Advocating for fairness.da.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Advocacy-Law-Alliance-2013... · 2015-06-14 · Treasurer Margaret Keane I currently hold a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in

Advocacy Law Alliance Incorporated ABN: 93 984 383 421

www.advocacylaw.org.au

Advocating for fairness.

Annual Report 2013/14

www.da.org.au www.mncclc.org.au (Head Office: 408 King Newcastle West NSW Australia 2302 Phone: 02 49243599 email: [email protected] )

http://www.advocacylaw.org.au/

http://www.da.org.au/

http://www.mncclc.org.au/

mailto:[email protected]

Advocacy Law Alliance Incorporated Annual Report 2013-14

Advocacy Law Alliance Inc (ALA) The story of Advocacy Law Alliance (ALA) began in Tamworth NSW in 1985 where a small group of locals set up an association to advocate for people with an intellectual disability (Citizen Advocacy Northwest). In 1994, Disability Advocacy Service Hunter (DASH) was established in Newcastle NSW to advocate for all people with a disability and mental illness. In 2006, DASH and Advocacy Northwest joined forces to become Disability Advocacy NSW (DA) and gradually expanded to cover the Mid North Coast region. Mid North Coast advocates found that the region was one of the few in NSW that did not have a community legal centre that could ensure disadvantaged people (including people with a disability) get fair access to justice. DA advocates worked over a number of years with local groups to research legal needs and gather relevant evidence to show that a community legal centre should be based on the Mid North Coast. In 2010 the Commonwealth and NSW governments offered funds to establish a community legal centre in Port Macquarie. Disability Advocacy NSW was the successful applicant in an open tender and the doors of the new Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre opened in mid 2011. We believe the strength of our organisation lies in combining the expertise of different professions (lawyers, social workers, disability workers) to achieve the best outcomes for our disadvantaged clients. To reflect the diversity of the services it provided and the alliance between legal and social advocacy, Disability Advocacy NSW changed its name to Advocacy Law Alliance Inc and registered the business names Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre and Disability Advocacy NSW. ALA operates in the regional and rural areas of the Hunter, Mid North Coast and New England regions of NSW. The service covers over 120,000 square kilometres and services a population of over 1 million people. ALA has offices in Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Taree and Armidale.

Advocacy Law Alliance (ALA)

Disability Advocacy NSW

Hunter, New England & Mid North Coast Regions

Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre

Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey

Local Government Areas

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Funding Disability Advocacy NSW

• Department of Social Services (DSS) • NSW Department of Family and Community Services (ADHC)

DSS and Ageing Disability &Home Care (ADHC) are the main funding contributors to DA NSW. DA has also received funding support from the following organisations to assist in the operation of special projects:

• Legal Aid NSW * Hunter - Cooperative Legal Service Delivery Project. Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre

• Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department and Legal Aid NSW * Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre. ALA thanks all of these organisations for their support this year. ALA Board Profile ALA Board at 30 June

Chair

Richard Dash

I have had broad experience in government and community welfare, having worked at Commonwealth and State levels, and as a Local Government Councillor. I have been a 'hands-on' manager of an accommodation service for disabled men, University lecturer and TAFE teacher, a volunteer advocate, a Trade Union official, a committee member of organisations such as Landcare, Arts Council and Catchment Management. I have recently been Vice President of another Community Legal Centre (3.5 years). For the last nine years my day job has been as a tenants' advocate.

Vice Chair Ross Pfennigwerth

I have been part of an association committee, director of a solicitor corporation and been on many different committees. I have some familiarity with the legislation and the idea of incorporation. I am a lawyer – a litigator. I have acted for many people disabled by injury including some with brain damage or prostheses and others who required wheelchairs.

Treasurer Margaret Keane

I currently hold a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Financial Accounting, and Management Accounting and Business law, and a minor in Human Resource Management. I have for the past 8 years been the manager of a University student Access Centre. This position requires management, HR, Accounting, organizational and OH&S skills. Prior to this position I had worked, over a 30 year period, in both public and private practice accounting. Many of these positions were in a managerial role. Through Advocacy North West I was a volunteer advocate for a person with a disability

Secretary Jaclyne Fisher

I have worked as the Manager Community Development at the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council since February 2010 where my portfolio includes library services, customer service centres and call centre, crime prevention, social planning, aged and disability community development, young people community development, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Development, Community Development including the community grants program and community halls management. I have also worked as a Senior Manager Indirect Taxation at Ernst and Young and as the National Director Excise Compliance with the Australian Taxation Office. I have extensive experience in project management and administration. I have a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of NSW (1983) and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Queensland/Mt Eliza Business School (2004). I have has also undertaken training in Social Planning from the University of Technology Sydney and community engagement with IAP2.

