We Can See There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel Now': Demonstrating and Ensuring Quality Service to Clients

Abstract

This Report details research undertaken by Dr Liz Curran on behalf of Legal Aid ACT. The research looked at Legal Aid ACT and the quality of its legal services to clients.The study, after it was commissioned, ended up coinciding with indications by the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Office that it is to review and measure the outcomes of legal assistance services under a recent National Partnership Agreement (NPA) between the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments. The research for this report anticipates this review by trying to provide a definition and approach to the measurement of ‘successful outcomes’ in a legal aid services context, as referred to in the NPA. Service delivery and humanitarian agencies world-wide are increasingly being asked to report and measure results-based outcomes. Although there has been surprisingly little outcome measurement undertaken internationally or domestically, there is some literature detailing how it might be done. The literature overwhelmingly concludes that results-based outcomes are difficult and challenging areas to measure. Therefore, while the main purpose of this project is to measure and enhance the quality of legal aid services delivered by Legal Aid ACT, this Report has wider importance and broader implications for other agencies. Legal Aid ACT has demonstrated foresight in commissioning this research early, somewhat in anticipation of the need to define outcomes for legal aid services.It is hoped that this Report will both assist Legal Aid ACT and inform public debate, helping shape realistic accountabilities, policy development and – most importantly – good and effective service delivery on behalf legal aid service sector clients and the wider community.