The Impact of Stagnant Legal Aid Rates on Access to Justice in Australia – JURIST – Commentary
Sophia Richards, fourth-year law student at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and James Trevallion, barrister at the NSW private Bar and co-chair of the Bar Association's Legal Aid Committee, discuss how stagnant Legal Aid rates impede access to justice.. .Access to justice is a foundational principle of the rule of law and is often phrased as requiring “the right of equal access to justice for all” through governments providing “fair, transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and accountable services.” In Australia, this principle was described in Dietrich v. The Queen as “the equal justice for all principle.”LegalAid is an example of an organization created to make access to justice more equitable by providing legal services to those who cannot otherwise afford it. It is a government funded organization providing free legal advice and…