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Board Member Gary Kennedy

My skills are basically a long term board member on several NSW and Federal Government Boards dealing with regional development and community issues. I chair several community organisations and I am the President of Newcastle and Cardiff Panthers as well as serving as a board member on the Panthers Group. I have extensive experience in the industrial relations area and in Occupational Health And Safety in my current role as the Secretary of the Newcastle Trades Hall Council, and previously as the NSW President of the Communications Workers Union

Board Member Martin English

I am a solicitor and have been practicing in Port Macquarie for the last 12 years. I have been involved with local programs that assist the community throughout the course of my legal practice. I have volunteered at the Neighbourhood Centre and the Port Macquarie Women’s Refuge to give legal advice and assistance. For the last 10 years I have given lectures and provided guidance for the Traffic Offenders Program. I am interested in ensuring access to justice for all of our community and the offering of services to cater for community needs.

Board Member Robert Carrington

I have been working as an accountant for 30 years, both in private practice and in commerce. I am currently working for a firm of Chartered Accountants in Tamworth. I worked for a disability service provider for 8 years in a finance / IT role. I have been a director of the Northern Inland Credit Union for the past 8 years.

Board Member Renee Rogers

I have a Bachelor of Arts Diploma in Education and an Associate Degree in Law. My employment history is in secondary teaching, disability service work and more recently grants, communication and community work through my role at Muswellbrook Council.

Board Member George Hegarty

I have a law degree from ANU, graduating in 1978. I was admitted as a solicitor and barrister of the ACT Supreme Court. I worked as a legal officer in a number of Federal Departments. I also worked as an advocate in the fields of public law and international law. I have extensive management experience. After retirement I moved to the Mid North Coast and have become involved in a number of community groups.

Board Member David Whittaker

I worked for almost 20 years in local government finance in several London boroughs. I have a PhD in English Literature. I have considerable experience in working in government finances and funding and in community sector organisations.

Members ALA has approximately 50 members. The majority are people who have used the services with the remainder made up of interested members of the public, volunteers and staff members.

ALA Staff Mark Grierson (Chief Executive Officer); Catherine Peek (Deputy Chief Executive Officer); Peter Kilpatrick (Operations Coordinator); Joan Ranger (Business Coordinator); Jeff Hynes (Administration Officer); and Kerrie Anderson (Administration Officer). DA Staff Hunter Region: Sonia Powazuk (Advocacy Coordinator); Chris Scope (Advocate); Bronwyne Chapman (Intake Coordinator/Advocate); Greg Williams (Hunter Regional Coordinator); Susan Wilcox (Advocate & CLSD Regional Coordinator); Ndinawe Mtonga (Advocate); Ben Hamilton (Advocate). Volunteers: Joan Lloyd; Bill Jackson and David Whittaker. New England Region: Helen Sutherland (Regional Coordinator); Shaun Peters (Tamworth Advocate); Chris Foord (Armidale Advocate); Melinda Ashton (Admin Assistant); and Susan Ridley (Admin Assistant). Volunteers: Linda Hutchings and Sandy Moylan

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Mid North Coast Region: Robert Manwaring (Acting Regional Coordinator/Coffs Harbour Advocate); Maryanne Gawne (Regional Coordinator/Advocate); Marita Dahlhausen (Port Macquarie Advocate); Roslynne Britton (Taree Advocate); Fran Pearce (Intake Officer/ Advocate); and Karen Weiss (Admin Assistant). Volunteers: Steve Bonano. MNCCLC Staff Nassim Arrage (Principal Solicitor), Kyrie Couch (Solicitor), Melanie Kallmier (Admin and Projects Officer), Jane Titterington (Solicitor), Russell Cavanagh (Aboriginal Access Officer), Patrick Hourigan (PLT, then Solicitor). Volunteers: Liz Jokantas (UNE), Legal Assistant; Shannon Nand (PLT program, College of Law); Efrem Blackshield (PLT program, College of Law); Patrick Hourigan (PLT program, College of Law); Linda Bannan (PLT program, Leo Cussens College of Law VIC); Kathy Dibbs (SCU) Legal Assistant; Nicole Stanzer (PLT program, UTS); Sarah Hamilton (PLT program, College of Law); Natalie Cooper (SCU) Legal Assistant; Tim Bauer (MacqU) Legal Assistant; and Rob Oakeshott (MacqU) Legal Assistant.

ALA Staff Conference – July 2014, Newcastle.

