“We particularly welcome SCAG’s discussion of legal aid preferred supplier fees,” Law Council of Australia Executive Member, Elizabeth Shearer said.
“Private practitioners are vital to the provision of legal aid services and we have called on all governments to review funding to ensure preferred supplier fees can be increased to a level that enables firms to continue to provide these services and remain sustainable.
“Therefore, we were pleased to learn SCAG has noted issues associated with the preferred supplier model, including equitable access to justice, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas; and agreed to explore possible solutions through a review of the model. We again emphasise that timing is critical here. There is an access to justice workforce crisis right now, and it needs to be urgently addressed.”