Annual Report 2021 - 2022
Managing our organisation
We are best placed to meet the needs of our clients when our workforce is highly capable and adequately resourced.
Attendees at the 2022 Legal Aid NSW Family Law and Care and Protection Conference.
Key achievements
- We supported research into the ability of staff to work with clients at risk of suicide and developed tools to help them assist distressed or suicidal clients.
- We partnered with the Behavioural Insights Unit at Customer Service NSW and created a Behavioural Insights Community of Practice to help us better understand and influence client behaviour.
- We developed our award-winning Mentally Healthy Workplace Program, which includes a policy, framework and guide.
- We launched our 2022 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment Guidelines to help us achieve our goal of an 11% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce.
- We launched our new appointment booking system and a new LawAccess NSW customer management system.
- We united WDVCAS staff at a Sydney conference to celebrate their support of 52,729 clients in 2021–2022 and to assist them to prepare to undertake a range of crucial projects next year.
The year ahead
- We will welcome our first cohort of Aboriginal students as part of a three-year program that will provide on-the-job training and a path to study a Juris Doctor.
- We will launch a new combined Legal Aid NSW and LawAccess NSW website that better caters to the needs of our clients.
- We will deliver anti-racism training and training on our sexual harassment and unacceptable behaviour policy and our Aboriginal Cultural Safety Framework.
- We will continue work to improve staff wellbeing at Legal Aid NSW and reduce our environmental impact.
Key challenge
- We will continue to manage psychosocial risk for employees who work on difficult legal matters with vulnerable clients.
- We will continue to improve our digital processes and online presence to create a more streamlined experience for staff, partners and clients.