Instances of people representing themselves in Family Court have more than doubled in the last 10 years.

Data received under the Official Information Act showed that the number of Family Court cases involving a self-represented party has steadily increased each year from 602 at the end of May 2014 to 1888 at the end of May 2023.

At the same time, legal aid numbers have also fluctuated.

The OIA data shows that the number of grants for legal aid by calendar year in Family Court was 21,396 in 2013 compared to 17,403 in 2022.

Civil grants also saw a drop across that period, while criminal grants overall increased.

The Ministry of Justice has attributed the decrease in family and civil legal aid grants to court protocols that were implemented during Covid, particularly the Delta outbreak, which meant fewer family and civil cases were entering the court, and fewer legal aid applications were made.

Research by the Law Society in 2021 found that more than 20,000 people were turned away by legal aid lawyers in one year.

New Zealand Law Society president Frazer Barton says people being turned away from legal aid due to a lack of supply is not good enough.

"Our system starts collapsing at that point."

He says it's really important for people to have legal representation.

"And if they can't pay for it themselves, then they need legal aid."

He says imbalance in that system can lead to injustice, and they are now seeing a lot of people self-representing.

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'Near impossible' - Angela's* story

Angela told RNZ she had sought legal aid many times.

She says many of the lawyers she has rung have told her they are no longer taking legal aid cases. Those that are have often told her they do not have the capacity to take her case.

"You cannot find a legally aided civil lawyer who will do a Family Court judicial review, or an appeal at short notice. It's near impossible."

Angela instead represents herself in Family Court. She says navigating the court system by herself is challenging.

"You're expected just to know how to do all these filings and if you get one bit wrong, it's not accepted for filing and then you become more disheartened because you've gotta go back and spend more hours [on it]."

She says having to do all the legal work and cross-examine witnesses with no legal advice puts her at "a massive disadvantage".

Angela's court experience has been drawn out and chequered with disputes.

She has custody of a high needs child, and says she's also a victim of domestic violence.

Angela says a recent court hearing is the first time she had faced her abuser in court.

She recollects the experience as traumatic "on my first day, breaking down in tears frightened to be in the courtroom with the man who assaulted me".

But despite the distress she was feeling, she says she still had to cross-examine witnesses.

She says it was hard for a domestic abuse victim to have to put together cross-examination questions about threats they have faced.

"[You're] reliving it as you're writing it, hindering your ability to actually address your case as a lawyer could do it without all the emotion."

She would like to see it become mandatory for the courts to provide lawyers for victims of domestic violence.

Angela told RNZ because she could not get a legal aid lawyer she is now also being charged court costs.

'Alienated from children' - Lisa's* story

Lisa also represents herself in Family Court.

She told RNZ she left her partner due to regular exposure to family violence.

She describes herself as living "hand-to-mouth" and unable to afford frequent costly lawyer fees.

Lisa says she has previously used legal aid, but now earns too much to be eligible.

She says her experience with legal aid has also made her lose confidence in the system and she has experienced more success representing herself.

But Lisa says not having a lawyer to stand up for her and help navigate the system disadvantaged her, and possibly affected the outcome of court proceedings.

She alleges that she has been alienated from her children by her former partner who has custody.

"I believe if I'd been represented back beyond the alienation starting - and it had been a lawyer at the same calibre - then I would have both children coming into my home on a fairly similar care ratio."

But while representing herself, Lisa says has at times felt bullied by the opposing lawyer.

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Equitable system needed

Auckland University law professor Mark Henaghan says access to justice is costly and some people are not getting a fair crack at it.

He says those that self-represent are at a disadvantage, as the court processes are complex and they may not know how to navigate the justice system.

"Knowing the law and knowing the laws of evidence and knowing how to do all the paperwork, they're highly complex issues which you know takes years of training and experience to get really highly good at them.

"That's tough for people to be able to deal with, even with the judge, you know, trying to help them as best they can."

He says the country needs to find a way to make our justice system more equitable.

Legal Aid at 'breaking point'

Barton says the legal aid system is also at a "breaking point".

An Access to Justice survey for the Law Society in 2021 found that the key reason for wanting to do less legal aid work is inadequate remuneration.

Barton says while the profession has always been prepared to do legal aid at a "concessionary rate", it hasn't kept up with inflation, and pressure is now mounting.

"Older people are retiring, others are leaving these work types and we haven't got the next generation of people coming through."

He says to encourage the next generation of lawyers, the rate of remuneration and structure of legal aid needs to be addressed.

Ministry responds

Acting Chief Operating Officer Tracey Baguley says the Ministry recognises the important role legal aid plays in providing access to justice and is committed to improving the legal aid scheme and ensuring everyone has equitable access to justice.

In the last year alone, the hourly rates for all legal aid lawyers increased by 12 per cent. Hourly rates for Duty Lawyers also increased by 17 per cent.

She says eligibility thresholds have also been raised, the $50 user charge on some family and civil grants removed and a new Kaiārahi Family Court Navigator role introduced to provide additional support to participants, including self-represented people.

The Ministry of Justice says this year family and civil legal aid grants are on track to be the highest in the past 10 years.

*names have been changed

-Krystal Gibbens/RNZ.