Highlights of the NSW Legal Assistance Forum (NLAF) meeting on 27 May 2009

The work of NLAF is focused on three strategic areas: meeting community need; policy and law reform; and co-ordination and communication.

Meeting Community Need

Working Group on Availability of Lawyers for Disadvantaged People in Rural, Regional and Remote (RRR) areas

The Working Group met for the first time in March 2009 and is Chaired by the Law Society of NSW. The Group has initiated the following projects:

Legal Aid NSW reported on the expansion of its Regional Solicitor Program to four additional locations, as well as on the Regional Outreach Clinic Program.

For further information see:
http://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=609&cid=839&id=870
http://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=609&cid=839&id=881

Working Group on Access to Civil Law for Aboriginal people

The Group presented its final report on the Northern Rivers Civil Law Resource project. The project identified civil law needs in the region and the development of strategies to address those needs, though a process of consultation with the communities. Outcomes include the development of a list of existing resources to meet identified needs and the delivery of targeted community legal education (CLE) sessions over the next two years as part of the Legal Aid NSW CLE project. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre will deliver a training course on law for non-lawyers to community members and service providers in Casino on 23 and 24 June.

The full report is available at: https://www.nlaf.org.au/cb_pages/past_working_groups.php#p07

Working Group on CALD issues

The Group is continuing its work on an interagency cooperation model aimed at improving access to legal assistance services to the Fijian and Iraqi communities in Liverpool. Consultations have been held with service providers and consultations with the community are scheduled to start in June.

The Group is also assisting the Blacktown Local Court in its work to address the legal needs of the local Sudanese community, as identified in consultations by the NSW Attorney General’s Department in May 2008. It has completed a resource guide and this information is being placed on the LawAccess website. The Group is investigating models of court support including through working with the University of Western Sydney and local community legal centres.

Working Group on Legal Needs of Prisoners

The Group has been working across three areas, namely (i) information, education and training; (ii) lawyer/inmate communication; and (iii) civil and family law needs. Much of the work since February has involved the collection of information to better inform the Group. This has included: a mapping exercise of existing services; information concerning location and numbers of phones and audio-visual suites; and information about the stand alone computer networks in NSW Correctional Centres. The Group has also been looking at existing legal resources in correctional centres, what information is needed, and how this can be disseminated. As part of its work the Group is taking into account issues relating to special needs prisoners including prisoners with a disability and prisoners from culturally and linguistically diverse communities

Public Interest Careers for Law Students

NLAF is preparing a paper outlining strategies to promote public interest careers to students in NSW Law Schools.

Mental Health Legal Services Project

This project developed out of the NLAF Working Group on Mental Illness and Access to Justice. The PIAC-run project has received funding from the Public Purpose Fund for four pilots for 2 years. Agreements are being put in place with the four partner agencies (Shopfront Youth Centre, Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, Gamarada Aboriginal Men’s Health Program and STARTTS). Two training modules have been developed for consumers and lawyers/community worker.

Policy and Law Reform

Conflict of Interest Working Group

NLAF is working with the Ethics Committee of the Law Society of NSW to clarify the issues relating to conflict of interest in legal advice-only services by public legal assistance services.

House of Representatives Inquiry into the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on regional Australia

NLAF’s submission in response to this Inquiry highlights the significant increased legal need in regional NSW which has resulted from the global financial crisis, as well as the constraints on publicly funded legal assistance services in responding to this need.

A copy of the submission is available at: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/itrdlg/financialcrisis/subs/sub148.pdf

Coordination and Communication

Care and Protection Working Group

The Working Group has completed its table mapping children’s care and protection services and referral guidelines for different stages of care and protection matters. These will be placed on the LawAccess data base and updated on a regular basis. The Group has been wound up but a new Group may be convened in the future if any issues relevant to NLAF arise from the implementation of the recommendations of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW.

Legal Information and Referral Forum

The March meeting focused on domestic violence issues. Issues identified include: a lack of co-ordination by services; a mismatch between models and needs; a lack of programs to address perpetrator behaviour; training needs; and issues relating to referral pathways. The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW has prepared a list of existing resources on domestic violence issues.

Other Issues

Engagement with Commonwealth Government, NSW Government, and State Legal Assistance Forums

NLAF approved the formation of a new sub-group (to be initially incorporated into the CALD Working Group) to examine the information provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to newly arrived immigrant groups as well as training programs for service providers. The objective is to identify any gaps in legal information/referral needs.

The Secretariat reported on a meeting between the State Legal Assistance Forums (NSW, Victoria, Qld and WA) and the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department in Melbourne on 15 May. The State Legal Assistance Forums have identified the following common objectives:

The Legal Assistance Forums will next meet in conjunction with the NACLC Conference in Perth in September

The next meeting of NLAF will be on Wednesday 26 August 2009.