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ALA Chairperson’s Report Richard Dash It gives me great pleasure to report on my second year as Chairperson of Advocacy Law Alliance. I would characterise this year as a year of achievement, continued improvement and new challenges. Firstly I must congratulate the staff and volunteers of the organisation for the excellent and dedicated work. I have met everyone at various meetings and am universally impressed with their ability and enthusiasm. Each year presents challenges particularly in a changing policy environment. The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the Hunter has meant that our organisation is involved with one of the biggest national policy changes in many years. As the first trial site in NSW our organisation plays a significant role in testing and challenging the new scheme to ensure it becomes a good and durable system that gives people with a disability real choice. The community legal centre sector also faces challenges with shrinking federal funding. I am proud to note that one of the strategies our CLC has used is to go out and successfully source alternative funding for an innovative and potentially far reaching project. I would also like to thank my fellow Board members who have all contributed to the smooth running of the organization. If I can be forgiven for singling someone out, I would like to pay tribute to Margaret Keane for her exemplary work as Treasurer. Having clear and precise financial reporting makes the job of the Board much easier. ALA Treasurer’s Report Margaret Keane This report is written in relation to the Financial Report for the year ended 30th June, 2014 of Advocacy Law Alliance Incorporated. The Financial Report has been compiled, and audit conducted, by Erminio Adoranti of Adoranti & Co Pty. Ltd. The Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre audit was conducted by R A Evans. The Audit Reports are contained at the end of this document. Profit and Loss Statement Income for the 2014 financial year totalled $1,894,248. The majority of this income was received from funding provided by government and non-government organisations. Bank interest contributed $22,315 to this amount. Reported expenditure for the period totalled $1,764,327. This resulted in a net profit for the financial year of $129,921. This is a considerable increase on the expected $11,738 profit budgeted for 2014. The profit increase was due to the receipt of additional and unexpected funding, as well as a tightening of expenditure throughout the period. The funds from the profit have been deposited into the organisation’s bank accounts and are expected to cover a budgeted deficit in the 2015 financial year.

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Assets and Liabilities Assets for the reporting period totalled $670,596 of which $411,864 are held in bank accounts. Liabilities totalled $223,589, leaving the Association with Net Assets of $447,006. It should be noted that Provisions for Annual and Long Service Leave contribute significantly to the Association’s liabilities. A term deposit is in place to cover a major proportion of this liability. Overview Even with the uncertainty of funding in 2015 and onward, ALA is still considered to be in a sound financial position. In assessing an organisation’s liquidity it is advisable to look at the organisation’s Net Working Capital Ratio (Current Assets minus Current Liabilities) and Current Ratio (Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities). At the 30th June, 2014 ALA had a Net Working Capital of $226,204 and a Current Ratio of 2.12. As this ratio is greater than 1 ALA is considered to be in a strong position to be able to meet its financial commitments if and when they fall due. The management and staff of ALA should therefore be commended for their financial stewardship of the organisation. ALA Chief Executive Officer’s Report

Mark Grierson

Again I have asked the staff at ALA to contribute to this documents and use it as a place to document and showcase what we do with the government funding we receive each year. They have provided detailed statistics, case studies and descriptions of education, systemic advocacy and law reform work. It is important to get our clients a fair go but it is also important to document how we go about it in a professional manner.

Our non government sector continues to change rapidly. ALA has foreseen this and in response has grown, diversified and become more professional. My view has been that people who are disadvantaged or have a disability deserve a quality professional service that is accountable to them and for public funds that it receives. There are dangers in growth and increasing professionalisation. However, I think if handled carefully, this will mean a better deal for clients with better coverage across the regional areas of the country. It will not affect our role of advocating to decision makers to change policy and practice if we back up our case with clear evidence. Accreditation ALA has worked hard over the last few years to improve the quality and professionalism of our service. Proof of this is that in 2012 both DA and MNCCLC have been independently audited against the quality standards and on both occasions have received accreditation. In 2013 DA has again had an independent accreditation audit and is the first disability advocacy service to achieve both NSW and Australian accreditation.

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MNCCLC: National NACLC Accreditation

DA NSW: National Disability Advocacy Standards

NSW Disability Service Standards ALA has put a lot of effort into ensuring that people who use our services can openly provide feedback about their experiences. The feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive thanks to the professionalism and dedication of our staff. However when we receive negative feedback or input from clients or stakeholders, we are always keen to examine our practices and look for improvements. The Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre is now in its 4th year. Our staff members at MNCCLC have worked hard to establish the Centre and make it an important place for disadvantaged people to get professional and timely legal advice. The staff members are now working towards providing more community legal education and other projects in an attempt to short circuit common legal problems faced by people in the region. ALA, through DA, employs qualified skilled and independent advocates to ensure people with a disability are treated fairly. Some of our advocates have a disability themselves and have developed advocacy skills through traineeships offered by the organisation. ALA, though the MNCCLC, has employed lawyers and staff with legal qualifications to assist a range of disadvantaged groups, including people with a disability and indigenous communities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff, board members and volunteers for their work this year.

