What can the new parliament do to address entrenched disadvantage?
Giulia Fabris, Policy Advocacy Lead at Health Justice Australia, discusses what is needed to move from recognising persistent social problems to implementing solutions.
Strengthening service responses
Following the recent federal election, one message is clear, we need accessible, affordable services that work for everyone. Now, the real work of governing begins and with it comes a new opportunity for the government to respond to some of the most complex and entrenched issues facing our communities.
From rising cost-of-living pressures and housing insecurity to persistent gender-based violence, worsening climate impacts, and a lack of meaningful progress for First Nations peoples, many people in our communities are living with challenges that carry lifelong and intergenerational consequences. As community needs become greater, services are struggling to meet the increasing demands for support, in part because they are not designed to meet the complex needs people experience.
To its credit, government increasingly recognises this. Cross-cutting strategies like the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025–2035 highlight the need for multisectoral approaches. But while the intent is there, implementation, particularly through changes to funding and service design, are not necessarily keeping up.
The value of integrated service responses at the right time, in the right place
Integrated service responses are a practical and innovative way to address complexity. These service models draw on expertise from across sectors and keep people at the centre. By cutting across siloes and delivering timely support in familiar and trusted settings, they reduce barriers to help and prevent issues from getting worse.
Health justice partnerships are a real and powerful example of this approach. These partnerships embed legal help into healthcare and social service settings, ensuring unmet legal need, which is recognised as a driver of poor health and wellbeing, is identified and addressed in a timely and holistic way.
More than 140 health justice partnerships operate across Australia, working in diverse settings, from hospitals to community health services, mental health services, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. These partnerships support wellbeing by connecting the dots between legal and health issues, whether it’s the link between family violence and poor health, between a neglected mouldy rental property and respiratory problems, or between debt, fines and increased anxiety.
A collaborative approach to complexity
Several reviews and reports highlight the important role of these partnerships in addressing intersecting legal and health needs, such as the Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership and the National Plan Stakeholder Consultation. Key First Nations peak bodies, including National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation support health justice partnership as a way to improve access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, acknowledging that Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations have been working this way for many years.
Integrating legal assistance into healthcare and other support settings provides an opportunity for early support and intervention, responding to the early signs of problems or challenges and intervening before issues compound or get worse. We see the benefits of this approach in our work as part of the Centre of Research Excellence in Childhood Adversity and Mental Health, supporting the integration of legal assistance into Child and Family Hubs.
The time for bold leadership is now
Beyond simply recognising the value of collaborative service provision, policy design and funding approaches must better reflect what is actually needed to achieve successful collaboration. Integrated service approaches build the capacity of the service systems to respond to complex need. However, working in integrated practice takes specific skills and experience that may not be supported in professional training pathways. The government needs to invest in workforce development to build capability across sectors for collaborative, multi-disciplinary practice.
Health justice partnerships are about redesigning systems to deliver more effective, person-centred care. They lead to better outcomes for the people who need support the most. It is no longer enough to simply recognise the value of integrated approaches. We need meaningful investment to help meet the need and complexity of the lives of so many in our communities.
Moderator: Ruth Pitt