PARTE I EL FUNDAMENTO DEL ORDEN
CAPÍTULO 2. FUNDAMENTO Y REPRESENTACIÓN
2.2. El fundamento es un ser trascendente:
Easy to find, easy to use information about legal issues is of fundamental importance to providing access to justice. This includes:
improved access to information and advice for people with legal issues, with particular
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reference to ensuring that entry points to access information and services are as simple as possible, and do not in themselves create a barrier to justice
improved legal information and advice for people with legal issues, and the means of providing
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it, are developed having regard to evidence of how people access and use information improved coordination between service providers to enhance the provision of legal and
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non‑legal services and information to members of the public
measures directed to ensure that appropriate information and advice services are available
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to people and communities that experience legal issues but are less likely to access such services, particularly Indigenous communities
the use of technology, as effectively and innovatively as possible, to improve capacity for
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services to reach more people, and clearer laws.
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Early access to information about how to respond to legal issues is vital to reducing barriers to justice and overcoming social exclusion.157 Early access to information can also lead to early
resolution of disputes which might otherwise require resolution by a court or other formal dispute resolution provider. The Commonwealth currently funds a range of legal assistance providers to provide ‘legal information’ services. As we have seen in Part I, these services are a much lower cost to Government than the provision of formal dispute resolution services.
however, information about the law and relevant services can be hard to access and confusing, often because there are many potential sources of information. Difficulties in navigating through the maze of services and institutions to identify the correct source of information, advice or assistance is itself a significant barrier to justice
People who are not able to access information to resolve legal issues are denied the most basic access to justice. yet, as highlighted in Chapter 2, evidence shows many people do not contact private lawyers, or ‘user friendly’ services such as ClCs, lACs or family relationship services, even when they recognise that they are dealing with a non‑trivial legal issue.158 Non‑legal advisers are the
primary providers of assistance. People are more likely to seek assistance from prominent members
157 P Pleasence, The Future of Civil Justice: Culture, Communication and Change, in Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Conference
Papers, Edmonton, 2006, viewed 18 August 2009, <http://cfcj.fcjc.org/publications/itf‑en.php#19>; see also law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, Justice Made to Measure: NSW Legal Needs Survey in Disadvantaged Areas, 2006, and legal Services Commission (uk), P Pleasence, Causes of Action: Civil Law and Social Justice, 2006, p 157.
158 law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, Justice Made to Measure: NSW Legal Needs Survey in Disadvantaged Areas,
of their community, such as doctors, teachers or union officials.159 It is difficult to assess the quality
of assistance in addressing legal issues that such lay persons provide.160
Evidence also suggests that many people do nothing in response to legal events, increasing the likelihood of the issue escalating and hindering the chances of the issue being resolved and the person satisfied.161 People may need assistance to understand the implications of their choices or
find the right option for action. knowing where to seek assistance will help people find third party assistance and move more quickly towards a just and satisfying outcome.162
The law and Justice Foundation reported that 16 per cent of people who experienced a legal issue handled it alone.163
Awareness of services that have a specific information or advice function—such as lACs, ClCs, or family relationship services—is low. The most common way that people reported finding out about the NSW lawAccess service is the White Pages.164 many service providers are themselves unaware
of complementary services, even in the same field.165 Increased awareness of options in responding
to legal issues—by service providers and the people involved—help put people on the right path to resolution. Findings that higher‑income groups and university‑qualified people are more aware of the negative cost implications of some options (such as court) suggest that there is a need to better inform broader cross‑sections of society, helping them to understand the range of justice options that are available.166
“Awareness of services that have a specific information or advice
function—such as LACs, CLCs, or family relationship services—is low.”
Once a person reaches a service provider, they often need to be referred to a more appropriate provider for their particular question or issue. however, many people experience ‘referral fatigue’, dropping out from the information cycle and doing nothing further after an incorrect (or even a correct) referral.167 Reasons given for members of the public not following through on seekinginformation or assistance include being put on hold, delays in getting a response and delays in getting an appointment.168
159 law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, Justice Made to Measure: NSW Legal Needs Survey in Disadvantaged Areas,
2006, p 104.
160 law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, Justice Made to Measure: NSW Legal Needs Survey in Disadvantaged Areas,
2006 indicated that satisfaction levels with other advisors was lower, but not substantially lower than for legal advice (at p 125). however, the level of satisfaction with the advice does not necessarily correlate with quality advice.
161 Ipsos Australia (prepared for the victorian Department of Justice), Dispute Resolution in Victoria: Small Business Survey 2007
Report, 2007.
162 Ibid.
163 law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, Justice Made to Measure: NSW Legal Needs Survey in Disadvantaged Areas,
2006, p 92.
164 lawAccess NSW, Customer survey: monitoring satisfaction, 2008, p 15.
165 These views were expressed by service providers at the Inaugural Family law System Conference proceedings, held at Old
Parliament house on 19‑20 February 2009.
166 Ipsos Australia (prepared for the victorian Department of Justice), Dispute Resolution in Victoria: Small Business Survey 2007
Report, 2007.
167 Pascoe Pleasence, legal Services Commission (uk), Causes of Action, Civil Law and Social Justice, 2006, p 119 law and Justice
Foundation of New South Wales, Justice Made to Measure: NSW Legal Needs Survey in Disadvantaged Areas, 2006, p 225.
The total expenditure on information services is not a significant proportion of Commonwealth expenditure on the justice system. however, as we have seen in Chapter 2, people who seek legal information do not necessarily access a funded information provider. People will seek help from friends, non‑legal professionals, school teachers and so on. Accordingly, merely increasing the capacity of funded legal assistance providers to provide legal information is unlikely to significantly improve the availability of legal information. What is needed is a more strategic approach to the provision of legal information.