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Disability Advocacy NSW (DA) Disability Advocacy NSW is located in the Hunter, New England and Mid North Coast regions of NSW Australia and believes that people with a disability have the same rights (and responsibilities) as non-disabled people. We aim to ensure that people with a disability obtain these rights in practice by advocating with them and for them. Disability Advocacy NSW is for people with: mental illness neurological disability physical disability brain injury sensory disability intellectual disability their family or carers

Advocates seek to assist people with a disability who have been treated unfairly. (As a guideline, a person with a disability is treated unfairly if he or she is treated contrary to: law, human rights, policy, standards or well accepted conventions such as procedural fairness/natural justice). Put in another way, advocacy is about 'standing by' someone, or 'speaking out' for someone's rights, or 'going in to bat' for another person - being 'on their side', especially when the chips are down. " (Ian Parsons, 1994).

Philosophy DA believes that people with a disability have the same rights and responsibilities as non-disabled people. Aim DA aims to ensure that people with a disability obtain these rights in practice by advocating with and for them.

Strategies The Service will use a combination of four strategies to meet its aim.

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1. Individual Advocacy: Assisting individuals to deal with disadvantage and unfair treatment.

2. Systemic Advocacy: Assisting individuals or groups to deal with recurrent or systemic

problems that relate to disability. This strategy may involve assisting people to undertake community action such as lobbying decision-makers or by using community development strategies to reduce disadvantage.

3. Community Education: Actively educate the community about disability in order to

reduce disadvantage and discrimination faced by people with a disability. This strategy will promote the abilities of people with a disability.

4. Information: Provision of information services to ensure that people with a disability and

those who support them have the best access to relevant information and resources.

Disability Advocacy NSW - Service Report

DA is funded by the New South Wales and Australian governments to carry out a range of advocacy services for people with a disability. DA also uses its own resources and special grants to operate other programs. This report looks at the number of people we have assisted and the types of advocacy assistance provided. However for a view of what clients think about the service, please see survey results at the end of this report and on our website www.da.org.au . A great source of up-to-date information is our public social media pages:

Disability Advocacy NSW Facebook Twitter Advocacy Coordinator’s Report – Sonia Powazuk Well they say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and the last 12 months at DA have certainly been a testament to that! We have come through a period of significant change in all three of our DA regions over this last year due to numerous staff changes, farewelling old colleagues and welcoming new faces to the team. We have also been through office relocations in Port Macquarie and with the Newcastle and Tamworth offices both set to move over the next few months. Add some painfully prolonged renovations (Newcastle) to the mix as well and we have had a year to be reckoned with. That said, all have pulled together resulting in a strong and resilient team of advocates that have done the service proud. Training and Networking Our annual All-of-ALA networking and training days were held over two days in July with a total of 22 people attending from both DA and the MNCCLC. Over the two days staff attended presentations by the Welfare Rights Centre on Centrelink issues for people with disability, as well as presentations on Dealing with High Conflict Behaviour (by Kathy Tetu from CMMS) and on Ethical Dilemmas in Disability Advocacy (by Matthew Bowden from People with Disability Australia).

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http://www.da.org.au/

https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityAdvocacyNSW

https://twitter.com/@advocacynsw

https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityAdvocacyNSW�

https://twitter.com/@advocacynsw�


These training and networking days have also provided us with a great opportunity for collaborating with other disability advocacy services such as People with Disability Australia (PWDA) and the Indigenous Disability Advocacy Service (IDAS) and has allowed us to share skills, experiences and ideas across service boundaries. This is something we not often seen in the advocacy sector and it is something we at DA are very proud of initiating. Collaboration with other Advocacy Services Mark Grierson and I also had the pleasure of visiting some other key regional disability advocacy services in July for the purpose of exchanging information and strengthening links between our services. In Shepparton, Victoria we spent two days at the Regional Information and Advocacy Centre (RIAC) followed by a trip across Bass Strait to visit Advocacy Tasmania Inc. in both Hobart and Devonport. These visits were very positive and again, have resulted in DA developing some strong working relationships across borders. Systemic Advocacy Each DA region identifies systemic issues at their monthly advocate meetings and reports on these at the quarterly general Staff meeting. The top 3 systemic issues identified for each region for 2013-14 are:

Hunter New England Mid North Coast Problems at NDIS planning stage resulting in refusal or limiting of service

