Tuesday, 24 June 2025
NSW Budget takes big steps to keep children safe
The NSW Budget’s significant investments in early intervention measures will help support the state’s most vulnerable children to have a better start in life.
President of the Law Society of NSW Jennifer Ball said the record investment to improve the troubled out of home care (OOHC) system will bolster stability for these children and provide a path to their future success.
“We welcome the billion-dollar overhaul of OOHC which, in combination with the extra funding to hire and keep caseworkers, and by increasing the Foster Care Allowance, helps these children to build on their strengths.”
Ms Ball said the Budget’s significant injection into Closing the Gap and other programs will benefit Indigenous children and young people, including through an expansion of access to high quality early childhood education and helping Indigenous high school students achieve improved results.
“The Law Society has long argued that providing opportunities to Indigenous people to participate in education, housing and employment enables them to build fulfilling lives and to contribute to safer communities,” Ms Ball said
“These programs go a long way towards eliminating crime before it starts. For those who come into contact with the criminal justice system, we welcome the $33.4 million investment in therapeutic approaches to reduce recidivism.”
Ms Ball reiterated that justice measures announced before today’s Budget would help improve court efficiency and assist victim-survivors, but added that funding to hire more prosecutors should be matched by commensurate funding for legal assistance services like Legal Aid NSW and the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT.
“Extra prosecutors will create extra demand in the criminal justice system. Without adequate legal advice, defendants are more likely to represent themselves. This is likely to have adverse effects for court caseloads, and increasingly crowded remand facilities,” Ms Ball said.
“That said, the Law Society acknowledges the Budget’s ‘delivery of legal assistance under the National Access to Justice Partnership’ and looks forward to further details of that funding.”
Ms Ball said the Budget’s creative approach to addressing housing affordability could help boost supply, but sounded a note of caution.
“While the $1 billion ‘revolving’ Pre-sale Finance Guarantee scheme could help secure backing for much needed housing supply, the Building Commission NSW and the Independent Commission Against Corruption should work together to monitor, identify and deal with potential quality and corruption risks,” Ms Ball said.
Ms Ball welcomed the additional funding to both these bodies, and offered the Law Society’s expertise to Government to help ensure the effective implementation of this program and to ameliorate any possible risks.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Damien Smith | Director, Media and Public Relations
The Law Society of New South Wales
M: +61 417 788 947 | E: [email protected]