Lawyers and support workers helping some of Australia's most remote clients are being stretched to capacity amid a nationwide funding crisis.
It comes as the Aboriginal Legal Service prepares to freeze operations in 13 local courts in regional NSW, after calls for emergency funding were not met in the federal budget.
In Queensland, chronic underfunding has left some services suspended since April.
It's an ongoing issue affecting regional lawyers in the Northern Territory, who regularly travel hundreds of kilometres visiting remote clients on a tight budget.
Marcel Delany is a senior solicitor at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) based in the regional NT town of Katherine.
He's among five lawyers in NAAJA's local civil team, helping to resolve legal issues with housing, Centrelink payments and repair requests, as well as managing child protection matters and ensuring police accountability.
"Because of the language barriers, the low education levels in some cases and the remoteness, it's just such a barrier," Mr Delany told the ABC during Law Week in Katherine.
"Our lawyers really do go the extra mile for people ... supporting them to do things that are really hard for people in remote communities."
'A lot of our clients don't have phones'
Social support workers, such as Tammy Fearon from NT Legal Aid, help remote and regional clients by explaining legal advice and following up referrals.
"Whether it's for social, emotional or legal issues, we help them make a plan," she said.
Ms Fearon said she would often help move clients onto government payment plans and arrange housing for people leaving prison.
"A lot of our clients don't have phones and a lot of them don't have addresses," she said.
"It's a big job."
Domestic violence rates increase workload
Data shows women in the NT experienced the highest rates of physical and sexual violence in the country.
Ruth Storer, principal legal officer at the Katherine Women's Legal Service (KWILS), said the crisis was worsening.
"We are feeling the impacts of the increases in domestic violence statistics that we see in the Northern Territory," she said.
"Women are presenting to us with more acute domestic violence situations, and more acute risk."
With a team of just four lawyers and four client support workers, KWILS services an enormous region covering 360,000 square kilometres.
"When you start looking at the amount of area you need to cover ... it's pretty outrageous," she said.
"There's a really strong network between the legal services here and I think that's important for staff and their wellbeing."
James Lowrey, deputy legal officer at the North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS), said meeting remote clients in-person was critical.
"Often ... one issue will actually be four issues," he said.
Mr Lowrey said staff retention was a "big challenge" for NAAFLS in Katherine.
"We'd love to get someone on board, who can be a permanent lawyer here in the community," he said.
Funding review to start this year
Last year, the federal budget included $99 million to start a First Nations Justice Package.
This included $13.5 million to legal services across Australia, and $1 million to National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS).
The funds have yet to be released.
In a statement, a spokesman for federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said an independent review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership — due to end on June 30, 2025 — would begin this year.
"The review is an opportunity to examine the adequacy of funding and ensure the legal assistance sector is best equipped to deal with current and future challenges," the spokesman said.
