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Cover of Towards a measurement framework for people centred justice systems by OECD

Towards a measurement framework for people‑centred justice systems

Maaike de Langen,

Tatyana Teplova,

Geoff Mulherin, | 2026

This working paper proposes a framework for measuring people-centred justice systems, responding to the fragmented and institution-focused nature of existing justice data. It links government policy, justice services and outcomes...

Access to justice,

Legal needs,

Outcomes,

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AI and Access to Justice at the Shop Front cover

Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice at the ‘Shop Front’: The Potential and Limitations of Meeting Legal Need Through Technology

Catherine Hastings,

Art Cotterell,

Farzana Bruce, | 2026

This article explores what must be considered about client capabilities to ensure AI technologies are appropriate in the context of CLC service delivery. The authors consider the nature of legal...

Access to justice,

Legal needs,

Technology,

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Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice at the ‘Shop Front’: The Potential and Limitations of Meeting Legal Need Through Technology

Catherine Hastings,

Art Cotterell,

Farzana Bruce, | 2026

This article explores what must be considered about client capabilities to ensure AI technologies are appropriate in the context of CLC service delivery. The authors consider the nature of legal...

Access to justice,

Community Legal Centres,

Legal needs,

Technology,

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Barriers experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families accessing legal supports

National Voice for our Children (SNAICC) ,

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) ,

, | 2026

This scoping study examines the legal needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families involved with the child protection system, identifies gaps in access to legal support, and provides recommendations...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples,

Access to justice,

Legal needs,

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Cover of Justice at a disavantage, a short paper from Victoria Law Foundation's Public Understanding of Law Survey

Justice at a disadvantage: What we know now about legal need, capability and multiple disadvantage 

Hugh McDonald,

Zhigang Wei, | 2026

This short paper investigates the interplay of disadvantage, legal need, and legal capability on Victorians legal problem prevalence, duration, and severity based on data from the Public Understanding of Law...

Access to justice,

Data,

Legal assistance services,

Legal needs,

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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.

Access to justice,

Legal assistance services,

Recent,

Rural, Regional & Remote,

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Toolkit for access to justice and people-centred justice systems

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , | 2025

This toolkit provides recommendations on how to make justice systems people-centred. It includes checklists and good-practice examples of people-centred justice approaches from around the world. One of the examples is the Foundation’s Need for Legal...

Access to justice,

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Cover page of Access to just this - Eligibility for legal aid in Australia and its implications

Access to just this? Eligibility for legal aid in Australia and its implications

Hugh M McDonald,

Nigel J Balmer,

| 2025
This paper discusses the challenges and implications of legal aid eligibility in Australia and calls for increased funding, less stringent means tests, and redesigned entry points to legal assistance, to...

Access to justice,

Legal assistance services,

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Timing of disaster-related legal assistance in New South Wales

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,...

Access to justice,

natural disasters,

Recent,

Service data,

Service Delivery,

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

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,

Legal needs,

natural disasters,

Recent,

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Submission to the Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Program – October 2023

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2023

The Foundation’s submission to the review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) 2020-25. The NLAP is a national partnership agreement between the Australian Government and all states and territories...

Access to justice,

Legal assistance services,

Legal needs,

Planning service delivery,

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Submission to Commonwealth Treasury – May 2023

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2023

The Foundation’s submission to the Commonwealth Treasury’s Measuring What Matters first national wellbeing framework. The framework will track the country’s progress towards a more healthy, secure, sustainable, cohesive and prosperous...

Access to justice,

Outcomes,

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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,

Courts and tribunals,

Disaster response,

Legal assistance services,

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What people need from the justice system: a person-centred approach

Geoff Mulherin, | 2019

2019 Family Law Forum. This conference paper introduces the recent person-centred approaches to identifying legal need and what works to address it; briefly highlights key relevant findings from the LAW...

Access to justice,

Planning service delivery,

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Justice is open to everyone in the same way as the Ritz Hotel: what does court data tell us about the parties to civil cases?

Catriona Mirrlees-Black, | 2018

6th Biennial ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference 2018 (12-14 December 2018) This work was funded by the NSW Department of Justice that asked us to explore the utility of NSW...

