Legal System and Services: 2007-08 Budget initiatives
Regional Innovations Programme for Legal Services
The Australian Government is providing $8.3 million over four years from 2007-08 to 2010-2011 to maintain legal aid services in regional, rural and remote Australia. $2.1 million will be spent on the programme in 2007-08. The Regional Innovations Programme for Legal Services (RIPLS) seeks to strengthen the partnership between the private and public sector in delivering legal aid services in the regions by assisting regional law firms recruit young lawyers, and by helping to offset some of the high costs of providing services over long distances. The initiative responds to research that shows that private sector firms are withdrawing from legal aid. This situation is particularly critical in the regions where there are already fewer qualified people available to provide legal services and the cost of service delivery is high.