LSB July 2022 LR

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LAW IN THE COMMUNITY Justice Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples which found that Out of Home Care for First Nations children was a pathway to juvenile offending and Adult Incarceration. 1 Linda explained how the vast distances which encompass the geographical service areas AFLSSQ commit to support, the dearth of First Nations (and other) Culturally Principled Legal (and support services) Professionals to fill AFLSSQ team vacancies, and the uncertainty of funding and the shortfall of adequate levels of funding to support services such as AFLSSQ all serve to create challenges in providing appropriate services. “The lack of the understanding by funding providers (Government and other), of the needs to be met and the Human Rights entitlements of First Nations families as a fundamental right, persists.” Linda would like to see First Nations individuals, kin and community being afforded the apparent luxury of choice of professional, ethical and affordable legal (and ancillary service eg: Alternative Dispute Resolution) support. She would also like to see an increase in Culturally Principled Legal Services and Practitioners, and Legal Profession Peak Body understanding or support (or willingness to change) their approach to First Nations professionals and community (beyond the cosmetic RAP aims), and a more egalitarian as opposed to competitive approach by funding providers. Linda values the RRRR Network for the opportunity to share information, resources and awareness of the issues, collegiality, strength in numbers, and hopes that the recognition of Very Remote communities by the network will create dialogue and attention to the plight of First Nations people living in very remote areas. Cheryll Rosales is a Solicitor working with Uniting Communities Law Centre (UCLC) in South Australia, for the Disability Advocacy Service. UCLC operates under the umbrella of Uniting Communities (UC), which is a not-for profit community services organisation working alongside more than 80,000 South Australians each year to reduce inequality, improve wellbeing, overcome disadvantage and support people to live the best lives they can. They value diversity and are committed to providing respectful, accessible services. UCLC provides generalist legal advice to those who live in the central, eastern and hills suburbs of Adelaide as well as state-wide legal and advocacy services in the areas of Social Security law (Centrelink), Consumer Credit, Elder Abuse, Disability Advocacy (NDIS access and reviews) and mediation. Cheryl describes the biggest challenges UCLC lawyers have seen is that those who live in regional, remote or very remote areas of South Australia have limited knowledge about the existence of services that could be of assistance to them. “Exacerbated by the pandemic, our services have been unable to travel to the regions to get to know the communities, speak to them about what they perceive to be their needs and support them in a way they would like to be supported. Whilst we provide services and advice by phone or via video conference to these areas, it has not allowed us to build relationships or trust in the community. As a result of not having relationships in the regions we have been limited in our ability to assist people access supports and services they may be entitled to.” UCLC has joined the RRRR Network to form relationships, gain the trust of those who live regionally and assure them that they do not have to live in Adelaide to receive assistance. They hope to become a visible part of the regions and fulfill the purpose of their state-wide services and actually provide services right across the State! Law Council of Australia, National Strategic Plan - Rural, Regional and Remote Lawyers and Communities In 2017-18 the Law Council of Australia undertook a wide-ranging national review into the state of access to justice in Australia – known as the Justice Project. 2 Its focus was on justice barriers facing those with significant social and economic disadvantage, as well as identifying what is working to reduce those barriers. Rural, Regional and Remote (RRR) Australians were amongst those considered a priority group. The full Report was published in August 2018, with a separate report detailing the findings in relation to Rural, Regional and Remote (RRR) Australians. 3 Alarmingly, despite the Report being published nearly 4 years ago, very little appears to have improved. The same issues identified in the Report have been highlighted by our members as ongoing concerns, as can be seen above. The common threads between our member accounts and the Justice Report are: • Cost, distance and lack of public transport, poor technological access and/or capability are common access to justice barriers. • There are significant concerns regarding levels of unmet legal need particularly inland and more remote communities, with some regions being critically underserviced. • Difficulties in recruiting and retaining local lawyers which imposes additional cost and distance burdens on residents, who need to travel further to find help, or miss out altogether. • With the increase in the use of technology service delivery, RRRR residents are more likely to be digitally excluded. • A decline in local court circuit services in RRRR communities significantly exacerbates distance, transport and cost barriers for residents. Some people may give up on attending court despite the personal costs and in some cases the delay in having their matter heard effectively means that their case is already lost. • Certain groups of people are particularly under-represented, including people living in very remote areas and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. • The main barriers constraining RRRR Australians from accessing justice are financial costs, distance and transport, problems accessing technology, and limited awareness of services available. • Services are underfunded, with funding calculated “per capita” in particular geographical areas rather than on the actual cost of providing the service, including travel costs. The RRRR Network is pleased to note that the Law Council has taken on board the findings of the Justice Report, and in November 2020 it produced its National Strategic Plan 4 to address the challenges faced by RRRR lawyers and the communities they serve, including, but not limited to: 14 THE BULLETIN July 2022
