A long-awaited fifth judge will be appointed to the ACT Supreme Court to help ease continued pressure on the territory's overburdened court system.
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The ACT government said it would set aside $3.1 million over three years to employ the extra full-time judge.
About $240,000 will fund temporary staff to handle a backlog of cases in the court before the new judge is added to the bench next year.
It's on top of $12 million that will be made available for early works to move the redevelopment of the Civic court precinct forward.
It will allow the government to contract for the construction of a temporary facility to house court functions during the redevelopment.
The announcement of a new judge was part of an overall $154.9 million budget spend on justice and safety in 2015-16.
The additional cost of a new judge would largely be offset by $2.8 million in revenue gleaned from increased fees for lodging a civil case in the ACT's courts.
ACT Bar Association president Shane Gill said the instalment of a fifth judge was a "very positive step forward" that would allow cases to be heard more quickly.
"It's important that you don't delay people when you're trying to move through the justice system.
"And it's important because it maintains a quality of decision making, but with a greater speed in decision making, which is critical in the lives of people that are often put on hold while they're waiting for the court to decide what to do."
The ACT's lawyers, prosecutors, victims, and Supreme Court judges themselves have lobbied for an extra judge for the past six years.
Former Chief Justice Terence Higgins was warning as far back as 2009 that the court's four full-time judges could not keep up with the workload which resulted in significant delays.
Attorney-General Simon Corbell previously resisted those calls and said the resourcing level was adequate for the legal workload of the ACT Supreme Court.
Both Mr Gill and ACT Law Society president Martin Hockridge were concerned the increase in fees for lodging civil cases would make it harder for disadvantaged Canberrans to access justice.
The budget also included $429,000 to roll out the second phase of the government's restorative justice scheme to take in adult offenders and referrals for more serious offences.
Extra money was also set aside to provide four new staff for the ACT Government Solicitor to help handle extra work.
There was also a focus on boosting legal and support services for thousands of Canberrans experiencing domestic violence and homelessness.
About $210,000 will continue the government's high density housing program to help drive down crime and improve residents' access to justice, health, education and employment.
Another $177,000 will go towards the Street Law legal service for homeless Canberrans.
Legal Aid ACT will get an increased allocation of $429,000, while $434,000 will help overhaul the Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme to broaden support to victims of domestic violence and serious injuries.
The ACT Emergency Services Agency will get $147,000 to help employ 16 firefighter recruits, with a focus on drawing more women to its ranks.
Other previously announced projects to be funded include four extra mobile speed cameras, upgrades to the ACT's emergency communications system and building works to transform Greenway fire station into an ambulance hub.
