Report to the NSW Attorney-General by the NSW Legal Assistance Forum for 2005–2008

Overview

The NSW Legal Assistance Forum (NLAF) is a coalition promoting collaboration and coordination in the development of legal services for socially and economically disadvantaged people in NSW. It includes the peak representative bodies with responsibility for the delivery of legal services and specialist organisations dealing with a wide range of legal issues.

Member organisations are:

The aims of NLAF are:

NLAF Achievements and Activities 2005–2008

In order to achieve the aims of NLAF, the forum focuses its work on three strategic areas:

Meeting Community Need

NLAF's work to date has been prioritised and focused on Aboriginal people, people with a mental illness, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, rural and regional communities and older people.

Aboriginal People

The Working Group on Civil Law Services for Aboriginal People aims to develop strategies to address the serious gap in access to civil law services for Aboriginal people in NSW.

NLAF has:

• Produced the Guide to Legal Services for Aboriginal People in NSW/ACT which is distributed through the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT).
• Improved linkages and referral mechanisms between NSW pro bono referral schemes and the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT).

In 2008 NLAF will:

• Commence an Aboriginal civil law access project in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. The project will work closely with one Aboriginal community to identify and address civil law priorities. It will build on existing criminal justice infrastructure, and involves a high level of collaboration between agencies. The process will be evaluated and documented for possible application in other communities in NSW.
• Formally evaluate the Guide to Legal Services for Aboriginal People in NSW/ACT with assistance from the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council and NSW Law and Justice Foundation, with the aim of maximising its effectiveness.

People with a Mental Illness

The Working Group on Mental Illness and Access to Justice met between November 2006 and November 2007. The group aimed to improve access to justice for people with a mental illness.

NLAF has:

• Reviewed recent research relating to barriers to the legal system and best practice models to improve access to justice for people with a mental illness.
• Investigated ways to improve the interface between the legal and health systems.
• Developed a proposal for a project that aims to research and pilot new legal service delivery models and capacity and training building models. The Mental Health Legal Services Project received 2 years funding from Legal Aid NSW, is auspiced by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), and commenced in early 2008.

In 2008 NLAF will:

• Monitor progress of the Mental Health Legal Services Project and assist NLAF members to incorporate the lessons of the project into their own service delivery planning.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities

The Working Group on Interpreter Services met between June 2006 and November 2007. The group aimed to understand and address barriers to accessing interpreting services for clients of public legal assistance agencies.

NLAF has:

• Identified systemic issues that limit access to interpreter services including the lack of availability of interpreters (particularly in emerging languages) and the lack of a cohesive framework for access to interpreters across agencies.
• Identified training opportunities and resources for the legal sector in working with interpreters which have been compiled into a webpage.
• Engaged with the Community Relations Commission about training issues and improving access to interpreters for clients of community legal centres.

In 2008 NLAF will:

• Develop a proposal for reform of access to interpreters for clients of community legal centres (separate brief available).
• Establish an interim working group to identify areas where NLAF could improve collaboration and cooperation in addressing the legal needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities.

Rural and Regional Communities

NLAF has identified that the decline in the availability of public assistance lawyers in rural and regional NSW is impacting on access to justice for people living in those areas.

NLAF has:

• Shared information about regional initiatives being implemented by members, such as Legal Aid NSW's Regional Solicitor Program.
• Supported research to identify causes and possible solutions

In 2008 NLAF will:

• Meet with NSW Law Deans to promote careers for young lawyers in public legal assistance agencies and rural and remote NSW.
• Review the findings of stage 1 of research being conducted by the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre into the decline of lawyer numbers in rural NSW.

Older People

Soon after NLAF was established, the forum identified older people as a disadvantaged group that could benefit from the collaboration and cooperation of NLAF agencies. Since that time, a number of reviews into the legal needs of older people have been conducted.

In 2008 NLAF will:

• Establish a Working Group on the legal needs of Older People to respond to the recommendations of the Commonwealth inquiry into Older people and the law (and other reviews), and to support new legal service initiatives for older people.

Policy/Law Reform

Conflict of Interest

The Working Group on Conflict of Interest aims to address the barriers to access to advice and representation caused by the application of legal professional conflict of interest and duty rules in public legal assistance agencies.

NLAF has:

• Developed a draft Guide and Statement of Principle proposing that a fiduciary relationship is not established between a public legal service and a member of the public who receives a limited advice- only service.
• Submitted a proposal to the Ethic's Committee of the Law Society of NSW to support a change to the Law Society's Professional Conduct Rules for managing conflict of interests in legal advice- only services provided by public legal services.

In 2008 NLAF will:

• Work with the Law Society of NSW to progress the forum's submission seeking a change to the Law Society's Professional Conduct Rules.

Coordination of Legal Assistance

NLAF has identified that clear legal information, good referral pathways and targeted training lead to coordinated legal assistance for socially and economically disadvantaged people.

Family Law Assistance

NLAF aims to improve collaboration and cooperation across NSW public legal assistance agencies in the area of family law.

In 2008 NLAF will:

• Identify gaps in service delivery for family law assistance, and improve collaboration to address these gaps.

Legal Information and Referral Forum (LIRF)

The LIRF aims to improve referral pathways and access to legal information, and reports to NLAF on a quarterly basis.

LIRF has and will continue to:

• Improve legal referrals from GPs to public legal assistance agencies through working with the NSW Divisions of General Practice.
• Develop strategies to improve the legal pathways for people of culturally and linguistically diverse background.

The Training Reference Group

The Training Reference Group aims to identify training needs across the sector and improve effectiveness by sharing training where possible. The Group reports to NLAF on a quarterly basis.

The Training Reference Group has and will continue to:

• Implement a joint training calendar.
• Increase cross-agency access to training provided by member agencies.
• Develop strategies to address unmet training needs (for example, employment law, using interpreters and Aboriginal cultural awareness).

Geoff Mulherin
Chair
NSW Legal Assistance Forum
14 May 2008