More than 430,000 Australians accessed Government-funded free legal services in the past financial year.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows 432,274 clients received completed legal assistance services funded under the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) in 2023–24.
ABS Head of Legal Statistics Samantha Hall said the number was an increase of 5344, or 1 percent, on the previous 12-month period.
Ms Hall said almost a third (139,193) of last year’s clients received more than one service in that year.
She said, in total, 819,370 legal assistance services were completed for clients throughout 2023–24.
“This experimental dataset is a snapshot of the clients receiving services from Legal Aid Commissions, Community Legal Centres and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.”
Ms Hall said it also looked at the type of assistance clients received.
She said the most common type of legal assistance was legal advice, which was provided to almost three in four, or 318,765 clients.
