The Law Council of Australia (LCA) has released a Justice Impact Assessment Framework in a bid to improve the effectiveness of government planning.
At the launch in the Northern Territory on Thursday, the LCA recommended that all levels of government use the framework as the basis for assessing the justice impact of proposed laws, policies and programs.
“We believe that good law-making in this country is being impeded by a failure to consider the clear consequences on the justice system of the proposed changes, in particular where a proposed measure will drive up demand on our courts and tribunals and people’s need for legal assistance,” LCA President Tania Wolff said.
“The introduction of new legislation, significant changes in policy or new government program settings can affect the rights, duties and legitimate expectations of Australians.
“The result is a rise in legal need and additional demands on the justice system.”
Ms Wolff said it was often Australians facing significant disadvantage who were worst affected.
“These changes can compound existing limitations on the availability of accessible and affordable legal representation, delays in resolution through our courts, increase the time people spend on remand, and lead to overcrowding and cost blow-outs in prisons and detention centres,” she said.
The Queensland Law Society commended the LCA for its efforts in consulting key stakeholders in developing the framework.
The Society said the framework represented an important step towards ensuring that justice system implications were considered early and systematically during policy development.
“Early consideration of justice impacts will assist decision-makers to identify potential resource implications, implementation challenges and unintended consequences,” it said.
View the framework here.
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