A dispute resolution service aimed at keeping vulnerable Canberrans out of the justice system will reduce its services after failing to secure extra funding in the ACT budget.
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The Conflict Resolution Service responded to a tripling in demand over the past decade by pouring resources into its frontline.
The organisation asked for an extra $120,000 in baseline funding from the ACT government to help continue its output but will now halve its offerings after its annual payment of $630,000 was instead maintained.
Chief executive Shawn van der Linden said continuing to provide up to 300 per cent more than expected by the Community Services Directorate was no longer sustainable.
"We have been through a restructure of reducing staffing and that just means we have to put in place waiting lists and triaging and we just can't keep responding at the level that we were," he said.
"Our staff have a very generous service culture they've developed and the calls come in and they just want to keep responding, so it's just hard to stay stop, don't, and put people on waiting lists."
The amount of time spent on cases has increased tenfold over as many years as disputes become more complex, Mr van der Linden said. Funding has increased 2.7 per cent over the same period.
The majority of referrals come from ACT Policing followed by Access Canberra and the service itself. Increasingly, the service has dealt with domestic and family violence issues, and relationship and family issues increased from 14 cases in 2011-12 to 985 last financial year.
Mr van der Linden said the focus was on preventing people entering the justice system. He said he was worried that some Canberrans wouldn't have anywhere else to turn.
"We are all about stopping the escalation of disputes into the civil and administrative appeals tribunal, ACAT, into the Magistrates Court," he said.
"We're all about stopping multiple calls to ACT Policing."
Mr van der Linden said the organisation would continue to speak with the government about the demand for its services "and our need to meet that demand".
Community Services Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the Conflict Resolution Service's $630,000 in annual funding supported three of the organisation's programs.
"The Community Services Directorate has been working closely with CRS to ensure that its business model is sustainable and that its services continue to be available to those who are most in need," she said.
"I congratulate Shawn van der Linden and the team at CRS for the work they have done over the last year to ensure CRS has a sustainable model going forward.
"We look forward to working with CRS on future funding arrangements so they can continue to provide this important service to Canberrans as we move towards a more restorative justice system."
