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Aboriginal legal services left out of $40m COVID recovery plan
The Victorian government invested $40 million to support service delivery for its state’s Aboriginal community, but the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service has gone without any monetary assistance despite an anticipated increase in demand following COVID-19.
Naomi Neilson
The state government announced that it would be investing $235 million to build its recovery workforce and $40 million to support a service delivery fund for the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to boost services that will provide targeted support.
VALS chief executive Nerita Waight said: “It is not only the government’s responsibility to ensure Aboriginal people don’t get left behind during the COVID-19 recovery phase – it is also in their interests for VALS to be properly funded to address many legal needs as early as possible as this will minimise social and economic costs in the short and long term.”
VALS said that it often takes time for people to recognise that the issues could be legal ones and it is highly likely that people will not immediately approach either their service or others with their concerns, leading to the need for longer-term or more funding.
The service added that Aboriginal people are disproportionately counted in the criminal justice and child protection systems before the pandemic and there is a “real risk” that the justice gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people will only widen if funding and more preventative steps are not taken by the government in the early stages.
The VALS said it is concerned that with already increasing demand, fewer people from these communities will be provided with the essential legal services they need.
“Just a couple weeks ago, the Bushfire Royal Commission highlighted in its report that following a disaster, legal issues will inevitably rise,” Ms Waight said.
“A couple of months ago, it made a commitment under the Closing the Gap Agreement that the Aboriginal community will not be disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and would be supported to recover as quickly as everyone else.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
