Successful Australian legal aid model provides lessons for UK access to justice

The Australian Bagaraybang bagaraybang mayinygalang (BBM) Health Justice Partnership places lawyers from the Hume Riverina Community Legal Service at the Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service to provide free legal advice and assistance, particularly to those impacted by poor mental health.

The service works with trusted intermediaries such as nurses, doctors, psychologists, financial counsellors, and drug and alcohol workers to form a bridge between legal practitioners and people who have often been unable to access legal services due to cost, fear, or previous negative experiences with the legal system.

It has supported clients with issues including access to government and social services, homelessness, eviction, debt, and family violence.

Dr Liz Curran, Associate Professor in Clinical Legal Education at Nottingham Law School, part of Nottingham Trent University, has been researching Health Justice Partnerships for more than 20 years - including having worked a as legal practitioner/academic in one for almost ten years - and has been formally evaluating the BBM partnership for two years.

Her most recent report shows that BBM has reached Aboriginal community members who would not typically access legal services, with those clients feeling less overwhelmed and more hopeful after receiving legal assistance. They also felt empowered and better equipped to manage challenging situations due to increased knowledge of legal rights and options.

The program has fostered trust and rapport between lawyers and clients, as well as creating strong partnerships between legal professionals and health workers.

Health Justice Partnerships were originally pioneered in Australia and the United States and although similar partnerships exist in the UK, they are not always sustainably funded. A 2023 government review found variation in how they were delivered, recommending further evaluation.

Dr Curran believes that the BBM blueprint provides evidence for well-managed and properly financed schemes to pave the way in overhauling access to justice.

She said: “Cuts to the UK’s legal aid system over the last decade have further entrenched inequality, leaving many people unable to deal with snowballing legal issues through no fault of their own.

“For example, services have been cut in the middle of cases, leading to serious consequences for clients; support may only be available in a location that the person is unable to travel to; or they get part way through a referral and there are no further services to see them through to a conclusion.

“My research shows that the development of ‘one stop shops’ - where community lawyers work with other professions to provide a consistent and thorough service - can make significant inroads into a social determinant of health but only if done well and this BBM provides some insights for others on how this can be done.

“The BBM Health Justice Partnership is an exemplary program making significant progress in improving access to justice and enhancing the wellbeing of the local Aboriginal community.

“The new government can learn from this and recalibrate the UK system into something much more coherent and effective in terms of monetary and societal value.”