LAW IN THE COMMUNITY • difficulties in recruiting and retaining lawyers, and ensuring succession plans; • general shortages of lawyers in RRR areas; • conflict of interest problems due to scarcity of locally available lawyers; and • scarce and over-stretched legal assistance services. In March 2021, the Law Council of Australia officially launched the Rural, Regional and Remote (RRR) National Strategic Plan 2021-2023. 5 Many very good recommendations were made, and it is hoped that these will be followed through and supported by adequate funding and resources. The RRRR Network is keen to collaborate with the Law Council for discussion on progress since the National Strategic Plan was launched. Country Cabinet, South Australia RRRR members are excited to learn of the new “Country Cabinet” in South Australia, which is an opportunity for The Premier, government ministers and chief executives to spend time visiting people, businesses and organisations across each region, to gain a better understanding of the day-to-day experiences of people living, working and doing business in South Australia, through open communication between government and community. RRRR members in South Australia are looking forward participating in the Country Cabinet to have some input into the policies, projects, services and funding the government offers to South Australian RRRR communities for access to justice and related support services. On behalf of the National Regional, Rural, Remote and Very Remote (RRRR) Community Legal Network, thanks to Anne Lewis (Director of the North Queensland Women’s Legal Service), Holly McCoy (Solicitor, Community Justice Services of South Australia), Linda Ryle (Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Aboriginal Family Legal Service Southern Queensland), and Cheryll Rosales (Solicitor, Uniting Communities Law Centre (UCLC) in South Australia) for your invaluable contributions. Michelle Ford is the managing lawyer at WestSide Community Lawyers, which has offices in Hindmarsh (servicing Adelaide’s West), and Port Pirie (servicing the Mid North and Outback regions). B Endnotes 1 ALRC Report 133 pg 75, para 2.76 https:// www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ final_report_133_amended1.pdf 2 The Justice Project Final Report https://www. lawcouncil.asn.au/justice-project/final-report 3 The Justice Report Final Report Part 1 https:// www.lawcouncil.asn.au/files/web-pdf/Justice%20 Project/Final%20Report/Rural%20Regional%20 and%20Remote%20%28RRR%29%20 Australians%20%28Part%201%29.pdf 4 National Strategic Plan https://www.lawcouncil. asn.au/files/pdf/policy-statement/RRR_NSP.pdf 5 https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/rrr-law THE LAW FOUNDATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA FELLOWSHIP NOTE: Any person who would have been otherwise eligible to apply for a Law Foundation Fellowship in 2021 but could not do so as the Fellowship was not offered in 2021 due to COVID-19, may apply this year (2022). The Law Foundation is a non-profit organisation. Its objectives include: (a) the support of legal research which is of value in law reform; (b) the promotion and provision of legal education and information for legal practitioners, students and members of the public; (c) the provision of legal services to the community. The annual LAW FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP offers funding up to $50,000 (inclusive of GST) to enable the successful applicant to pursue a course of legal or legally related academic or other study outside of the State of South Australia. Academic merit or the academic level of the proposed course will not be the only criteria for eligibility but the outcome of the study must offer a benefit to the general community and the legal community of South Australia. Applicants must be graduates of the Law Schools of the University of Adelaide, Flinders University or University of South Australia OR legal practitioners with not less than 5 years’ experience in South Australia and who hold current Practising Certificates. Graduates who hold full-time academic positions are not eligible for the Fellowship. Applications for the Fellowship are now invited and will close on 30 SEPTEMBER 2022. Application criteria and general information can be obtained from the Foundation as follows: www.lawfoundationsa.com.au OR The Executive Officer, Law Foundation of South Australia Incorporated PO Box 6381, Halifax Street ADELAIDE SA 5000 July 2022 THE BULLETIN 15 Ph 0429 266 611
Page 1 and 2: THE BULLETIN THE LAW SOCIETY OF SA
Page 3 and 4: This issue of The Law Society of So
Page 5 and 6: PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Community eng
Page 7 and 8: LAW IN THE COMMUNITY seeking assist
Page 9 and 10: LAW IN THE COMMUNITY What do you th
Page 11 and 12: WELLBEING & RESILIENCE and observe
Page 13: LAW IN THE COMMUNITY CLCSA Chair Ca
Page 17 and 18: YOUNG LAWYERS facebook.com/YLCSA Ta
Page 19 and 20: FEATURE Spreading the word: SA laws
Page 21 and 22: LAW IN THE COMMUNITY What motivates
Page 23 and 24: EVENTS Chief Justice Kourakis cutti
Page 25 and 26: LEGAL INTERPRETATION may be demonst
Page 27 and 28: FROM THE CONDUCT COMMISSIONER Commu
Page 29 and 30: TAX FILES • The 1991 Deeds were a
Page 31 and 32: LAW IN THE COMMUNITY Urgent investm
Page 33 and 34: RISK WATCH “Are you able to confi
Page 35 and 36: FAMILY LAW CASE NOTES The appeal wa
Page 37 and 38: A roundup of recent Society meeting
Page 39 and 40: CLASSIFIEDS VALUATIONS MATRIMONIAL

LSB July 2022 LR

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