Access to justice,

Courts and tribunals,

Data,

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Resolving legal problems: the role of disadvantage article

Resolving legal problems: the role of disadvantage

Hugh McDonald,

Zhigang Wei, | 2018

New analysis of the Legal Australia-Wide Survey demonstrates the association between legal problem resolution, level of disadvantage and legal capability. The findings show that disadvantaged Australians are more likely to...

Access to justice,

Client Groups,

Disadvantage,

Disadvantage | ATJ,

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Indigenous people and legal problem resolution article

Indigenous people and legal problem resolution

Zhigang Wei,

Hugh McDonald, | 2018

We know that in Australia legal problems are widespread and if they are not resolved, there are health, social and economic consequences. This paper examines the experience of Indigenous Australians...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples,

Access to justice,

LAW survey,

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Article about Reshaping legal assistance services, building on the evidence base: summary

Reshaping legal assistance services, building on the evidence base: summary

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2014

The Reshaping legal assistance services discussion paper draws on a substantial base of empirical research – together with current experience of service providers – to inform the design and delivery...

Access to justice,

Legal assistance services,

Planning service delivery,

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Article about the limits of legal information: when knowing what to do is not enough

Limits of legal information: when knowing what to do is not enough

Hugh McDonald,

Suzie Forell,

Julie People, | 2014

One aim of community legal information and education strategies is to promote community understanding of law and what to do about legal problems. Key to this is a focus on...

Access to justice,

Community legal education,

LAW survey,

Other models of service delivery,

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Article about barriers to obtaining advice for legal problems in New South Wales

Barriers to obtaining advice for legal problems in New South Wales

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2014

The Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey found that a sizeable proportion of people seek advice for the legal problems they experience, however, many report barriers to accessing the legal help they...

Access to and use of services,

Access to justice,

LAW survey,

Legal assistance services,

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Who is the ‘other side’ in legal problems and disputes in Australia?

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2013

This paper summarises findings from the Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey concerning the ‘other side’ in legal problems and disputes in Australia. A wide variety of people and organisations were identified...

Access to justice,

LAW survey,

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How are legal problems finalised in Australia?

Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, | 2013

The Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey examined the manner in which respondents finalised their legal problems and whether the manner of finalisation depended on the type of problem. This paper summarises...

Access to and use of services,

Access to justice,

LAW survey,

Outcomes,

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By the people, for the people? Community participation in law reform: summary report, Justice issues paper 14

Natalina Nheu,

Hugh McDonald, | 2011

Very few people in the community participate in law reform. Yet the participation of citizens, and in particular disadvantaged people, in the making of laws that affect them holds the...

Access to justice,

Law reform,

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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...

Access to justice,

Disadvantage,

Law reform,

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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...

Access to justice,

Legal needs,

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Access to justice and legal needs: a project to identify legal needs, pathways and barriers for disadvantaged people in NSW. Background paper

Louis Schetzer,

Joanna Mullins,

Roberto Buonamano, | 2002

This paper aimed to assist those intending to make a submission or be involved in subsequent stages of the Access to Justice and Legal Needs project

Access to justice,

Legal needs,

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Litigation Support Fund: a reflection on the New South Wales experience

Stephen Reynolds,

Simon Rice, | 2000

Two key questions were addressed on the basis of the Law Foundation`s experience in operating the Litigation Support fund: can such a fund be financially viable and can it contribute...

Access to justice,

Civil law,

Costs and fees,

Procedural reform,

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How do people access and use legal information? Implications of the research for delivery via the Internet

Sue Scott, | 1999

Draws together findings from the research literature on both information seeking behaviour and use and internet use. Discusses the implications of these findings for provision of legal information via the...

Access to justice,

Legal education,

Technology,

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Who settles and why? A study of the factors associated with the stage of case disposition

Joanne Baker,

Law Foundation of New South Wales,

Civil Justice Research Centre, | 1994

The report examines factors that are related to the stage at which cases are disposed of. It examines whether there are 'measurable' factors, such as characteristics of the case and...

Access to justice,

Courts and tribunals,

Outcomes,

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Plaintiffs and the process of litgation: an analysis of the perceptions of plaintiffs following their experience of litigation

Tania Matruglio,

Law Foundation of NSW,

Civil Justice Research Centre, | 1994

Plaintiffs and the process of litgation: an analysis of the perceptions of plaintiffs following their experience of litigation

Access to justice,

Courts and tribunals,

Outcomes,

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