legal centres is higher than ever.
- We united Women’s Domestic Violence Advocacy Service staff at a Sydney conference to celebrate their support of 52,729 clients in 2021–2022 and assist them to prepare to undertake a range of crucial projects next year.
The year ahead
- We will review the Legal Aid NSW Panel Service Agreement and Quality Standards to ensure they remain relevant and consistent.
- We will support community legal centres to increase their capacity to help people experiencing or at risk of family and domestic violence and improve access to a range of justice initiatives for First Nations people.
- We will continue to support private lawyers to provide excellent service to clients and proactively monitor the quality of services our clients receive.
- We will improve access to Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services for women who have complex needs, are at serious risk of injury or death and/or who want support at a court hearing.
Key challenge
- Continue to support our partners to provide high-quality legal services.