Annual Report 2005—2006 - Inner City Legal Centre

Co-Chairs’ ReportThe Inner City Legal Centre continues to adapt and grow in areas of directclient need and in response to broader social security and employmentreforms, such as WorkChoices, the national workplace relations system thathas already stimulated increased demand for employment law advice andassistance.Demand for specialist legal advice, education and case work for gay, lesbianand transgender people is also growing. There is a disjunction between thereal lives and relationships of people and the legal system’s partial andinconsistent recognition of them.We have continued to develop specific publications and present communitylegal education forums to help our volunteer solicitors, students and clientsto navigate the legal system. We have published a range of fact sheets on ourwebsite on issues including powers of attorney, victims compensation, wills,and gay, lesbian and transgender discrimination.Love, Loss and the Law is a new resource collaboratively developed with A.O’Hare Funeral Directors. It identifies unique legal issues that can arisewhen a same sex partner dies. The Centre’s Principal Solicitor, Natalie Ross,continues to lead in case work, community education and in contributing toa number of submissions and resources including Sex and the Lawproduced by FPA Health.The Centre mobilised this year to establish a twelve month community legaleducation project called the Womens Employment Rights Project (WERP) inresponse to the sudden closure of the Working Women’s Centre, a vitalspecialist employment advice and advocacy service for women in NSW.WERP aims to provide employment law advice and training to communityadvocates and organisations assisting women across the state. It will alsomonitor the impact of WorkChoices on NSW women particularly in theareas of unfair or unlawful dismissals, Australian Workplace Agreements(AWAs) and discrimination.This year we welcomed Pat McDonough and Julie Venamore to the newWERP project – both very experienced and skilled in women’s employmentissues and in community education. We also welcomed Guy Noble to theposition of generalist solicitor. Guy came from Macarthur Legal Centrewhere he worked predominantly in industrial and DV matters. This year ourlong standing volunteer coordinator and author of many of the Centre’s newresources, Susie Grey, left the Centre to begin her legal career. We thankSusie for her work with us and wish her all the best.Inner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—20065

All of us at the Centre, were greatly saddened this year at the sudden deathof David Toolan, one of our valued board members and a past law studentvolunteer. Living with the loss of David has had a profound effect on all ofus at the Centre and we very much miss him.Over the past three and a half years, the Centre has been led by Jan Squires,a dynamic leader whose efforts have guided the organisation through manychallenges and opportunities. Jan leaves the Centre as well this year and weare grateful for her resourcefulness, expertise and compassion.Lastly, we acknowledge the ongoing support from the City of Sydney andimportantly, the contributions of over a hundred legal volunteers who workdirectly with clients experiencing varied forms of disadvantage in an effortto help make things a little more equitable.Sue BowreyCo-chairRob WilkinsCo-chairInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—20066

Treasurer’s ReportIn the year to June 2006 the Inner City Legal Centre was principally fundedby the Federal and NSW State Governments. During the course of the yearthe Centre received $91 487 from the Commonwealth Legal Services Programand $134 349 from the community legal services program of the LegalAid NSW. At the end of the year, ICLC also received a grant of $100 000from the NSW Government to run the Women’s Employment Rights Project,which will be expended over the next twelve months on this excitinginitiative.In addition, ICLC is the very grateful beneficiary of the generosity of a rangeof other organisations and individuals who have given ongoing support andin kind assistance. They includeour volunteer solicitors and law students, who make every dollarwe receive in cash go so much further in terms of the assistancewe can provide to our clientsSydney City Council, which provides the Centre's accommodationfree of chargePKF Chartered Accountants, who provide pro bono auditassistanceour law firm partners, including Phillips Fox, Corrs ChambersWestgarth, Keddies, Freehills, and Henry Davis York and whoprovide direct and indirect support for ICLC's work in a varietyof waysthe volunteer Board of Directors, andNorman Booker for his work on our Annual Report and otherpublications during the year.The Centre's funding during the financial year was also augmented by arange of other sources of income, including membership fees, interest andcourt costs.The costs associated with the running of the Centre have again beencontained within budget for the year, despite the additional costs associatedwith the genesis of the Women’s Employment Rights Project, the rising costof equipment and technology and other contingencies.Over the next twelve months the Centre will face a range of new challengesas we take on the Women’s Employment Rights Project alongside our usualrange of activities, and continue to comply with high standards of govern-Inner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—20067

ance and probity, as well as the increasing reporting demands of ourfunders.As always, we owe our ability to achieve all this to Jan, who has negotiatedyet another difficult year with great skill and good humour, and to Cecilia,who has just returned to the Centre after a eight month break. Thank youvery much to both of you for enabling us to continue doing what we do.Peter WilsonTreasurerICLC Coordinator, JanSquires, with colleaguesfrom other communitylegal centres.from left:Andrea Hadaway(Marrickville LC), JanSquires (ICLC), HelenCampbell (Redfern LC)and Anna Cartree(Kingsford LC).Inner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—20068

