National Legal Aid chair Gabrielle Canny said hundreds of thousands of Australians were being denied access to justice in civil law because they could not afford a lawyer and legal aid did not provide in-court representation in most matters.

She argued Australian governments needed to pump a cash injection into legal aid commissions across the nation or risk unresolved issues costing governments in other areas, including health care, housing and child protection.

"It goes to the foundation of our judicial system and the principle of equal representation for both parties in court," she said.

Ms Canny made the comments after University of Canberra vice-chancellor Stephen Parker, in an opinion, piece, called for a rethink on funding to improve access to, and quality of, justice in Australia.

Professor Parker argued a HECS-style scheme to fund civil lawsuits – where litigants would repay some of the cost back to the government – could be one option to help disadvantaged Australians fund civil lawsuits.

He said the alternative options – such as no win, no fee schemes and litigation insurance – were not as attractive.

"Legal aid, especially for civil matters, is minimal at best in Australia," Professor Parker wrote.

"If, however, litigants were potentially liable for the full costs of their cases and the courts which decide them, but then the cost was explicitly shared with the taxpayer, as is the case with universities, through an income-contingent deferred loans scheme, we would bring clarity to the shared cost and introduce a form of means-testing through the income threshold.

"People who feel there is a fair accessible way of solving disputes, making claims or resisting claims are more likely to go about things peacefully."

Ms Canny said the Canberra academic had been right to be concerned about the need for greater legal assistance in civil matters.

She said, despite rising demand, legal aid commissions generally only provided court representation in criminal cases where there was a real prospect of imprisonment, and in family law matters involving children.

Legal aid also provided early intervention and legal advice on a range of laws, but in most civil law matters were not funded to offer representation in the courtroom itself, she said.

"As a result, injustice bites hard into the lives of many poor and vulnerable Australians who can't afford lawyers – but who do deserve access to justice," Ms Canny said.

"These unlucky, unrepresented Australians are prone to gross injustices – and therefore must be helped with publicly funded legal assistance."

"For some people, the funding shortfall will ultimately mean the difference between justice and injustice when they find themselves involved in the judicial process."

Last December, the Productivity Commission delivered a report on the issue of access to justice, raising serious concerns about the lack of legal aid in civil matters.

The commission estimated the cost of these measures would be about $200 million Australia-wide.