Law By Telecommunications
19 February 2001 at 12:02 pm
The Federal Government is to establish a free national telephone hotline and Internet service on where to go for legal advice within the next six months.
The Government says its $6.1 million Law By Telecommunications initiative will provide a national gateway to legal information and assistance such as counselling, mediation and other forms of dispute resolution, particularly for people dealing with the family law system.
It will also provide a referral service for people living in rural, regional and remote locations who do not have access to existing telephone legal advice services.
The Internet service will be established firstly as a law and justice site to provide information and links to relevant Commonwealth agency web site such as the Child Support Agency and Centrelink.
The second stage will establish a database of information about the court systems, and services such as Legal Aid Commissions, private legal practitioners and community-based organisations including community legal services and family relationship service providers.
A national 1-800 telephone number will be established to provide information and referral to service providers.
The Federal Attorney General, Daryl Williams, is calling for comments from key stakeholders in the project by the end of February to ensure the initiative is properly targeted and does not overlap with existing services.
Copies of the information paper are available at http://law.gov.au/LBT or by calling (02) 6250 5717.
