Editors --- "Access to Justice" [2010] AdminRw 16; (2010) 59 Admin Review 72

• Access to justice

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Access to justice

The Access to Justice Taskforce was established in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department in January 2009 to develop a more strategic approach to and make recommendations on ways of improving access to justice for all Australians. The Attorney-General launched the Strategic Framework for Access to Justice and released the report of the Access to Justice Taskforce on 23 September 2009. Both the framework and the report are available at www.ag.gov.au/a2j.

In October 2009 the Attorney-General’s Department held national consultations on the taskforce’s report. This included a number of public seminars, a call for submissions and online feedback.

The Strategic Framework is the central recommendation of the taskforce’s report. It comprises principles for access to justice policy making and a methodology for translating the principles into practice. The framework has at its base five principles:

• accessibility

• appropriateness

• equity

• efficiency

• effectiveness.

In November 2009 the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General adopted the access to justice principles to guide future decisions affecting civil justice.

The Strategic Framework supports a justice system that does the following:

• promotes access to mechanisms for the early resolution of problems and disputes

• establishes a ‘triage’ function, enabling matters to be directed to the most suitable destination for resolution, regardless of how people come into contact with the system

• provides capacity for resources to be directed in such a way as to reflect where and how people come into contact with the justice system

• promotes social inclusion by targeting the resolution and identification of broader concerns that might be the cause of particular legal problems

• promotes fair outcomes

• empowers individuals to resolve disputes between themselves when appropriate, without recourse to the institutions of the justice system

• allocates resources more efficiently, including through ongoing evaluation

• gives every individual improved access to effective resolution opportunities, regardless of how they come into contact with the justice system.

Policy makers should apply the Strategic Framework to all decisions affecting access to justice in the federal civil justice system.

Chapter 10 of the taskforce’s report makes recommendations specific to administrative law, including improving the quality of primary decision making and developing options for more pro-active case management in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Government is currently considering a range of measures for implementation that support the improvement of the justice system as a whole, consistent with the Strategic Framework, including measure relating to administrative law matters.