On 17 June 2003, the Senate referred the following inquiry to the Senate
Legal and Constitutional References Committee for inquiry and report by
3 March 2004. The Committee tabled an
Interim Report (Word 38KB) on
25 May 2004 and intends to table its final report on or before 8
June 2004
The capacity of current legal aid and access to justice arrangements
to meet the community need for legal assistance, including:
(a) the performance of current arrangements in achieving
national equity and uniform access to justice across Australia, including
in outer-metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas;
(b) the implications of current arrangements in particular
types of matters, including criminal law matters, family law matters
and civil law matters; and
(c) the impact of current arrangements on the wider community,
including community legal services, pro bono legal services, court and
tribunal services and levels of self-representation.