The successful Australian legal aid model offers lessons for UK access to justice

The Bagaraybang Bagaraybang Mayinygalang (BBM) Health Justice Partnership is placing lawyers from the Hume Riverina Community Legal Service at the Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service. This initiative provides free legal advice and support, particularly to those affected by poor mental health, by working with trusted intermediaries such as nurses, doctors, psychologists, financial advisers and drug and alcohol workers. This multidisciplinary approach bridges the gap between legal practitioners and people who often face barriers to accessing legal services due to cost, fear or negative past experiences.

The BBM service has assisted clients with a range of issues including accessing 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 researched Health Justice Partnerships (HJPs) for over two decades and worked as a legal practitioner/academic in one for nearly ten years. . She has formally evaluated the BBM partnership over the past two years.

Dr. Curran’s latest report highlights BBM’s success in reaching members of the Aboriginal community who typically do not have access to legal services. Clients have reported feeling less overwhelmed and more hopeful after receiving legal assistance. They also felt empowered and better equipped to handle difficult situations due to increased knowledge of their legal rights and options. The program fostered trust and rapport between lawyers and clients and established strong partnerships between legal professionals and health care workers.

HJPs originated in Australia and the United States, and although there are similar partnerships in the UK, they often lack sustainable funding. A government review in 2023 found variations in delivery and recommended further assessment. Dr Curran argues that the BBM plan provides evidence that well-managed and properly funded schemes can overhaul access to justice.

She explained: “Cuts to the UK’s legal aid system over the past decade have further entrenched inequality, leaving many people unable to cope with legal problems snowballing through no fault of their own. For example, services were cut in the middle of cases, leading to serious consequences for clients; assistance may only be available in a location where the person cannot travel; or they arrive partly through a referral and there are no other services to help them to a conclusion.”

Dr Curran highlighted the potential of ‘one-stop shops’ where community advocates work alongside other professionals to provide comprehensive services. “My research shows that the development of ‘one-stop shops’ – where community advocates work with other professions to provide a consistent and thorough service – can make significant progress in a social determinant of health, but only if it’s 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 that is making significant progress in improving access to justice and increasing the well-being 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,” Dr Curran concluded.

The success of the BBM Health Justice Partnership highlights the importance of integrating legal aid with health and community services, providing a viable model for improving access to justice in the UK.