Having the budget back on track means the Government is able to reinvest in priority areas such as protecting the vulnerable in our community.
The Government will provide $1.2 million to Community Legal Centres (CLCs) and the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania (LACT) for 2017/18 as part of our reinvestment in essential services. It will fully offset reductions in Commonwealth funding which apply from 1 July.
The Government recognises and values the important role that legal assistance organisations play in our community, and this funding will allow the CLCs and the LACT to continue delivering important legal advice and assistance to the most vulnerable members of our community.
It’s also a record amount of state funding to the legal assistance sector and is once again significantly more than what was provided to CLCs and the LACT under the Labor-Green Government.
We will continue working closely with the legal assistance organisations throughout the year to improve community awareness about the legal assistance services that are available in Tasmania and how to access them.