Coordinator’s ReportOur year at the Centre was somewhat over-shadowed by the death of ourbeloved Board Member David Toolan. David was an active participant inthe GLBT community and his passion and commitment to the developmentof quality community legal education resources and services will be sadlymissed.ICLC staff and volunteers did however, successfully participate in a numberof community legal education and law reform projects as well as advise andassist over 3 000 clients over the past year.In particular we were pleased to receive an additional $100 000 to look atemployment issues for NSW women following the closure of the WorkingWomen's Centre. The funding from the NSW Office for Women is for a oneoff state-wide project, the Women’s Employment Rights Project (WERP).ICLC is most appreciative of and continues to benefit from the support of anumber of organisations including government, community groups andprivate legal firms. In particular ICLC acknowledges its major source offunding from the Federal and NSW State Governments through thecombined community legal services program. ICLC also thanks the City ofSydney for its continued support through the provision of subsidised officeaccommodation.ICLC was also pleased to join in a partnership with O’Hare Funeral Homesto develop a community legal education resource titled Love, Loss and theLaw. This resource is outlined in the CLE Report.ICLC once again was an active participant with Redfern, Marrickville andKingsford Legal Centres in the Inner Sydney Legal Centres Group. Over theyear the group has organised numerous joint training sessions for volunteersolicitors and shared resources at fairs and other community events.This year saw a reasonably big turnover of staff and volunteers. Inparticular, Susie Grey a long term volunteer, part time Administrator andVolunteer Coordinator resigned from the Centre. Susie contributed greatlyto the work and life of the Centre over the past five years and will be greatlymissed by all. We wish Susie all the best in her new role as a Caseworker/Solicitor at Welfare Rights Legal Centre.Jo Shulman resigned in July 2005 to take up work with the Public InterestAdvocacy Centre (PIAC). Jo had only been at the Centre for twelve monthsbut during that time had successfully completed a number of law reformInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—20069

submissions and provided representation to a number of clients in the areaof discrimination. Jo is currently studying Masters of Law (NYU) andworking part time in New York.ICLC was pleased to appoint Pat McDonough the former Principal Solicitorof the Working Women's Centre to fill the position vacated by Jo. Pat iscurrently working with Julie Venamore (Community Legal EducationWorker) on the WERP project. Julie is an experienced Industrial Advocate.Guy Noble a former PLT student of the ICLC and solicitor accepted a twelvemonth contract position filling in for Pat while she is involved with theWERP project. Guy brings with him a range of skills not the least of which ishis extensive IT background.ICLC welcomed back Cecilia Urbina (Finance Officer) following an eightmonth break. During Cecilia’s absence two Financial Administrators,Julianne Reilly and Alison Cook ably assisted the Centre.Harriet Graham a long-term member of the Board ‘retired’ to the suburbsfollowing the birth of her baby. Harriet had been a volunteer barrister andboard member at the Centre for many years. Harriet was also the ICLC’s2005/06 nominee for the Law and Justice Foundation Award.Joanna Davidson ably filled the vacancy created by Harriet’s resignation fora period of six months. Joanna was a great asset to the board and volunteersolicitor program for the short time she served. Joanna has subsequentlyresigned to complete her Masters of Law at Harvard.In closing I am ever in awe of the hundred plus volunteer students andsolicitors who work at the Centre. A number of the solicitors have been onthe Centre’s roster for many years. Some of the more senior solicitorscontinue to provide invaluable coaching and assistance to newer volunteersand staff members and we are grateful for their expertise and commitment.ICLC volunteers have given thousands of hours work to the centre andwithout them we would not be able to provide the same level of services.Thank you!Jan SquiresCoordinatorInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200610

