Successful Australian legal aid model provides lessons for UK access to justice

The Bagaraybang Bagaraybang Mayinygalang (BBM) Health Justice Partnership positions lawyers from the Hume Riverina Community Legal Service at the Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service. This initiative provides free legal advice and assistance, particularly to those affected by poor mental health, by collaborating with trusted intermediaries such as nurses, doctors, psychologists, financial counselors, and drug and alcohol workers. This multidisciplinary approach forms a bridge between legal practitioners and people who often face barriers to accessing legal services due to cost, fear, or negative past experiences.

The BBM service has assisted clients with a range of issues, including access to government and social services, homelessness, eviction, debt, and family violence.

Dr. Liz Curran, Associate Professor in Clinical Legal Education at Nottingham Law School, part of Nottingham Trent University, has been researching Health Justice Partnerships (HJPs) for over two decades and has worked as a legal practitioner/academic in one for nearly ten years. She has been formally evaluating the BBM partnership for the past two years.

Dr. Curran’s latest report highlights the BBM’s success in reaching Aboriginal community members who typically do not access legal services. Clients reported feeling less overwhelmed and more hopeful after receiving legal assistance. They also felt empowered and better equipped to manage challenging situations due to increased knowledge of their legal rights and options. The program has fostered trust and rapport between lawyers and clients and established strong partnerships between legal professionals and health workers.

HJPs originated in Australia and the United States, and while similar partnerships exist in the UK, they often lack sustainable funding. A 2023 government review found variation in delivery and recommended further evaluation. Dr. Curran argues that the BBM blueprint provides evidence that well-managed and properly financed schemes can overhaul access to justice.

She explained, “Cuts to the UK’s legal aid system over the last decade have further entrenched inequality, leaving many people unable to deal with snowballing legal issues through no fault of their own. For example, services have been cut in the middle of cases, leading to serious consequences for clients; support may only be available in a location that the person is unable to travel to; or they get partway through a referral and there are no further services to see them through to a conclusion.”

Dr. Curran emphasised the potential of 'one-stop shops' where community lawyers work alongside other professionals to provide comprehensive services. “My research shows that the development of ‘one-stop shops’—where community lawyers work with other professions to provide a consistent and thorough service—can make significant inroads into a social determinant of health but only if done well, and this BBM provides some insights for others on how this can be done.”

“The BBM Health Justice Partnership is an exemplary program making significant progress in improving access to justice and enhancing the wellbeing of the local Aboriginal community. The new government can learn from this and recalibrate the UK system into something much more coherent and effective in terms of monetary and societal value,” Dr. Curran concluded.

The success of the BBM Health Justice Partnership underscores the importance of integrating legal aid with health and community services, providing a viable model for enhancing access to justice in the UK.