From evidence to action: building a stronger access to justice community

Access to justice is not a challenge any one organisation, profession or jurisdiction can solve alone. It asks us to look beyond individual programs and institutions, to understand how people experience the justice system as a whole, and to bring evidence, practice and policy into a more productive conversation.

That is the purpose of the International Access to Justice Forum. Across three days, brilliant minds from across Australia and around the world will come together to test ideas, share what is working and confront the difficult questions that continue to limit fair and effective access to justice.

Turning a shared ambition into a working forum

With the Forum now only weeks away, contributor briefings, session planning and the practical work of delivering a welcoming and ambitious event are coming together.  

Our partnership with Monash University’s Faculty of Law is helping create the conditions for genuine exchange, while sponsorships from VLSB+C and the Law and Justice Foundation NSW give the Forum a strong foundation.

The strength of the gathering lies in the range of people it will connect: researchers, practitioners, judicial and government leaders, community organisations, service innovators and others working at the frontline of justice.  Their disciplines, experiences and perspectives differ, but they share a determination to make justice work better for the people it is meant to serve.

Creating the conditions for honest exchange

The Forum is designed to do more than showcase good work. It will create space to examine the systems, relationships and assumptions that shape access to justice; to learn from approaches across jurisdictions; and to ask where evidence should lead us next. Some conversations will reinforce what we know. Others will challenge established thinking. Both are essential. Evidence does not always produce an immediate or uncomplicated answer, but it can sharpen our understanding of the choices before us and the consequences of inaction.

Our focus is firmly on the connection between evidence and action. Better data and research can reveal where need is concentrated, how people move through the justice ecosystem and where pathways break down. Practice brings that evidence to life. Policy can turn insight into change at scale. The Forum will place these perspectives alongside one another so that participants can identify practical opportunities for collaboration, reform and sustained impact. ‍

VLF’s role: independent, evidence-led and connected

VLF’s thought leadership begins with independence and curiosity. Our role is not to claim all the answers, but to frame the questions that matter, build a strong evidence base and connect people who can turn knowledge into better outcomes. Through our research, education and grants, we see different parts of the justice ecosystem and the relationships between them. That perspective enables us to convene conversations that are rigorous, generous and grounded in the realities facing communities.

The Forum is a natural extension of that role. It builds on VLF’s commitment to people-centred justice and to understanding access to justice as an interconnected system. It reflects our belief that progress depends on sharing evidence openly, listening across boundaries and staying focused on the experience of people seeking help.

What comes next

The measure of the Forum will not be the quality of discussion alone, important as that is. It will be what participants carry back into their organisations and communities: new connections, sharper questions, practical ideas and a stronger shared resolve to improve access to justice.

As we prepare to welcome contributors and delegates from 28 to 30 October, I am grateful to the speakers, partners, sponsors and colleagues whose expertise and commitment are shaping this gathering.  VLF is proud to create a space for rigorous and generous exchange, and to help ensure that the conversation continues beyond these three days through stronger evidence, deeper collaboration and practical action.

The Forum is a sold out event.  

A number of sessions will be recorded and the videos will be made available on our website in late November.

Thank you to our sponsors.