Publications

Rural, Regional & Remote,

Evaluation of the NDIS Appeals Program Legal Services easy read report

Easy Read: Evaluation of the NDIS Appeals Program Legal Services

Kate Davies,

Sarah Ratcliffe,

Emily Kothe,

Sandra Takchi, | 2025

Uses pictures and words to show how the NDIS Appeals Program helps people with disability to get legal support that they need.

Disability,

An evaluation of the NDIS appeals program legal services report

Research Summary: ‘I would have given up without it’: An evaluation of the NDIS Appeals Program Legal Services

Kate Davies,

Sarah Ratcliffe,

Emily Kothe,

Sandra Takchi, | 2025

Highlights findings from our evaluation of the NDIS Appeals Program Legal Services, and key lessons for improving access to justice for people with disability making an appeal to the Administrative...

Disability,

‘I would have given up without it’: An evaluation of the NDIS Appeals Program Legal Services

Kate Davies,

Sarah Ratcliffe,

Emily Kothe,

Sandra Takchi, | 2025

An Evaluation of the NDIS Appeals Program Legal Services examines the program’s role in supporting access to justice for people with disability navigating the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Disability,

Study of tenancy dispute experience and preparedness at NCAT

Kerryn Butler,

Kate Davies,

Emily Kothe, | 2025

Explore how self-represented individuals experience tenancy disputes at NCAT in this qualitative study. Findings reveal insights into power dynamics in conciliation, gaps in procedural clarity, and the importance of advocacy...

Data-driven insights into NCAT tenancy dispute resolution

Kerryn Butler,

Emily Kothe,

Kate Davies, | 2025

This analysis of nearly 40,000 applications finalised in 2024 provides a unique view into how tenancy matters progress through the Tribunal. The report reveals patterns in dispute resolution, party roles,...

Natural disaster-related legal need: Community Legal Centres and disaster preparedness

Emily Kothe,

Kerryn Butler,

Kate Davies, | 2025

The final stage of a multi-phase research program has now been released, addressing how the legal assistance sector can better support disaster-affected communities in Australia.

Access to justice,

Community Legal Centres,

natural disasters,

NLAS (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples)

Delphine Bellerose,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2024

Updated to complete the suite of NLAS indicators based on the 2021 Census, NLAS(Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples) is intended to support the planning of legal assistance services as...

Indicators of legal need,

NLAS,

Natural disaster-related legal need in Australia: State of the evidence

Emily Kothe,

Kerryn Butler,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2024

This report provides the first comprehensive summary of what is known about disaster-related legal needs in the Australian context and offers new insights to aid in understanding the specific challenges...

Introducing NLAS(Language) – 2021 Census

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Delphine Bellerose, | 2024

This latest addition to the suite of NLAS indicators is intended to support legal assistance service providers in identifying geographic areas where there is potential demand for translator and interpreter services.

Indicators of legal need,

NLAS,

Data to inform assessment of legal needs in New South Wales

Delphine Bellerose,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Michaela Mournehis,

Kerryn Butler, | 2023

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of some information and data sources that are useful to consider in conducting a legal needs assessment in New South...

Assessing legal need,

An analysis of Legal Aid service data: two Jurisdictional Profiles

Delphine Bellerose, | 2022

This report presents an analysis of Legal Aid service delivery data in NSW (2018-19) and the NT (2020-21). This report aims to showcase the work of Legal Aid services in...

Legal Assistance Services Outcomes Frameworks: A Rapid Scoping Review

Kerryn Butler, | 2022

The successful use of outcomes frameworks as part of an outcomes-based approach to service design has many benefits by putting people's needs at the centre of design and delivery. An...

Outcomes,

Using court data to support planning legal assistance for First Nations people (Data insights in justice)

Delphine Bellerose,

Christine Coumarelos,

Geoff Mulherin, | 2021

To enable legal assistance services to appropriately structure available resources and plan most effectively to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system, it is important to...

Criminal Justice,

Locating legal assistance demand: using courts data to support legal service planning for First Nations people in NSW

Delphine Bellerose,

Geoff Mulherin,

Terence Beed,

Maria Karras, | 2021

This project aimed to support service planning for the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Ltd (ALS) by sourcing and analysing relevant data and devising a proxy indicator for demand for legal...

Criminal Justice,

An Assessment of Legal Needs in NSW

Delphine Bellerose,

Kerryn Butler,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Geoff Mulherin, | 2021

The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW was approached by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice in September 2021 to prepare an assessment of legal needs in the jurisdiction....

Assessing legal need,

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families in Australian Coroners Courts: A review of the research literature on improving court experiences

Kerryn Butler, | 2021

Coroners courts in many jurisdictions throughout Australia are seeking ways to ensure their processes and practices are culturally sensitive, particularly for supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands families. This report...

Client Groups,

Coroners Court,

Law informed: The value of telephone legal information services to clients

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Maria Karras,

Sarah Randell, | 2020

Do telephone legal information services fill a valuable place in the legal assistance landscape? Under its Research Alliance with Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), the Law and Justice Foundation followed up...

Other models of service delivery,

Housing-related problems and enquiries to legal assistance services in NSW (Data insights in justice)

Delphine Bellerose,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2020

Understanding the characteristics of people who experience housing-related legal problems, such as their age, gender and Indigenous status, is important when planning legal assistance services. The LAW Survey and the...

Enquiries to legal assistance services,

Housing & homelessness,

LAW survey,

Legal Issues,

Employment-related problems and enquiries to legal assistance services in NSW (Data insights in justice)

Sarah Randell,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2020

Understanding the characteristics of people who experience employment-related legal problems, such as their age, gender and Indigenous status, is important when planning legal assistance services. The LAW Survey and the...