Disability Support Pension application refusals and suspensions

Lack of regional case management services for people with disabilities

Disability Support Pension application refusals and suspensions

Lack of regional case management services for people with disabilities

Lack of support for people with mental health issues

Access to legal services for people with disabilities in the Upper Hunter re Children’s Court matters

Access to AUSLAN interpreters for deaf people

School issues

Each DA region has nominated a systemic issue that they will be working on over the next 12 months and have developed a regional action plan to guide them. The Hunter has nominated NDIS planning problems as the topic of their systemic advocacy project, the New England region will be working on a project focusing on the disproportionate number of Disability Support Pension refusals in that region and the Mid North Coast region are looking at unfair treatment experienced by students with disabilities attending non-government schools on the mid north coast. Changes to Intake at DA DA has recently implemented some changes to the intake system in order to ensure greater consistency between the three DA regions. Each region now has dedicated intake support two days a week each. Bronwyne Chapman now coordinates intake for both the Hunter and New England regions (at two days a week each) with the Mid North Coast region having Fran Pearce dedicated to intake two days a week.

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Funding DA has received funding from the Federal Government for 29 years and from the NSW Government for 13 years. DA receives a grant directly from DSS and ADHC to provide individual and systemic advocacy services to the Mid North Coast, Hunter and New England Regions.

The majority of DA’s work continues to be individual advocacy, where our advocates seek to assist people with a disability deal with disadvantage. Although this takes the bulk of our time, it also underpins systemic advocacy where we try to redress disadvantage faced by a group of people with a disability. Our “on the ground experience” is always very helpful in dealing with these larger issues.

Individual Advocacy Statistical Information This financial year DA in the Hunter, New England and Mid North Coast Regions assisted with 1,409 advocacy issues for 892 clients. These figures do not count the hundred of calls requesting informal information and advice. Type of Issue

Disability – relevant to issue

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Cultural Background

Mid-North Coast (MNC) Region DA has offices and advocates in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie. The MNC advocates are coordinated and supported by the MNC Regional Coordinator who was based in Coffs Harbour, but is now based in Port Macquarie. The MNC Region dealt with 225 client matters this year.

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New England Region The New England region has two advocates based in Tamworth including a Regional Coordinator. A third advocate is based in Armidale. The New England Region dealt with 269 client matters this year.

Hunter Region The Hunter regions Newcastle office has 5 advocates including the Hunter Regional Coordinator, Intake Coordinator and External Merits Review staff. The Advocacy Coordinator for Disability Advocacy NSW is based in Newcastle. This role is similar to a senior practioner as the Advocacy Coordinator is the most experienced advocate and provides advocacy case supervision for other regional coordinators & advocates and oversees systemic advocacy work. The Hunter Region dealt with 398 client matters this year.

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Education DA has continued to run a range of information sessions and workshops about the rights of people with a disability and disability advocacy. DA has developed a community education plan and all advocates have recently undergone special training to improve their skills in running education sessions for people with a disability.

DA ran 81 information sessions and workshops for people with disabilities in group homes and supported employment as well as people with a disability, disability organisations, community groups, TAFE students, and university students. 2,210 people were provided education and information in these sessions.

DA’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityAdvocacyNSW provides detailed day to day information about our community education program to people with a disability and the public.

Legal Disadvantage Many of our clients experience disadvantage in the justice system. This is evident in general research and the fact that DA’s most common advocacy issues relate to the law. Some of our strategies to deal with this issue have been through the CLSD project funded by Legal Aid NSW: CLSD project The Cooperative Legal Service Delivery (CLSD) Program is a regionally-based approach which aims to improve legal service delivery outcomes for economically and socially disadvantaged people including people with disabilities. ALA is the regional coordination agency for this project. Susan Wilcox is the Hunter Regional CLSD Coordinator. Key activities this year included:

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https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityAdvocacyNSW


• Orientation information session for international students at Newcastle TAFE (ongoing project)

• Interactive Play on Domestic Violence and sexting for young people. Tantrum Youth Arts developed and presented the play to Alesco Secondary College.

