Advancing access to justice: identifying the causes of legal problems. The legal needs of disadvantaged Australians are hard to assess, often go unmet and compound social exclusion. This project devel

Description

Advancing access to justice: identifying the causes of legal problems. The legal needs of disadvantaged Australians are hard to assess, often go unmet and compound social exclusion. This project develops a causal explanation for the legal problems of clients of Australia’s tax-funded legal assistance sector. Applying an innovative critical realist methodology to interview and survey data and extensive sector engagement for research translation, it will examine how legal needs are generated by inequalities and complex interactions with non-legal social, health and economic problems. Findings will help organisations target legal services in a resource-constrained environment and provide evidence to inform funding and law reform, improving access to justice and reducing costs in the justice and welfare systems.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4410 - Sociology. Lead: Dr Catherine Hastings