Annual Report 2005-2006 - pilch

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It is envisaged that the Older Persons’ Legal Centre will include an outreach service to be provided by pro bono lawyers, in a similar form to the PILCH Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic. PILCH is also increasing legal services to the not-for-profit sector and has rolled out a series of training sessions for not-for-profit organisations. PILCH has a grant to consider the feasibility of establishing a specialist not-for-profit legal service and hopes that this may be possible in the coming financial year. All of this work has only been made possible through the support of the PILCH members and our outstanding management team. Our members exemplify the Victorian legal community at its very best, working together in an inclusive and collaborative style to deliver some amazing outcomes. They cover the spectrum of the legal profession and include law firms of all sizes, large, medium and small, corporate legal departments, community legal centres, universities, the Victorian Bar and the Law Institute of Victoria. PILCH receives no government funding. It would not exist without the generous financial support of its members. PILCH has been successful in continuing to develop its membership and this year has welcomed many new members. Our new corporate members reflect the growing size and importance of in-house legal departments and their desire to make a meaningful contribution to the community. This year we welcomed the following new members: BHP Billiton, Centre Highlands Community Legal Centre, Darebin Community Legal Centre, Deakin University Law School, Francis Abourizk Lightowlers, Goldman Sachs J B Were, Lander & Rogers, Linfox, Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre, Monash-Oakleigh Legal Service South Port Community Legal Centre, Visy Industrial Packaging Holdings, and West Heidelberg Community Legal Service. However, the support of the members is not just in the form of funding. Each year, the members enable PILCH to do its work by accepting many referrals to assist individuals and not-for-profit organisations with legal issues they are facing. This year, they accepted 187 case work referrals. They also assist by offering training and contributing to law reform and other advocacy activities under the PILCH banner. They provide the pro bono capacity which enables PILCH to offer services to the public. They also support PILCH with various types of in-kind support. This year, we have received donations of furniture from members, had our seminars and events hosted by members, and been offered a range of legal and other professional services, such as in relation to strategic planning and human resources. PILCH would not be the organisation it is without this deep support base. Our staff at PILCH have been extraordinary. They are highly professional, deeply committed, energetic and innovative. On behalf of our Board of Directors, I thank each and every one of our staff for all that they have done for PILCH this past year. We look forward to their continued energy, enthusiasm and professionalism in the coming year. The staff has been very ably and enthusiastically assisted by 60 student volunteers over the course of the year. PILCH values its volunteers very highly and we thank them all for their contributions. My gratitude must also be conveyed to my fellow Directors. Each of them has given generously of their time, judgment and experience and enabled PILCH to continue with the very best of guidance. As PILCH has matured significantly as an organisation in the last few years, the demands on the Directors have grown. They have been required to govern an expanding organisation which has increased funds and commitments to a larger group of funders, whose stakeholders have higher expectations of the organisation, and which requires a longer term vision to enable it to reach its potential. The Board worked closely with staff to develop the Strategic Plan 2006 – 2009 and has supported the staff with implementation of the priorities for this year. The Board has also formed a number of new Sub-Committees this year to make continual improvements to the governance of the organisation. They are the Board Structure Review Sub- Committee and the Audit Sub-Committee. PILCH achieves as much as it does because it receives support across the legal profession. In addition to the efforts and support of its members, PILCH also benefits from the generous and continued support of the Attorney-General, the Honourable Rob Hulls MP, the State Government, the Department of Justice, members of the judiciary and the staff of all of the courts and tribunals, and many community organisations. Their vision and commitment to the vital role played by PILCH and the magnificent donation of time and energy given generously by the Victorian legal profession is greatly appreciated and never taken for granted. The staff and Board of PILCH are looking forward to the year ahead and to PILCH growing and strengthening to make an even greater contribution to access to justice. David Krasnostein, President, October 2006 3
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ REPORT 2005-2006 2005 – 2006 has been a great year for the Public Interest Law Clearing House and pro bono in Victoria. The staff and Board are very proud of the achievements of PILCH this year. In the pages which follow, there is a comprehensive record of the case work, advocacy, training and pro bono sector development undertaken by PILCH in the past year. These activities are all geared towards achieving PILCH’s stated aims of furthering the public interest and human rights, in particular the right to access to justice, and of addressing systemic disadvantage. PILCH’s staff and Board are highly motivated by a desire to make a significant, positive difference to the community. This is firstly evident in the case work which all of the pro bono referral schemes at PILCH do for individuals and not-for-profit organisations. This case work is carried out according to very high standards