• A Police Station and Court support workshop for youth workers • Electricity and Water workshop for community workers • Disability Law Training in partnership with Legal Aid • AVO neighbourhood dispute information sessions to Compass Housing • Participation in the Compass Housing Tenant’s forum

EMR (NDIS External Merits Review Support Program) Update

Disability Advocacy NSW employs specialised support staff who can assist people that are dissatisfied with a decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (the NDIA) to have this decision reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). This is known as External Merits Review (EMR) and the support persons; EMR Support Persons (EMRSP). To date, DA NSW has assisted three clients to seek External Merits Review (EMR) of a ‘reviewable decision’ made by the NDIA. Two of these cases are outlined below. Case 1 An EMRSP of DA NSW assisted a gentleman to lodge an application to the AAT to seek an EMR of a decision made by the NDIA that he did not qualify as a Participant of the NDIS. The NDIA deemed this person as having medical conditions as opposed to disabilities. The applicant suffered chronic ischaemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, an adrenal gland disease, and sciatica from two ruptured discs in his lower back as a result of a work injury some years earlier. EMRSP assisted this person to obtain legal representation. A senior solicitor from Legal Aid NSW was subsequently appointed. The AAT found that the Applicant’s inability to mow his lawns did not determine him as having a substantially reduced functional capacity for self-management and the client therefore failed to meet all requirements as an NDIS Participant. Outcome • Despite the unfavourable ruling, this is the first decision of the AAT of Australia to

address the interpretation of the NDIS disability access requirements, as provided by section 24 of the Act.

• The client’s matter was recently noted in an article published by Fairfax Media

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Case 2 An EMRSP assisted another person to lodge an application to the AAT to seek an EMR of a decision made by the NDIA that he also did not qualify as a Participant of the NDIS as he did not meet all the disability access requirements of the NDIS Act. The EMRSP supported the client to lodge an application to the AAT, obtain legal representation through Legal Aid and provided support and individual advocacy. Outcome • Shortly after review of the new OT Report, the NDIA entered into negotiations with the

client’s lawyer and by way of settlement, agreed that according to the new evidence, the client qualifying as a Participant of the NDIS.

Quality Assurance: Client Consultations Each year DA consults groups of past clients in each region. These consultations are completed by an independent person and the information from these consultations is fed back into our planning and improvement process. Consultations with clients also bring up systemic advocacy issues for action. Our client consultation outcomes are published publicly on our website http://da.org.au/publications/quality-assurance/ . Due to the heavy audit schedule where many clients are consulted along the fact that some clients expressed the view that they were “over-consulted” we will be delaying further formal consultations to 14/15 year. DA Exit Surveys To ensure all that our work is accountable to clients, members, funding bodies and the general community we have undertaken to give all clients the opportunity to comment on the advocacy assistance they received from DA. Our new quality assurance approach is to survey all clients when an advocacy matter is concluded. While there are flaws in any research instrument we believe that this method gives a fair indication of the success or otherwise of our advocacy work. Any negative comments by clients are also raised at staff and board meeting with a view to continuous improvement of our work.

DA Client Feedback Exit Survey Results

Response Yes No Not Sure

My advocate listened to me and treated me with dignity and respect 94 1 2

My advocate gave me options to choose from when helping me with my issue 91 2 4

My advocate got my permission before talking to other people about my issue 94 0 3

I knew that I had the right to complain if I was unhappy with the service. 84 1 12

My advocate helped me to achieve what I wanted 81 9 7

I would recommend the service to others 90 3 4

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http://da.org.au/publications/quality-assurance/


Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre (MNCCLC) The Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre (MNCCLC) located in Port Macquarie provides legal information, legal education and legal advice to people living and working in the local government areas of Greater Taree, Port Macquarie – Hastings and Kempsey Shire. MNCCLC believes that improving access to justice for people who experience economic and/or social disadvantage is fundamental to a fair and equitable society. MNCCLC provides legal information to all people living and working within the catchment area. MNCCLC also provides legal advice from a solicitor to all people living and working within the catchment area, who need help in any of the following areas:

• Debt and money issues

• Employment

• Fines and traffic offences

• Car accidents

• Family violence & apprehended violence orders

• Buying goods and services

• Insurance

• Discrimination

• Solicitor complaints

• Police complaints

• Powers of attorney and Enduring Guardianship

• Privacy and personal information

• Government complaints

• Criminal law (limited)

• Family law (limited)

MNCCLC advocates for people who experience economic and/or social disadvantage, including:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

• People with disability

• Older people

• People on low income

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Philosophy All people, regardless of their economic and/ or social disadvantage, should have fair and equitable access to the justice system.

Aim The Service aims to ensure that people are able to access courts, tribunals and legal services that are most appropriate to their means and needs.

Strategies The Service will use a combination of five strategies to meet its aim. 1. Legal Information and Referral: providing individuals with legal information and

referring them to the legal service that best meets their needs.

2. Legal Advice: providing individuals with advice given by a solicitor.

3. Legal Casework: providing individuals with ongoing support by drafting letters, legal

documents or court documents, negotiating with the other party & representation in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as well as courts and tribunals.

4. Community Legal Education: actively educate the community about legal issues that

affect people experiencing economic and/or social disadvantage.

