Government details further changes to legal aid

Justice Minister Simon Power today announced a comprehensive package of reforms for legal aid services.

“The Government has largely accepted Dame Margaret Bazley’s report on transforming the legal aid system and plans to implement her key recommendations over the next two years,” Mr Power said.

“The report identified system-wide failings and pointed to an urgent need to rebuild trust in our legal aid system.

"I was deeply concerned by the problems Dame Margaret found. They go to the very heart of the integrity of our legal system and it’s essential the Government moves quickly to address them.

"The changes I am announcing today do that. They provide the detail of the changes announced last December, and advance proposals to reform legal aid.”

The new legal aid system will include:

• A new quality assurance framework where legal aid lawyers will have to demonstrate competency to a selection committee on objective criteria. Performance will be monitored and sanctions imposed where appropriate. Lawyers will have to re-apply after a fixed term (usually 3 years).
• Expanding the Public Defence Service to Wellington, Christchurch, and Hamilton. The service provides a high quality criminal legal service through the use of salaried staff rather than contracted lawyers.
• Improvements to the duty lawyer scheme, which includes appointing supervisors and enhancing criteria for selecting duty solicitors.
• Streamlining processes for assessing applications for low-cost criminal cases in the summary jurisdiction. This includes a shorter application form and a process where some low-cost cases will not be subject to repayment.
• Changes to the preferred lawyer process which will focus on when a person can choose a legal aid lawyer and when one will be assigned for them, to ensure all legal aid lawyers are competent for the cases they undertake.
• Developing consistent standards for community law centres to ensure all New Zealanders have access to the same level of service.
• Replacing the Legal Aid Review Panel with a Legal Aid Tribunal, to increase transparency in decision making.
• Bringing the functions of the Legal Services Agency into the Ministry of Justice, where an independent statutory officer will grant legal aid.

“I’m confident this package of changes will help build more confidence by the public that the legal aid system is providing quality services for those who need it, while giving taxpayers value for money,” Mr Power said.
“The Ministry of Justice has been working closely with the Law Society to develop a quality assurance system for legal aid lawyers. Performance issues will be addressed through a new monitoring and review procedure.
"I believe the quality assurance system will significantly improve the quality of services.

“These changes will ensure that the legal aid system focuses on providing quality access to justice to people who use it.”

Amending legislation is required to implement many of the changes, and will be introduced to Parliament later this year.

Last year there were 85,156 legal aid grants costing taxpayers $131 million.

The Bazley report can be viewed here
Previous Government announcements on legal aid can be viewed here

ENDS

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