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NSW to introduce chatbots to help solve legal queries
One-quarter of a million dollars has been invested into designing and building a chatbot to help vulnerable people solve common legal problems in New South Wales, the state’s Attorney-General has announced.
Jerome Doraisamy
Source: twitter.com/MarkSpeakman
The NSW government will invest $250,000 into designing and building a chatbot that will help vulnerable people “solve common legal problems with speed and ease”, Attorney-General Mark Speakman said, as part of the new Access to Justice Fund, which will have over $1 million over four years.
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“Utilising artificial intelligence, the chatbot will answer commonly asked legal questions online and in real time,” he said.
“It will triage enquiries so straightforward legal issues such as traffic fines or rental bond queries are addressed promptly, leaving more time for Community Legal Centre staff to personally assist clients with more complex problems.”
The program will initially be designed for Marrickville Legal Centre – as the first recipient of a grant from the Access to Justice Innovation Fund – before being made available to other CLCs across the state.
“This innovation could revolutionise service delivery in CLCs by reducing the bottleneck of simple queries,” Mr Speakman said.
“On top of the NSW government’s record investment in CLCs, this program will help more disadvantaged people in NSW access free legal services than ever before.”
Marrickville Legal Centre managing principal solicitor Vasili Maroulis said the CLC’s clients would be the biggest winners from the development of LegalBot.
“LegalBot will reduce wait times for the hundreds of people who contact the Marrickville Legal Centre each week in need of assistance,” he said.
“It won’t replace our face-to-face services – in fact, it will enable our staff to provide greater support to the people who need it most.”