5. Law and Policy Submissions: identifying and contributing to improving policies and laws

that have a disproportionate and/or unfair impact on people experiencing economic and/or social disadvantage.

Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre - Service Report

Principal Solicitor’s Report – Nassim Arrage /Jane Titterington The Centre is funded through Commonwealth and State government grants administered by Legal Aid NSW. This report looks at the number and type of people we have assisted and the types of assistance provided. Survey results at the end of the report provide a view of what clients think about the service. Funding MNCCLC has entered its fourth year of operation and has been relying on funding from the Commonwealth and State Governments under the Community Legal Services Program for community legal centres.

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Community legal centres are independent and community managed not for profit services which provide a range of assistance on legal and related matters to people on low incomes and those with special needs. Community legal centres are a key component of Australia’s legal assistance system, providing services that complement and extend the services provided by legal aid commissions and the private profession. MNCCLC does this work through the strategies described above, legal information and referral, legal advice, legal casework, community legal education and law and policy submission activities.

Information and Referral This financial year MNCCLC provided information and referral (not including information and referral provided when a MNCCLC solicitor gives legal advice) on 709 occasions. This represents an increase of 26% from the previous year.

Legal Advice MNCCLC provides legal advice via telephone or by face to face appointments in Port Macquarie or at outreach locations in Kempsey, Taree, Wingham and the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre. This financial year MNCCLC provided legal advice to 899 people. This represents an increase of 29% from the previous year. A total of 1117 legal advices were given. This represents an increase of 29% from the previous year. The following table shows the proportion of legal issues that arose in an advice sessions.

Area of Law % Credit and debt 16.8 Employment 10.2 Other civil 9.7 Family 9.6 Road & traffic offences/fines 9.6 Consumer 9.3 Wills & Power of Attorney 7.3 Administrative 6.8 ADVOs and APVOs 5.2 Crime 4.1 Motor vehicle 3.8 Victims compensation 2.9 Discrimination 2.4 Neighbourhood disputes 2.3

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The following table shows the areas in which people live who receive our legal advice:

Local Government Area (LGA) # Advices % Advices Greater Taree 244 21.8 Port Macquarie – Hastings 537 48.1 Kempsey Shire 242 21.7 Great Lakes 26 2.2 Nambucca Shire 5 0.4 Gloucester Shire 8 0.7 Other 57 5.1 TOTAL 1117 100.0

The preceding table shows a significant increase in advice given to people living in both the Greater Taree and Kempsey Shire LGAs. This reflects our planned strategy to improve access to legal services for people living in and around Kempsey and Taree. Of the advices given, at least:

• 15% were given to someone who identified as being either Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

• 37% were given to someone who identified as having a disability

• 4% were given to someone with no income

• 78% were given to someone who identified as having low income

Legal Casework This financial year MNCCLC provided legal casework to 163 people. This represents an increase of 66% from the previous year. A total of 190 new cases were opened. This represents an increase of 62% from the previous year. The following table shows the proportion of legal issues that arose in casework.

Area of Law % Credit and Debt 30.1 Road & Traffic Offences and other fines 12.2 Wills & Power of Attorney 10.0 Consumer 9.2 Other Civil 8.7 Family 7.4 Employment 4.8 Administrative Law 4.4 Motor Vehicle 3.5 ADVOs and APVOs 2.6 Victims Compensation 2.6

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Crime 2.2 Discrimination 1.7 TOTAL 100.0

The following table shows the area in which people who we are assisting with casework live:

Local Government Area # Advices % Advices Greater Taree 49 25.8 Port Macquarie – Hastings 77 40.4 Kempsey Shire 54 28.4 Great Lakes 5 2.7 Other 5 2.7 TOTAL 117 100.0

Of the new cases, at least:

• 27% were in relation to someone who identified as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

• 45% were in relation to someone who identified as having a disability

• 1% were in relation to someone who identified as having no income

• 89% were in relation to someone who identified as having low income

Case Example 1: Debt and consumer law Keith is an older man living with an intellectual disability who had entered into contracts for both a landline and mobile phone with a major telecommunications company. Keith had an overdue amount on his bill for a period of over 6 weeks which he did not understand and was unable to pay. In addition to this, there was an further arrears amount from his mobile service, for which he did not understand the reason. MNCCLC assisted Keith with barring premium services to his accounts, and filed a complaint on the basis that Keith had an intellectual disability and did not have the capacity to understand the terms and conditions of the agreements he had entered into. MNCCLC lodged a Financial Hardship Application with the company on Keith’s behalf, resulting in the waiving of the arrears amounts. The company transferred Keith's mobile account to a pre-paid service, and the landline to an incoming calls only service, with no monthly line rental. Case Example 2: Consumer law – unconscionable conduct Anthony lives with a heart condition and vision impairment. He was cold called by a phone company and signed to a new service contract. However, Anthony was already signed with another phone service provider. Anthony wished to cancel his contract with the company that had cold called him, but was told it would incur an exit fee of $1,070 or $600 if paid by

