In summary: evaluation of the appropriateness and sustainability of Victoria Legal Aid's Summary ...

306 Pages·2017·3.99 MB·English

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In summary
Evaluation of the appropriateness and
sustainability of Victoria Legal Aid’s
Summary Crime Program

Hugh M. McDonald, Amanda Wilson, Zhigang Wei,
Sarah A. Randell and Suzie Forell

Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales

June 2017
This report is published by the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, an
independent, not-for-profit organisation that seeks to advance the fairness and equity of the
justice system, and to improve access to justice, especially for socially and economically
disadvantaged people.
This report was prepared by the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales for
Victoria Legal Aid.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Creator: McDonald, Hugh McIntosh, 1971‒ author.
Title: In summary: evaluation of the appropriateness and
sustainability of Victoria Legal Aid’s Summary Crime Program /
Hugh M. McDonald, Amanda Wilson, Zhigang Wei, Sarah A.
Randell, Suzie Forell.
ISBN: 9780987364395 (paperback)
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects: Victoria Legal Aid. Adult Summary Crime Sub-program.
Legal aid--Victoria--Evaluation.
Legal services--Victoria--Evaluation.
Criminal procedure--Victoria.
Other creators: Wilson, Amanda, author.
Wei, Zhigang, author.
Randell, Sarah Anne, author.
Forell, Suzie, author.
Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, issuing body.

Publisher
Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales
Level 13, 222 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
PO Box A109 Sydney South NSW 1235
Ph: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.lawfoundation.net.au

© Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, June 2017

This publication is copyright. It may be reproduced in part or in whole for educational
purposes as long as proper credit is given to the Foundation.

Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the Foundation’s Board of Governors.

