CANBERRA Community Law has breathed a sigh of relief after ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr swooped in a day before its funding was about to run out to announce it will support the free service in its 2021-22 ACT Budget.

The service was surviving on federal covid-related funding, however, it had already been struggling with funding reductions years before the height of covid.

Canberra Community Law executive director and principal solicitor Genevieve Bolton welcomed the chief minister’s announcement, saying it’ll mean they can continue delivering essential legal services over the next 12 months, but she also flags a need for long-term support. 

She says it’s short term funding in the face of the long-term challenges of COVID-19, which include a lack of affordable housing and homelessness in the ACT. 

“Canberra Community Law delivers legal services to Canberrans experiencing disadvantage, homelessness, domestic violence, and who are struggling to access Centrelink,” she says.

“The demand for our services have skyrocketed as a direct result of the covid pandemic, and the ending of JobKeeper, covid payments, the moratorium on Centrelink debt collection and the eviction moratorium. 

“We welcome the ACT government’s commitment to support Canberra Community Law’s work over the next 12 months, but we urgently need long term funding to meet the increased need in our community. We look forward to ongoing dialogue with the government around addressing this longer-term need.

“We are also calling on the Commonwealth Government to help bridge this funding shortfall through the National Legal Assistant Partnership.

“This partnership has put aside $77.1 million over four years to support the early resolution of legal problems for those experiencing mental illness or domestic violence and for health justice partnerships. To date we have not received any funding from the recent Federal Budget.”