Queensland Law Society’s Access to Justice Scorecard has identified inadequate funding of legal assistance services, such as Caxton Legal Centre, as the number one barrier to Queenslanders accessing justice in 2020.
Caxton consolidated its role as a leader among community and legal services in 2019-2020 and yet still could not meet overwhelming levels of client demand.
Cybele Koning, Caxton Legal Centre CEO, said that despite the high numbers of services provided there is still an extremely high level of need for legal assistance services in the community.
“I am acutely aware that 2020 has been a difficult year as this is evident in the level of hardship experienced by Caxton’s clients. It’s Caxton’s job to help people tip the scales back so they can be treated fairly and get support when they need it.”
“Like community legal centres around Australia, though, every day we turn people away because we cannot meet demand.”
“Better funding for services like Caxton could mean we expand our partnerships with hospitals to visit people who need both medical and legal assistance. It could help give the supports needed to prisoners being released into the community. It could help someone to challenge an eviction notice to avoid homelessness.”
Caxton Legal Centre recently documented its 2019-2020 achievements in its Impact Report.
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