Closing the Justice Gap: Helping Australia’s “Missing Middle” Access Legal Help
In October this year Law Council of Australia President Juliana Warner wrote an article ‘Meeting the Missing Middle’ highlighting the major persisting problems which prevent Australians from accessing justice since the release of the LCA’s 2021 paper ‘Addressing the legal needs of the missing middle’.
This came following the Victoria Law Foundation’s June 2025 report ‘Access to just this? Eligibility for legal aid in Australia and its implications’ which revealed only 8% of households meet the income and asset tests for legal aid, and stated with concern that the "missing majority," was the nearly 40% of Australians living in poverty who were ineligible for legal aid.
What Is the “Missing Middle”?
The term “missing middle” refers two people who:
Do not qualify for publicly funded legal aid or community legal services, but
Cannot afford full private legal representation for all or part of their legal issue.
They fall in a gap: too “well-off” to get free legal aid, yet too constrained in resources to afford standard legal services.
Who are we referring to?
Common groups within the missing middle include:
Older persons, people with disability, or chronic health or mental health challenges
Residents in regional, rural, or remote areas
Migrants, culturally or linguistically diverse individuals
Women, single parents, people experiencing family violence
Small business owners, part-time or casual workers
These individuals often confront everyday legal issues—debt, tenancy, employment disputes, family law, wills and estates—but can’t get help through conventional channels.
Why the Missing Middle Matters for Access to Justice
Access to justice is a principle: everyone should have a meaningful opportunity to seek legal help when they need it.
But we see a gap when:
Legal aid eligibility is tightly means-tested
Private legal fees are high, and many people lack disposable income
Legal problems compound into bigger ones (e.g. debt leads to eviction, family stress, health issues)
As the article “Meeting the Missing Middle” notes, the justice system often addresses only the extreme ends: the very disadvantaged (via legal aid) or those who can fully afford lawyers. The missing middle falls through.
If legal help is out of reach for many ordinary Australians, then equality before the law is undermined.
Barriers Faced by the Missing Middle
From the source article and supporting analysis, these are key obstacles:
Cost: Even modest legal work is expensive relative to people’s budgets
Eligibility restrictions: Legal aid and community legal services exclude many who are not “poorest”
Regulation & rules: Some professional rules or court rules make limited or “unbundled” legal help harder to deliver
Geography & access: In regional or remote areas, legal professionals are scarce
Complexity & navigation: Legal systems, forms, processes are difficult for non-lawyers
Fragmentation of services: Legal issues often intersect with non-legal problems (health, social, housing), but services are siloed
Many Australians who face serious but “mid-level” legal problems can’t get help early, and the problem escalates.
Strategies & Innovations: How to Better Serve the Missing Middle
There are several proposed ways forward:
1. Unbundled (Limited-Scope) Legal Services
Instead of full representation from start to finish, clients can engage lawyers discrete tasks—drafting a letter, reviewing a contract, advising on one hearing, or preparing key documents. This lowers costs and lets clients purchase only what they need.
Legal rules, including cost disclosure and professional obligations, sometimes discourage unbundling—but reform is possible.
2. “Low-Bono” / Affordable Legal Services
Charge discounted (but not pro bono) rates within a capped fee structure for clients in the missing middle, possibly with eligibility thresholds based on income or assets. The article cites one Adelaide project, the Accessible Justice Project (AJP), which offers legal work in areas like debt, employment and tenancy for people who meet limited means tests.
3. Joined-Up & Multidisciplinary Services
Legal problems often rest alongside other issues (health, housing, social support). By partnering or co-locating with health, welfare or community organisations, legal services can be more holistic.
Such models (e.g. Health Justice Partnerships) create smoother referral pathways, reduce duplication, and make help more accessible.
4. Regulatory & Systemic Reform
Revisit rules that limit limited-scope representation
Adjust cost disclosure or court rules to facilitate incremental services
Expand legal aid funding or reform criteria
Promote legal expense insurance or alternative funding models
5. Building Legal Capability & Education
Empower people with knowledge: simple guides, “know your rights” materials, self-help tools, clinics or workshops can reduce reliance on full legal advice for lower stakes matters.
How We Can Help
We can offer you any of these options if you think they would be helpful to you:
Unbundled services for clients who can’t afford full representation
Fixed-fee or tiered pricing for certain legal tasks
Pro bono / low bono work in some cases
Initial consultations and “triage” your case assess whether full, partial, or self-help is appropriate
We partner with community organisations and social agencies to reach people earlier
This OYBlog was created with AI assistanced from the following source: ‘Meeting the Missing Middle’