Evidence Bank

Legal assistance research & evaluation,

What works | Access to Justice,

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...

Legal assistance research & evaluation,

Other models of service delivery,

Taking justice into custody: the legal needs of prisoners

Anne Grunseit,

Suzie Forell,

Emily McCarron, | 2008

This report describes a study conducted by the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales (the Foundation) on the legal needs and access to justice of prisoners in New...

Other priority groups,

Prisoners,

Collaboration and partnership,

Gateways to the law, an exploratory study of how non-profit agencies assist clients with legal problems

Sue Scott,

Caroline Sage, | 2001

Gateways to the Law is an in-depth exploration of how a range of non-profit agencies in New South Wales go about assisting clients with legal problems, and what issues they...

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...

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,

Service data,

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples,

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,

Timing of disaster-related legal assistance in New South Wales: Trends in service utilisation for common legal problems following flood and bushfire

Emily Kothe,

Kerryn Butler,

| 2025

Originally published in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management, AIDR (CC BY 4.0). This study examines legal service use after disasters, analysing statewide data across six issue categories (insurance, grants,...

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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,

Immigration Advice and Rights Centre: website evaluation and needs analysis

Sarah Ellison,

Julia Perry, | 2002

This research study evaluated the Immigration Advice and Right Centre (IARC) website in relation to the needs of potenial and current users of the site.

Immigrants and refugees,

Technology,

Future directions for pro bono legal services in New South Wales

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2002

This research project assessed the need for greater co-ordination of pro bono services in New South Wales, and a proposal to improve the structure, organisation and delivery of pro bono...

Lawyers,

Pro bono,

Recruitment and retention of lawyers in regional, rural and remote New South Wales

Suzie Forell,

Michael Cain,

Abigail Gray, | 2010

Public legal services for disadvantaged people in NSW have reported difficulties in recruiting and retaining solicitors in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas. Difficulties are also reported in attracting sufficient...

Lawyers,

Regional & Remote,

Rural,

Legal Australia-Wide Survey: Legal need in New South Wales

Christine Coumarelos,

Deborah Macourt,

Julie People,

Hugh McDonald,

Zhigang Wei,

Reiny Iriana,

Stephanie Ramse, | 2012

The Legal Australia-Wide Survey (LAW Survey) provides the first comprehensive quantitative assessment across Australia of an extensive range of legal needs on a representative sample of the population. It examines...

Legal need surveys,

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,

By the people, for the people? Community participation in law reform

Natalina Nheu,

Hugh McDonald, | 2010

This study is part of a research program undertaken by the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales concerning the access to justice and legal needs of disadvantaged people...

Disadvantage,

Law reform,

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,

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...

Cover image of A balancing act: Lawyers’ views on access to justice in regional, rural and remote New South Wales

A balancing act: Lawyers’ views on access to justice in regional, rural and remote NSW

Delphine Bellerose,

Sarah E. Ratcliffe,

Kate Davies, | 2025

Insights into delivering justice across regional, rural and remote NSW, drawing on practitioner experience to highlight how place, distance and local context shape legal outcomes.

Rural, Regional & Remote,

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 assistance research & evaluation,

Legal education,

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...

Assessing Impact,

Outcomes,

Access to justice roundtable: proceedings of a workshop, July 2002

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2003

The roundtable was held by the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW and the Social Justice Project, University of NSW. It includes the papers presented, an report of discussions in...

Email law: a planning guide for the delivery of free legal assistance via email

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2001

The guide is primarily for government and community organisations that provide free legal assistance where a client relationship has not been established. It is designed to help them consider how...

Technology,

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,...

Personal injury problems: new insights from the Legal Australia-Wide Survey, Justice issues paper 22

Christine Coumarelos,

Genevieve Grant,

Zhigang Wei, | 2017

This paper uses data from the LAW Survey to shed light on four different types of personal injury problems that are likely to be justiciable or have legal aspects -...

Injury,

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...

Disaster response,

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,

Claiming under the Motor Accidents Scheme

Ted Wright,

Ann Eyland,

Jamie Cox,

Law Foundation (Justice Research Centre), | 1998

The aim of the study was to understand the significance of legal cost within the Scheme and to examine the relationship between legal cost and the process of resolving claims....

Civil law,

Costs and fees,

Procedural reform,

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples,

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,

Planning legal outreach

Pascoe Pleasence,

Christine Coumarelos,

Suzie Forell,

Hugh McDonald, | 2015

This paper defines legal outreach and summarises the different models that can be used to deliver legal outreach. It describes the key characteristics of successful legal outreach and the benefits...

Outreach,

Service Delivery,

The NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal: An analysis of clients, matters and determinations 1

Michael Cain,

Maria Karras,

Terence Beed,

Terry Carney, | 2011

In recent years, there has been much interest in Mental Health Tribunals (MHTs), their legislated role, functions and day-to-day operations. Much of the interest has centred on accumulating an evidence...

Mental health & wellbeing,

Disability,

Health and Disability,

Need for legal assistance services: developing a measure for Australia, Justice issues paper 26

Catriona Mirrlees-Black,

Sarah Randell, | 2017

This paper describes how the Foundation developed the Need for Legal Assistance (NLAS) indicator which uses census data to assess potential demand by geographic location. It provides a count of...

Indicators of legal need,

NLAS,

An evaluation of the NDIS Appeals Program Legal Services report

‘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.

Assessing Impact,

Disability,

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,

The complexities of child protection-related legal needs: Findings from the LAW Survey

Justice Impact Tests: What are they and what is their value?

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2025

Justice Impact Tests support good use of public funds, and their publication can promote public confidence in government and justice related decision making.

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.

Community Legal Centres,

natural disasters,

Legal aid for committals: an evaluation of the impact of the centralised committals scheme

Ann Eyland,

Natalina Nheu,

Ted Wright, | 2001

Legal aid for committals: an evaluation of the impact of the centralised committals scheme

Criminal law,

Procedural reform,

Family and domestic abuse,

Quantifying the legal and broader life impacts of domestic and family violence, Justice issues paper 32

Christine Coumarelos, | 2019

New analysis of the Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey reveals that respondents who had experienced domestic and family violence (DFV) reported 20 legal problems on average in the preceding 12 months,...

Domestic Violence,

Community legal information,

Uptake of legal self-help resources: what works, for whom and for what?, Justice issues 30

Hugh McDonald,

Suzie Forell,

Zhigang Wei, | 2019

This paper reports new analysis of the national dataset of the Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey examining Australians' use of self-help resources (SHRs) for legal problems. It includes previously unreported measures...

Other models of service delivery,

Legal needs surveys,

Law and disorders: illness/disability and the experience of everyday problems involving the law, Justice Issues 17.

Christine Coumarelos,

Pascoe Pleasence,

Zhigang Wei, | 2013

This paper draws on the LAW Survey data to examine the relationship between legal problem experience and different types of mental and physical illness/disability. The findings confirm the existence of...

Disability,

Health & ageing,

Health and Disability,

An indicator of need for community legal centres: introducing NLAS(CLC), Justice issues paper 29

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2019

In August 2018 the NSW government announced that it was adopting an application-based funding model following the Cameron Review of community legal centres and other community-based legal assistance services. The...

Indicators of legal need,

NLAS,