Enquiries to legal assistance services,

Employment,

LAW survey,

Community Legal Centres National Picture, 2018-19

Delphine Bellerose,

Geoff Mulherin, | 2020

This report provides a comprehensive national snapshot of the valuable services provided by Community Legal Centres. Commissioned by the Commonwealth Attorney-Generals Department, it is the first time such a comprehensive...

Access to justice and the COVID-19 pandemic

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW,

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), | 2020

This policy brief, co-authored by the OECD and the Law & Justice Foundation of NSW, focuses on the immediate and medium-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis for justice systems and...

Access to justice,

Disaster response,

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services National Picture, 2018-19

Delphine Bellerose,

Geoff Mulherin, | 2020

This report provides a comprehensive national snapshot of the valuable services provided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILSs). Commissioned by the Commonwealth Attorney-Generals Department, it is the...

Developing a triage framework: linking clients with services at Legal Aid NSW

Christine Coumarelos,

Hugh McDonald, | 2019

Triage refers to the practice of responding to and sorting the people's legal problems on their degree or type to channel them to the appropriate service. The purpose of triage...

Other models of service delivery,

Triage,

Victoria Legal Aid: Information services literature scan

Sarah Randell, | 2018

The purpose of this literature scan was to locate and summarise the available research evidence on information services, with a focus on what contributes to effective legal information. Victoria Legal...

Other models of service delivery,

Legal Aid NSW Domestic Violence Unit: process evaluation of the first nine months

Christine Coumarelos,

Suzie Forell,

Amanda Wilson,

Maria Karras, | 2018

The Legal Aid NSW DFV Strategy 2016-2018 aligns with government policies and priorities to ensure people who are affected by DFV receive high quality, client-centred and holistic services. The DVU...

Domestic Violence,

Family and domestic abuse,

Data insights in civil justice: NSW Supreme Court

Suzie Forell,

Christine Coumarelos,

Amanda Wilson, | 2018

The final of nine reports in the series, which encompasses the Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), and the Land and Environment Court. For...

Data insights in civil justice: NSW Land and Environment Court

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Sarah Randell, | 2018

One of nine reports in the series, which encompasses the Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), and the Land and Environment Court. For each...

In summary: evaluation of the appropriateness and sustainability of Victoria Legal Aid’s Summary Crime Program

Hugh McDonald,

Amanda Wilson,

Zhigang Wei,

Sarah Randell,

Suzie Forell, | 2017

In summary: evaluation of the appropriateness and sustainability of Victoria Legal Aid's Summary Crime Program evaluates whether, following changes to the program in 2012-2013, VLA`s SCP is appropriate to client...

Criminal Justice,

What works | Access to Justice,

Data insights in civil justice: NSW District Court

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Suzie Forell,

Sarah Randell, | 2017

One of nine reports in the series, which encompasses the Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), and the Land and Environment Court. For each...

Data insights in civil justice: NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal – Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division & Occupational Division (NCAT Part 3)

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2016

The Department of Justice NSW is seeking to optimise the use of civil court and tribunal data for evidence-based decision-making, specifically the civil divisions of the Local, District and the...

Data insights in civil justice: NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal – Guardianship Division (NCAT Part 4)

Maria Karras,

Sarah Williams, | 2016

The Department of Justice NSW is seeking to optimise the use of civil court and tribunal data for evidence-based decision-making, specifically the civil divisions of the Local, District and the...

Data insights in civil justice: NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal – Appeal Panel (NCAT Part 5)

Sarah Williams,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2016

The Department of Justice NSW is seeking to optimise the use of civil court and tribunal data for evidence-based decision-making, specifically the civil divisions of the Local, District and the...

Data insights in civil justice: NSW Local Court

Suzie Forell,

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2016

In summary: evaluation of the appropriateness and sustainability of Victoria Legal Aid's Summary Crime Program evaluates whether, following changes to the program in 2012-2013, VLA's SCP is appropriate to client...

Collaborative Planning Resource – Service Planning

Christine Coumarelos,

Hugh McDonald,

Suzie Forell,

Zhingang Wei, | 2015

The Foundation developed the Collaborative Planning Resource (CPR) in support of the 2015 National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services (NPA) between the Commonwealth of Australia and the states/territories. It...

Assessing legal need,

Community legal education,

Community legal education and information at Legal Aid NSW: activities, costs and future planning

Suzie Forell,

Hugh McDonald, | 2015

This report profiles Legal Aid NSW's community legal education and information (CLEI) activities over a 12-month period to 30 September 2014, and discusses issues in costing CLEI. This is the...

Legal education,

The development of the Legal Assistance Service Data Digest and Data Digest Online

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Stephanie Ramsey, | 2014

This paper reports on a project by the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales to develop a database and associated online application to facilitate access to data on...

Access to and use of services,

Reshaping legal assistance services: building on the evidence base: a discussion paper

Pascoe Pleasence,

Christine Coumarelos,

Suzie Forell,

Hugh McDonald, | 2014

This report draws on more than a decade of empirical research evidence - together with current experience of service providers - to inform the design and delivery of efficient and...

Regional & Remote,

Rural,

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse,

Reaching in by joining-up: evaluation of the legal assistance partnership between Legal Aid NSW and Settlement Services International

Hugh McDonald,

Suzie Forell,

Zhigang Wei,

Sarah Williams, | 2014

In March 2013, Legal Aid NSW and Settlement Services International entered into a partnership to provide legal services to people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds who are disadvantaged....

Immigration and Refugees,

What works | Access to Justice,

Access to and use of services,

Lawyer availability and population change in regional, rural and remote areas of NSW

Michael Cain,

Deborah Macourt,

Geoff Mulherin, | 2014

This research is the second of two studies undertaken by the Law and Justice Foundation into the availability of solicitors in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas of New South...

Lawyers,

Regional & Remote,

Rural,