Lotterywest grant supports WA legal services

Wednesday, 7 December 2016
 
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• ​$311,393 to ensure high-quality legal services through Community Legal Centres

Vulnerable and disadvantaged West Australians will benefit from access to quality legal services through the Community Legal Centres network, thanks to a $311,393 grant through Lotterywest. 

Presenting the grant to the Community Legal Centres Association of WA, Community Services Minister Paul Miles said the funding would help build the capacity of the network to ensure high-quality and consistent legal services were available.

"Community Legal Centres play a vital role in the legal assistance sector in helping people to identify, deal with and resolve legal problems at the point of earliest resolution," Mr Miles said.

"To deal with this range of challenges, these centres need to be strong, sustainable and respond to changing needs.  They need to ensure that the services they provide are consistently high quality and reflect good practice.

"This funding will ensure the association's member organisations are able to meet accreditation standards in a cost-effective manner to ensure resources are not diverted from clients." 

The Minister said the Liberal National Government recognised the enormous value provided by all centres and would provide $3.673 million in 2016-17 towards their ongoing operation.

The Community Legal Centres Association of WA was established in 1990 and is the peak organisation representing the Community Legal Centres operating in Western Australia.

Fact File

• Lotterywest is the only lottery in Australia where proceeds are distributed directly to the community
• In 2015-16, Lotterywest raised $281.41 million to support the WA community
• Since its establishment in 1933, Lotterywest has returned more than $4 billion to the WA community