The NSW legal profession welcomes ongoing investment by the NSW Government for the justice system.

President of the Law Society of NSW Pauline Wright said ongoing funding for Legal Aid along with Community Legal Centres must be a core priority of government to ensure society's most vulnerable people had equal access to legal advice and support.

Ms Wright said the $8.54 million for two new trial courtrooms at Sydney's Downing Centre and a State Parole Authority hearing room at the Sydney West Trial Courts at Parramatta, previously announced in April, was urgently needed and would help to reduce chronic delays and backlogs.

"There are ongoing inadequacies in resources allocated to the courts and increasing court fees is not an answer. This makes access to justice harder for people in regional and rural areas," Ms Wright said.

"The NSW Government should identify areas that are poorly served and seek to reopen court houses or increase the frequency and the locations of circuit court hearings.

"More investment in preventive measures and diversionary and non-custodial options in rural and regional areas should also be a high priority."

Ms Wright said the closure of the ageing Bidura Children's Court in Glebe and the opening of the new Surry Hills Children's Court, now anticipated early next year rather than July this year, would also help to improve children's access to justice.

"There are still not enough services to meet childrens' legal needs," Ms Wright said. "A justice system that focuses on prosecution rather than prevention and healing puts children at risk of ongoing contact with the criminal justice system."

More investment in prevention, diversion and viable community-based alternatives to detention would help to rehabilitate children and put them on a better path in life, she said.

A national strategy was also needed to eliminate the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care and to ensure Indigenous children and their families had the support they needed. 

"Greater involvement by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled services could reduce the number of Indigenous children who are living away from their homes and families," Ms Wright said.