Question On Notice No. 2276 asked in the Legislative Council on 27 June 2019 by Hon Alison Xamon
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Attorney General
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I
refer to the Western Australian State Budget 2019-20, page 371, Outcomes and Key Effectiveness Indicators: Equitable access
to legal services and information, and I ask why is the 2019-20 budget target for the percentage of eligible applicants who receive a grant of legal aid less than the 2018-19 estimated actual (85% and 88%)?
Answered on 3 September 2019
The 2018-19 estimated actual is higher than 2019-20 target due to additional grants of aid provided for Commonwealth Family Law matters in the 2018-19 year, such as Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL) matters. These additional matters were funded from unallocated Commonwealth funds received under the National Partnership Agreement (NPA) 2015-20.
The 2019-20 Budget Target of 85% is set lower than the 2018-19 Estimated Actual of 88% as there are no surplus funds allocated for additional Commonwealth funded ICL matters in 2019-20.