Vulnerable parents going through the worst time of their lives after the removal of a child could face "diabolical consequences" with the legal system designed to support them on the brink of collapse, insiders say.
Newcastle-based children's law specialists say Legal Aid NSW has threatened to cut funding for solicitors to represent parents and third parties, like grandparents, in Children's Court care and protection proceedings, pending the outcome of the upcoming state budget.
Three solicitors separately spoke to the Newcastle Herald as part of a public push to ensure adequate funding for Legal Aid NSW's core services in the budget.
The NSW government and Legal Aid NSW did not answer the Herald's questions and have been unable to quell rising "panic" among practitioners, beyond statements that agencies were working together to ensure the ongoing provision of services.
Under the current model, privately practising child protection specialists like Rebecca Koulouris can be granted Legal Aid funding to represent parents and third parties in court in proceedings where DCJ is involved.
She is aware that Legal Aid NSW has indicated funding for legal representatives for parents and third parties could be stopped from as early as July 1, depending on the state budget.
It comes after Legal Aid NSW announced snap changes that strictly limited family law representation following the federal budget, amid claims funding had reached crisis levels.
Ms Koulouris, who works across the Hunter and Central Coast, said highly-specialised practitioners like herself were the voice of the parents and family members during complex court proceedings after a child had been removed.
She said if that access to legal assistance was taken away, they would have to represent themselves, which would be detrimental to their access to justice and throw the stretched court system into chaos, or pay for a private lawyer.
Ms Koulouris said the people she helped could have experiences in out-of-home care, custody and poverty, have mental health struggles, literacy issues, be victim-survivors of domestic violence, or live with disabilities.
"From the perspective of a legal representative working in this field, we are on the precipice of the next stolen generation because the people that we service are arguably the most vulnerable members of society," she said.
"You're working to try to achieve positive outcomes for children who otherwise are going to be sucked into this system and potentially never spat out.
"For a parent having to navigate that without specialist support, I think would be almost impossible."
Ms Koulouris said if the decision was made to stop Legal Aid NSW funding for outside lawyers to represent parents and third parties in the Children's Court, it would affect the community for generations to come.
"We say access to justice is a fundamental human right and it shouldn't be dependent on a person's intellectual or financial capacity," she said.
Ms Koulouris said she had written to state MPs to advocate for sustainable funding for Legal Aid NSW.
Port Stephens MP and Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington did not respond to questions from the Herald. Charlestown MP and Minister for Women Jodie Harrison referred questions to NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley.
A spokesperson for Mr Daley said he would have more to say about funding on budget day in June.
"In the lead-up to the budget, we are working constructively with Legal Aid NSW and all agencies to ensure critical services can continue to be delivered," he said.
Legal Aid NSW said it provided legal services in the Children's Court of NSW and considered it to be a critical service to the people of the state.
A NSW DCJ spokesperson said the government was finalising the budget and working with Legal Aid NSW and other agencies to "ensure the ongoing provision of services".
Neisha Shepherd, solicitor-director of NLS Law in Newcastle and secretary of the Care and Protection Lawyers Association (CAPLA), said she became aware of the potential changes before the federal budget.
She said she knew of documentation detailing how there could be restricted eligibility for legal representation for parents and third parties in Children's Court care and protection proceedings if there was not additional funding in the state budget.
She told the Herald she had met and spoken with Legal Aid NSW executives between May 11 and May 28 and they remained tight-lipped. But, she said she believed the information she had was serious and needed to be acted upon.
"The devastating consequences of not having parents represented would be absolutely diabolical," she said.
"The whole purpose of having parents represented, or carers or grandparents or aunts or uncles represented, is to ensure natural justice and procedural fairness.
"Behind every file there is a real child, and there's a child that needs someone to listen, there's a parent that needs assistance, and they cannot stop providing legal services."
Ms Shepherd said even if the funding changes were not made, the lack of transparency and consultation with practitioners working in the space had been troubling.
Alison Roberts runs a small law firm at New Lambton and does care and protection work for Legal Aid NSW. She said word began spreading in recent weeks about the potential funding changes.
She said she understood everyone was trying to do their jobs as best as possible but she had never seen the level of "panic" among people working in the space in her 20 years of experience.
Law Society of NSW president Ronan MacSweeney said the organisation had consistently advocated for improved access to justice for the most vulnerable people in the community through appropriate and sustainable arrangements for the legal assistance sector.
"However, meaningful access to justice is not only a rule of law issue, but one with real and immediate impacts that affect the entire community, particularly vulnerable families and children," he said.
