Thursday 28th November 2024, 15:30–15:50 (Australia/Melbourne), Sutherland Room
The ABS Census provides a rich source of socio-demographic information that can be used to inform the geographic allocation of resources and the design of accessible services. The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW promotes the use of such data to support evidence-based decision making across the legal and justice sectors.
Language barriers can have an impact on all forms of interaction, but especially so in the legal context, where the precise interpretation of language can have a significant impact on its meaning and consequences. Population surveys have shown that people for whom English is not their first language are more likely to ignore their legal problems and less likely to seek assistance from a professional, such as a lawyer. There is also relatively poor awareness of public legal assistance services, particularly among more recent arrivals. What local areas have relatively higher counts of people who do not speak English well? What are the most commonly spoken languages in any given area? With easy access to data to unpack these questions, service providers may support improved access to justice amongst non-English speaking communities by providing visibility in specific locations, translating informative materials into the most common languages, and/or considering the availability of interpreters and translators.
This presentation will present a proxy indicator of demand from non-English speakers likely to qualify for public legal assistance services, and demonstrate a dashboard the Foundation has developed which provides a visual representation of the geographic distribution of the indicator, together with counts of the most commonly spoken foreign languages. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are considered separately, given the specific cultural requirements of these communities.
This presentation will demonstrate the value of ABS Census data, describe how we overcame its limitations and the challenges we faced in developing a user-friendly tool by which to share the data with the sector. For a sneak peek, the dashboard can be accessed here: https://lawfoundation.net.au/nlas-indicators-and-dashboard/
Catriona is Senior Advisor at the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, where she was previously Research Director. She is an experienced researcher, specialising in the design, analysis, interpretation and application of social survey and administrative data. Having worked across a number of UK government departments, including in a HM Treasury role supporting the heads of each of the analytical professions, she is a strong advocate for the use of evidence to inform policy-related and operational decision making within government and beyond.
Delphine Bellerose is a Principal Researcher at the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW. She has played a key role in developing an evidence base on legal needs to inform policies and support service planning. With extensive experience in both qualitative and quantitative approaches, Delphine has worked across a range of settings and sectors. She has great expertise in the analysis of large administrative datasets to support the justice system in Australia, and has developed tools to make existing data accessible to the sector.