Conformación del estado del arte

In the 1995 report, comparisons were made with New South Wales and Victoria. In this report, comparisons with Western Australia are also included.

Because of the large variation in the population sizes of the four States, the amount of money allocated to legal aid is very different from State to State. Therefore interstate comparisons have been limited to per capita revenue.

Per capita revenue

The 1995 report showed that Queensland lagged behind Victoria and New South Wales in total per capita revenue for legal aid (including revenue from Commonwealth and State sources). In 1993–94, legal aid in Queensland received $0.94 less per capita than New South Wales (the next lowest) and $2.69 less per capita than Victoria (the highest). As shown in figure 3.3, by 1999–2000 these differences had disappeared, with the legal aid bodies in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia all receiving approximately $15 per capita.

Figure 3.3 — Actual legal aid revenue per capita by State, 1994–95 to 1999–2000

Sources: LAC and LAQ annual reports, 1994–95 to 1999–2000; Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales annual reports, 1994–95 to 1999–2000; Legal Aid Commission of Victoria annual reports, 1994– 95 to 1999–2000; Legal Aid Commission of Western Australia annual reports, 1994–95 to 1999–2000; ABS, Australian Demographic Statistics, June quarter 2000.

In the 1995 report it was noted that, if the LAC had been funded at the same per capita rate as its counterpart in New South Wales over the period then under review (1990–91 to 1993–94), it would have received an additional $7.6 million in funding from State and Commonwealth sources. Similarly, had the LAC been funded at the same rate as in Victoria, it would have received an additional $23.5 million over this period. If the LAC had been funded at the average of New South Wales and Victoria for the whole period under review in the 1995 report, the LAC would have received an extra $25 million for that period.

State revenue

Since 1997, a more accurate assessment of the revenue available for State criminal law matters can be made by examining only State revenue per capita — that is, when revenue from the Commonwealth is set aside. State revenue includes State Government funding, statutory interest, Law Society funding, cost recovery, investment interest and other revenues (excluding those obtained from the Commonwealth Government).

Figure 3.4 shows a substantial drop in State revenue per capita for legal aid in Victoria — particularly between 1996–97 and 1997–98 (from around $10 per capita to around $8 per capita). This corresponds with the change in Commonwealth–State funding arrangements for legal aid bodies in 1997 (indicated by the vertical dotted line in figure 3.4). In contrast, State revenue per capita in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia increased over the period.

Figure 3.4 — Total legal aid State revenue per capita, 1994–95 to 1999–2000

Sources: LAC and LAQ annual reports, 1994–95 to 1999–2000; Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales annual reports, 1994–95 to 1999–2000; Legal Aid Commission of Victoria annual reports, 1994– 95 to 1999–2000; Legal Aid Commission of Western Australia annual reports, 1994–95 to 1999–2000; ABS, Australian Demographic Statistics_{, June quarter 2000.}

New South Wales had the largest growth, driven by an 81 per cent increase in State Government funding between 1994–95 and 1999–2000. Non-government funding in New South Wales fluctuated between 1994–95 and 1998–99 before increasing in 1999– 2000. This increase may have been due to the introduction of the Public Purposes Fund in March 1999 to replace the revenue from interest earned on solicitors’ trust funds and the Law Society statutory interest account.

State revenue in Queensland increased at almost the same rate as in New South Wales. However, State Government funding in Queensland remains lower than that in any other State, despite increasing at the highest rate between 1994–95 and 1999–2000 (when it almost doubled). On the other hand, non-government funding of legal aid in Queensland is relatively high compared with other States.

Western Australia has had the lowest level of State revenues for legal aid for most of the period under review — despite having the highest level of government funding in 1999– 2000. Non-government funding in Western Australia has been lower than in the other States, as in Western Australia there was no Law Society funding until 1999–2000. It is very difficult to compare crime levels and court workloads between States because of differences in definitions and counting rules. However, the limited data available indicate that Victoria has a lower rate of reported crime than Queensland8 _{and the amount}

of crime dealt with in the Victorian higher courts is significantly less.9 _{It appears that the}

extra per capita revenue in Victoria has until recently been used primarily to support higher outlays per grant of aid, although in the last two years Victorian expenditure per grant of aid has declined towards the Queensland level.

Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria show similar trends for most of the period because they all rely on similar types of other revenues — Law Societies, cost recovery and investment interest.

K

:

• Total revenue per capita increased across all States except Victoria in the period under review.

• The marked differences between jurisdictions in per capita funding identified in the 1995 report had disappeared by 1999–2000. State Government funding of legal aid in Queensland is now comparable with that in other States.