The Law and Justice Foundation
of New South Wales is marking
50 years of improving access
to justice in 2017.
Contents
Shortened forms .............................................................................................................. v
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vi
Overview .......................................................................................................................... vii
Executive summary ......................................................................................................... ix
This report ............................................................................................................................... ix
Reforms to the Summary Crime Program .............................................................................. ix
The evaluation ........................................................................................................................ xi
Findings ................................................................................................................................. xii
What are the implications of the findings? ......................................................................... xxiv
Summary of recommendations .......................................................................................... xxiv
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1
This evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 1
Terminology ............................................................................................................................ 2
Victoria Legal Aid services ..................................................................................................... 3
Victoria Legal Aid Summary Crime Program ......................................................................... 5
Report overview .................................................................................................................... 10
2. Background and context ............................................................................................11
Service, policy and funding context ...................................................................................... 11
Research context – legal needs and access to justice ........................................................ 18
Criminal justice system context ............................................................................................ 20
Summary crime service context ........................................................................................... 25
Summary crime services in a changing environment .......................................................... 27
3. Methodology ...............................................................................................................29
Victoria Legal Aid administrative data: ATLAS .................................................................... 29
Case studies ......................................................................................................................... 34
VLA staff survey ................................................................................................................... 35
Key stakeholder consultations .............................................................................................. 35
Secondary analysis of VLA client satisfaction survey .......................................................... 36
Benchmarking ....................................................................................................................... 36
Other documentary materials ............................................................................................... 37
Quantitative and qualitative analysis and reporting ............................................................. 37
Data limitations ..................................................................................................................... 38
4. The changing profile of summary crime services: VLA data ...................................41
Change in the number and type of summary crime services............................................... 41
Change in the mix of different summary crime services ...................................................... 45
Change in summary crime services by crime type .............................................................. 52
Change in duty lawyer services by VLA office ..................................................................... 55
Change in summary crime services by client LGA .............................................................. 58
Change in summary crime services to clients in custody .................................................... 76
Change in the outcome of summary crime services ............................................................ 78
Change in the profile of clients and matters ......................................................................... 80
Relative impact of service eligibility changes ..................................................................... 108
How demand for SCP services may change in future ....................................................... 118
5. Client experiences of the Duty Lawyer Service ....................................................... 125
6. Impact of change: appropriate and sustainable services? ..................................... 133
Context of change: a stretched summary crime system .................................................... 133
Are VLA summary crime services appropriate to legal need and capability? ................... 162
Are VLA SCP services sustainable? .................................................................................. 201
Suggested improvements to summary crime services and system ................................... 215
7. How do Victorian summary crime services compare to other Australian
jurisdictions? ................................................................................................................ 221
Court and service statistics ................................................................................................ 222
Service models and guidelines........................................................................................... 225
8. Discussion and recommendations .......................................................................... 241
Summary Crime Program and findings in context ............................................................. 241
Risks to sustainability ......................................................................................................... 243
Options to improve sustainability........................................................................................ 244
Summary Crime Program against key access to justice principles ................................... 246
Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 252
References .................................................................................................................... 271
Shortened forms
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics
ASOC Australian Standard Offence Classification
ATSI Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
ALS Aboriginal legal service
CAR Court Attendance Record
CISP Court Integrated Services Program
CREDIT/BSP Court Referral and Evaluation for Drug Intervention & Treatment/Bail
Support Program
CLC community legal centre
CLE community legal education
DLR Duty Lawyer Record
DLS Duty Lawyer Service
DJR Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation
Foundation Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales
GLA grant of legal assistance
ice Crystal methamphetamine
LAC legal aid commission
LAR Legal Advice Record
LGA Local Government Area
MWF minor work file
NPA National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services
PC Productivity Commission
PPF Victorian Public Purpose Fund
RRR regional, rural and remote areas
SCP Adult Summary Crime Sub-program
VALS Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
VLA Victoria Legal Aid
Acknowledgements
This evaluation reflects participation of many busy people – magistrates and court staff,
police prosecutors, private practitioners and Victoria Legal Aid staff – who all made the time
to contribute. Our sincere thanks to all involved for your dedication and insight. We
acknowledge those who assisted with arranging focus groups, interviews, surveys and
provision of data, among others, Kate Bundrock, Bridget McAloon, Nick Mead, Tom Munro,
Elissa Scott, Gerda White, Marcus Williams at Victoria Legal Aid, and Gemma Hazmi at the
Law Institute of Victoria, as well as the contributions of the members of the Summary Crime
Project Advisory Group.
We also acknowledge assistance and contribution of Law and Justice Foundation of New
South Wales staff Catherine Carpenter, Maria Karras, June McGowan, Geoff Mulherin and
Beau Wilson.
Overview
In 2012–2013 Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) changed eligibility for adult summary crime services,
among others, to remain financially sustainable in a context of rising community demand for
legal assistance services. Eligibility for summary crime grants of legal assistance was
increased to those accused at risk of imprisonment. An assessment and triage model,
incorporating an income test, was introduced into the Duty Lawyer Service. Overall the
changes prioritised higher levels of service to priority clients and more serious matters.
This study has found that these changes substantially reshaped provision of adult summary
crime services, initially substantially reducing the number of grants of legal assistance. The
Duty Lawyer Service also changed to provide: more services overall, more in-custody
services, more in-court advocacy services, more services for more serious matters and
more services for priority client groups. As the volume and complexity of the matters and
clients coming into the summary crime system has increased following the service eligibility
changes, so too have the workload pressures faced by the Duty Lawyer Service.
While it was intended that accused ineligible for grants would access the Duty Lawyer
Service, wider changes in Victorian community safety policies have subsequently
overtaken and driven up demand for summary crime services, together with the overall
summary crime workload of VLA, Victoria Police and the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria. Key
drivers of this include the increase in the number of police deployed to frontline duties, as
well as change in the way in which family violence matters are policed and prosecuted.
Increased service demand and caseload appears to have stressed the efficient and
effective operation of the summary crime system, with it described as ‘approaching crisis’ if
not already in crisis, due to being ‘overloaded, under-resourced and overborne’. There are
clear indications that the summary crime system is operating under escalating workload
pressure, and that practices and stakeholder relationships are breaking or have broken
down at some locations.
Increased demand for summary crime services, in a constrained funding and resource
context, threatens the appropriateness and sustainability of VLA summary crime services.
VLA’s summary crime services were characterised as vital to both the access to justice of
Victorians, particularly those socially and economically disadvantaged, and the effective
and efficient operation of the justice system. However, the wellbeing of Duty Lawyer
Service staff is jeopardised by increased service demand, as is the willingness and
financial viability of private practitioners doing VLA funded work. Analyses indicated that,
within the current service eligibility settings, demand for grants and duty lawyer services
can be expected to continue to increase.
The report sets out the analyses and findings, discusses their implications and
recommends repairs and innovations to improve the appropriateness and sustainability of
VLA summary crime services.
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