Tasmania’s Department of Justice is facing budget cuts of $9.3 million a year from 2026-27, with Legal Aid and family violence services among those affected, according to Right to Information documents obtained by Labor.
Shadow Attorney-General Ella Haddad says the cuts will hit services already struggling to keep up with demand.
The documents show the department’s annual Budget Efficiency Dividend has risen from $2.9 million in 2024-25 to a required $9.3 million a year from 2026-27.
Named savings include Tasmania Legal Aid and the Safe at Home family violence response, alongside a blanket 2% reduction across all departmental outputs.
Haddad said the services being cut were ones Tasmanians rely on during their most difficult moments.
“Legal aid and family violence services are two of the most fundamental pillars of our justice system that Tasmanians rely on every day, often at their most vulnerable points,” she said.
She said internal documents suggested the department had little warning about how the savings would be applied.
“These cuts blindsided the Justice department,” Haddad said.
“They’ve been arbitrarily imposed by Eric Abetz … and the department has had very little say in how they’re going to allocate those cuts across the board.”
The documents also show the department had 259.4 vacant full-time equivalent positions as at June 30, 2025, including 39.3 correctional officer roles, with vacancy control being used to help meet savings targets.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff defended the approach, saying the government had been upfront about the need for a leaner public service.
He did not directly address the specific measures affecting Legal Aid or Safe at Home identified in the documents.
“We were very open with the Tasmanian community over 12 months ago that we need the right size public service,” he said.
“We expect our agencies to deliver quality services but do so efficiently.”