and assists people who would otherwise have no access to legal services. They are mainly individuals who are too poor to afford legal services but who are outside the Victoria Legal Aid guidelines and cannot be helped by a community legal centre. Due to their poverty, as well as other factors such as mental or physical illness, homelessness, incarceration in prisons or detention, location in remote areas of Victoria, language, or unfamiliarity with the legal system, these people cannot gain access to the legal assistance they require. PILCH staff work closely and carefully with these clients to facilitate pro bono legal assistance or, where pro bono legal services are not available, to find alternate assistance. The requests for assistance come in all areas of law. This is reflected in the case summaries and statistics in this Report. The high number of inquiries and referrals in areas such as migration law, family law, and criminal law, clearly reflect legal need which is not being addressed by Commonwealth or State Government legal aid funding programs. We have had continually high demand in these areas of law for several years. It goes without saying that there will most likely be serious consequences for individuals who are without legal assistance to appeal a decision in relation to a visa, to resolve disputes regarding family property or contact with children, or to defend criminal charges. The work of PILCH in facilitating assistance in these and other areas of law makes a difference. Through its case work practice and other activities, PILCH is able to identify the laws, policies and practices which are unjust and which cause or compound disadvantage or marginalisation. PILCH believes that, in collaboration with other organisations, it has the capacity to improve the operation of laws and other systems in our society. PILCH knows that sometimes its advocacy activities will be successful and that other times they will not be, but PILCH is willing to commit resources to try to bring about structural change. It is committed to the notion that the NGO sector should engage in advocacy and represent the views of its constituents to government. We strongly reject the opinion of the Federal Government that the NGO sector should not engage in public policy advocacy and should limit its activities to providing direct services to the community, these being the very services which were provided by the government in past but which have been eliminated as part of the push towards smaller government. A strong NGO sector is vital to a wellfunctioning democracy. As Joan Staples wrote in June 2006 in ‘NGOs out in the cold: the Howard Government policy towards NGOs’, 'In most democratic models, the sector plays an important political role in shaping public advocacy. However, it also reflects a society back to itself through its social and sporting clubs, its cultural organisations, its justice and environmental organisations. The richer and more diverse and vibrant a society is, so the organisations will reflect that richness. The organisations are the source of ideas on the society we might become, and of aspirations and ideas that should be contested and debated to provide a rich brew from which a vibrant society can develop. The sector is also ever-changing to reflect the changes in interests, values and priorities of the society.’ PILCH’s advocacy has been focused in several areas, including migration law, family violence, homelessness and access to justice. For example, PILCH was active in opposing the proposed legislation to excise Australia from the migration zone and introduce off-shore processing of protection visa applications by those who arrived in Australia by boat. As part of a broad coalition of organisations and individuals, PILCH felt enormous satisfaction when the Federal Government withdrew this Bill from the Parliament. PILCH’s advocacy and campaigning activities can take various forms. In contrast to the parliamentary submission process and political lobbying involved in the migration law amendments is PILCH’s work to have legal aid fees increased for intervention order cases. Although this involves a different type of advocacy and may not seem to be of the same national significance, the payment of adequate fees for legal aid work is essential to facilitating access to justice for the community. A high number of users of the intervention system are women who are subject to family violence. The lack of proper representation for them in intervention order matters threatens their ability to regain their security and to live with dignity. Education and training have also been an important part of PILCH’s activities in the past year. As can be seen in this Report, the training has, in part, been directed at lawyers to equip them to assist pro bono clients and to consequently increase the capacity of the legal profession to respond to requests for pro bono assistance. The intensive annual induction training program run by the Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic for volunteer lawyers and the intervention order training conducted by the Victorian Bar Paula O’Brien – Co-Executive Director 4
Page 1 and 2: Annual Report 2005 - 2006
Page 3: CONTENTS President's message 2 Exec
Page 7 and 8: PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CLEARING HOUSE
Page 9 and 10: • Victorian Ombudsman (September
Page 11 and 12: CASE SUMMARIES NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGAN
Page 13 and 14: VICTORIAN BAR LEGAL ASSISTANCE SCHE
Page 15 and 16: Acknowledgements PILCH and VB LAS t
Page 17 and 18: Law Institute of Victoria Legal Ass
Page 19 and 20: PILCH HOMELESS PERSONS’ LEGAL CLI
Page 21 and 22: During 2005-06, the Victorian Gover
Page 23 and 24: We received a great professional se
Page 25 and 26: PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CLEARINGHOUSE (
Page 27 and 28: Statement of Significant Accounting
Page 29 and 30: Notes to the Financial Statements F
Page 32: Public Interest Law Clearing House

Annual Report 2005-2006 - pilch

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