NSW Government Releases Consultation Paper On Civil Justice System Reform

Thursday 19 January 2017 @ 11.12 a.m. | Legal Research

The NSW Government is reviewing the civil justice system, releasing a consultation paper late last year that asks for public submissions on how it can improve the current system.  In a media release announcing the launch of the paper, the Government cited figures from the Law and Justice Foundation saying that around 2.8 million people in NSW face a significant legal problem each year, with 85% of those matters involving civil law.  However, the Foundations says that ‘one in five people take no action because they don’t know how to or think it will be too stressful or expensive’.

Attorney General Gabrielle Upton said:

"When people have disputes over debts or even a problem with a landlord, they should be able to resolve the issue quickly, cheaply and, in most cases, outside court.

That would reduce pressure on our courts and is good for the economy with fewer people having to take days off work to handle their legal problem.

Legal problems left unresolved rarely go away and often get worse - so it's vital people have easy access to services that help them resolve them early.”

Submissions on the consultation paper close at 5 pm on Friday 24 February 2017. 

The Consultation Paper

The consultation paper is divided into four sections: avoiding common problems; dealing with problems early; getting help to solve a problem and enforcing judgments and orders.  Some of the suggestions in the paper include:

  • Developing “pre-purchase/decision checklists and easy to use contracts”.  Checklists could cover topics such as renting, buying a used car or hiring a tradesperson, and could be available as a smartphone app.  Contracts could be developed for businesses to help avoid common disputes;
  • Making LawAccess NSW a ‘more dynamic and interactive online platform’, which may include live web-chat and free online tools to solve problems;
  • Creating a network of information services, accessible online, via telephone and through walk-in providers;
  • Developing an ‘warm-referral’ system so that people could be referred to the right person no matter which provider they initially visited;
  • Providing more options for dispute resolution, such as a greater range of low-cost ombudsman style schemes or exploring online dispute resolution tools;
  • Simplifying language used in courts and tribunals and making greater use of audio-visual technology in the legal system; and
  • Creating a streamlined enforcement regime for courts and tribunals, meaning decisions from tribunals would be automatically enforceable without having to physically register it with a court.

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