Case Study 1 — Pre WorkChoicesOur client is an Aboriginal man who was dismissed by an Aboriginalorganisation. As the job had included accommodation, he became homeless aswell as unemployed. The client strongly believed that his dismissal was unfair.With the assistance of a barrister acting pro bono we represented in a claim forunfair dismissal in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. The claim wassettled with a payment to our client.Case Study 2 — Post WorkChoicesOur client is a single mother and recent migrant to Australia. After working for asmall company for four years she was dismissed without warning or notice byher employer following a period where she had been frequently asked to workon weekends, and was forced to bring her toddler into work with her. She wasnot paid for the extra weekend work. She made a claim of unlawful terminationto the Australian Industrial Relations Commission but the matter did not settle atconciliation. We are now acting for her in an unlawful termination claim in theFederal Court.DiscriminationWe acted in a wide range of discrimination complaints to both the Anti DiscriminationBoard of NSW and the Human Rights and Equal OpportunityCommission. We also acted for a number of clients in discrimination mattersbefore the Administrative Decisions Tribunal.Case StudyOur client is a gay man who lodged a complaint of vilification on the ground ofhomosexuality with the Anti Discrimination Board. The complaint related tomaterial posted on a number of internet sites by the Respondent. The complaintwas not settled at a conciliation conference and was referred to theAdministrative Decisions Tribunal. Jo Shulman, ICLC solicitor, moved to a newposition at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre just prior to the hearing of thematter. We thank PIAC for agreeing to Jo continuing to act and barrister SarahPritchard for her work on this matter. Our client’s complaint was upheld by theTribunal. See Collier v Sunol [2005]NSWADT 261.FinesIn fines matters we act for clients who have large fines and who have adisability, a mental illness, are homeless or have addictions.Case StudyWe acted for a client who had public transport fines incurred in his name afterhaving his pension card stolen while living in a hostel for homeless men. Werepresented our client in the local court and were successful in having the finesdismissed.Inner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200612

Gay and Lesbian Legal AdviceService (GLAS) ReportOur gay and lesbian advice service provides advice to gay, lesbian or transgenderclients about any legal matters.We advised 126 people through our Wednesday night advice sessions. Ourclients came from the local area and also from country areas through phoneadvice sessions. Many country clients just have no access to appropriatelocal legal advice either because of the specialist legal advice involved ortheir perception that they cannot safely confide in someone local.GLAS clients have the same legal problems as everyone else, and they alsoseek help about specific issues including discrimination and harassment atwork or legal rights when a relationship ends. We might have a gay man onthe High Court but homophobia abuse still affects so many people in theirwork. On a happier note we saw a lot of excited lesbian mothers to be, theirpartners and sperm donors with various plans for their level of involvement.Our publication Talking Turkey is still available for download from ourwebsite www.iclc.org.au and is an excellent starting point for same sexpotential parents. We remain, of course, happy to see clients in person.Sue BowreyVolunteer SolicitorICLC’s online resourceTalking Turkey: A LegalGuide for Lesbian Mothersand Sperm Donors in NSWInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200616

Women’s Employment RightsProject (WERP) ReportOn 29 May, 2006, the Centre secured $100 000 in funding from the NSWOffice for Women to document on how the new WorkChoices laws impacton women in NSW. The grant will enable the Centre to provide legal adviceand training to advocates and organisations which advise and assist womenin the workforce. The project will run community legal education workshopsin metropolitan Sydney and rural regional and remote areas of NSW.At the same time, the project will be recording case studies in relation tounfair and unlawful dismissals, AWAs, individual employment contracts,and cases of discrimination.The project is staffed by two part time workers Pat McDonough and JulieVenamore. Pat is a solicitor, who has worked in the employment area forover eighteen years and Julie is an experienced adult educator.Pat McDonough (left)WERP SolicitorJulie VenamoreCLE WorkerThe Hon Sandra Nori MP,Minister for Women (left),Pat McDonough and Susie GreyInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200622

ICLC StatisticsOver the period 2005 – 2006 the centre provided a range of services to 3 165clients. These services included including information, referral, advice andrepresentation.ICLC volunteer solicitors and staff provided initial advice to a total of 924new clients. This figure represents an increase of 8% over the same periodlast year. ICLC Staff solicitors opened 191 new case files for clients from ourtarget group. Assistance given included representation at departmental,tribunal and court level. Other assistance included appeals to Legal Aid andsubmissions for pro bono help.A diagram showing the areas of law in which our volunteer solicitors andstaff gave advice to new clients in the 2005 – 2006 period appears below.Inner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200624

StaffLuke AkeleAnika ZemanVictoria HoustonLaw Graduate – Volunteer PLT PlacementsPeter LongfieldLocum SolicitorSusan GreyVolunteer Coordinatorappointed May 2004Natalie RossPrincipal Solicitorappointed July 2002Pat McDonoughSolicitorappointed July 2005Jan SquiresCoordinatorappointed June 2003Cecilia UrbinaFinance Officerresigned November 2005Julianne ReillyFinance Officer – LocumNovember 2005 – March 2006Alison CookFinance Officerappointed March 2006Inner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200625

Volunteer StudentsThe ICLC relies heavily on the services provided by volunteer law students.Students answer the telephone, make appointments, refer to other agencies,undertake research and complete a range of other administrative duties.This role affords students the opportunity to have contact with thecommunity and the legal system in action. Some students attend for asemester while others have been coming for a few years.We are most grateful for the work of these students over the past year.Sarwa AbdelraheemLuke AkeleNilofar AliPeter AllportLouise BakerAaron BarilJoanne BeenDenes BlazerTamer BotrosSimon BurnettTristan BurtKatie CampbellJulia CarlandAnthony CattKelly ChaliScott ChambersAnita ChenAndrew ChengLisa ChengJeremy ChewPeggy ChingWei Ling ChingIsla ChisolmUdai Sing ChopraSusan CirilloAbbie ClarkeCatherine CooperSophie CrosbieAlex CurnickPatrick DaleyAlison DaviesMargery DiepJaimee DinihamJonathon DooleyRobbie DooleyMadeline ElliotNorman FriedrichSasha Krouk GondaSally HamiltonLyndall HenryEdith HoCharisse HodgemanVictoria HoustonBelinda HuangAlexis HurwitzElizabeth IrelandStephen JohnsonSonia KeoghDavis Ka Ka KwokTarini KalraKia KavoosiHettie KelsoVictor KeungHilary KincaidZsofi KorosySachin KumarTamara KuppusamyStephen LamVictoria La FontaineYun Yi LauAngela LeeGina LeeWan Si LeungInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200626

Sylvia LiangCarlynn LooiAngela LiAlberto Lopez-GarciaAlice McManusKelvin MakLee MangionAndrew MockAli MojtahediBen MotroEmily MuirTim NguiZahra NowrouztafreshiSkye OwenPaul PangTom QuilterAlison RickettAaron SchimannFeneil ShahMinzhi ShiMarcia SimeoneEileen SirinopakuDaniel SolomonsRicky SunAlexia SweetingWendy ThianAnna ThomasVictoria ToddLily TranBetula TseDanielle WhiteJocelyn WilliamsLawrence WirkermanRadhika WithanaCarol WongLi-Lian YeoAnika ZemanAndrew ZimmermanInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200627

Volunteer SolicitorsThe ICLC owes a huge debt to the many volunteer solicitors who contributeone or two nights a month to provide legal advice to our clients.Over the past year the volunteer solicitors from private firms and governmentdepartments listed below have provided advice in our generalist,employment, family, gay, lesbian and transgender legal advice services.Shayne BeckhamBran BlackMichelle BlazekPaul BoersSue BowreySusie BreuerSeamus BurkeIan CheneyJane ChristensenAngelina ChuahPaul CoadyAnnabel CrookesCaire DarbyJoanna DavidsonPaul DavisRoger De RobillardGerry DelaneyAustin DowlingSarah DruceMargaret FahyTammi FaradayChristine FougereDavid GalpinGlenn GouldJacqui GriffinVanessa GrunsteinPaul GutterasMaria GuzmanDavid HansenDominique HansenLaim HardingFelicity HarrisonCaroline HayMelissa JonesMatthew KellyDenise KruseMelinda KunjasichMatthew LynchAaron MagnerTimothy MaraClaire MartinGenevieve McMahonEmily McCarronRebecca Mc MahonNicole McInnonCraig MulveyMichael NightingaleAlex O’MaraFiona PaceClaire ParfittMargaret ParmeterCaroline ParsonsMichele PhamJacqui QuangJames RigneyNatasha RohrMark RoseScott RoulstoneAnne RoyMarissa SandlerAmanda SapienzaPhillip ScroopeCarlo SolimanBrenda StaggsChantal TipeneMichael TiyceYvonne TuckerGeorgina TurnerMichael WestCath WhiddonDavyd WongSunny WongMeg WoodRobyn YoungLisa ZandstraNadine ZetsInner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200628

Around the Centreclockwise from top left:Susie Grey and RyanVerzosa; Guy Noble;Magistrate ScottMitchell with TalkingTurkey babies; ICLCChristmas revellers; atthe launch of TalkingTurkey; ICLC at MardiGras Fair Day; at thevolunteer students’induction day.Inner City Legal Centre Annual Report 2005—200629