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credit card. Anthony began receiving calls from the company demanding payment. MNCCLC advised that the debt could be waived due to unconscionable conduct and the fact it was an unsolicited contract. MNCCLC recommended and assisted in lodging a complaint to the Telecommunications Ombudsman. The company waived the debt in full. Case Example 3: Section 32 Application

Rebecca is a 24 year old Aboriginal woman suffering from severe mental illness. She tried to injure herself and in the process had a car accident. As a result Rebecca was charged with dangerous driving. MNCCLC represented her in court and made an application under s32 of the Mental Health (Forensic Procedures) Act 1990. A section 32 order is a way for the Local Court to divert people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system and into the human service sector so they can get the assistance they need manage their mental illness. The Local Court granted the s32 application.

Case Example 4: Insurance Stephen is a young man with an intellectual disability. He had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. He did not have comprehensive insurance and the other party’s insurance company was chasing him for the damage caused. MNCCLC negotiated with the insurance company who waived the $2,500.00 debt in full. Case Example 5: Public Housing fraud

MNCCLC’s client was a homeless woman in her 40s. She had been charged with ‘making a false representation to obtain a rental rebate’ from NSW Housing x2. This was because she had inherited a property which Housing NSW claimed she was receiving an income from. MNCCLC assisted the client in drafting written submissions on the basis that the client never wilfully made a false statement. The client’s father had left her a property and she had consulted solicitors to draft a trust deed whereby she held the property on trust for her children. At no stage did she receive financial benefit or income from the property. NSW Housing accepted the client’s submissions and withdrew the charges. Case Example 6: Appeal of a licence suspension Larissa is a young pregnant mother who had been caught speeding more than 20km over the limit. She was a P1 Provisional Licence Holder and while this was her first offence, it exceeded her demerit point limit. MNCCLC appeared for Larissa in the Local Court as she was extremely anxious and was emotionally unable to give verbal testimony. The Magistrate agreed with our submissions and waived the 3 month suspension, allowing the client to keep driving. Case Example 7: Guardianship Tribunal

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Edith resides in a nursing home and uses a wheelchair. Her husband made an application to the Guardianship Tribunal for a financial management order and guardianship. There was suspicion that the husband had been taking financial advantage of Edith. With assistance of Disability Advocacy, MNCCLC represented Edith at the hearing. The Tribunal found that the client had capacity and denied the application for guardianship. As there were disputes within the family, the client consented to an independent financial manager being appointed. MNCCLC also assisted Edith to revoke the current Power of Attorney to her husband and drafted an enduring guardianship in accordance with her wishes. The husband has since filed for divorce.

Community Legal Education MNCCLC provided community legal education in a variety of formats and across a range of legal issues during this financial year. One of the main focuses was connecting with local service providers and the wider community in each of the LGAs covered by MNCCLC. MNCCLC has provided community legal education by:

• visiting specific Aboriginal community organisations on over 100 occasions in our catchment area to ensure that the workers knew about MNCCLC services and how to refer clients to us

• Organising and supporting the “Bellbrook Community Information Day” in September 2013, when over 30 services came to promote themselves to over 200 members of the Aboriginal community

• Providing 5 legal education sessions to people exiting the justice system

• Visiting 15 services across the catchment to ensure the workers knew about MNCCLC services and referral pathways

• Providing at least 5 legal education sessions to community workers about MNCCLC services

• hosting stalls at 12 community outreach events across our catchment area through the year.

• holding at least 8 legal information sessions on powers of attorney and enduring guardianship to older people

• giving 12 lessons on different areas of law to students at Macleay Vocational College

• Promoting International Human Rights Day through a facebook education program where members of the public were interviewed about their perceptions of Human Rights.

• Provided education to participants in the Traffic Offender’s Program in Kempsey (June 2014)

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PLT student Efrem at the Bellbrook Community Information Day in September 2013

MNCCLC has also co-ordinated specific community legal education for community workers in the following areas:

• Suicide Prevention workshop (August 2013)

• LBGTI “Safe Relationships” (with Inner City Legal Centre) (April 2014)

• Discrimination and the Human Rights Commission (with the AHRC) (March 2014)

• Funeral Funds – consumer law for Aboriginal communities (with Legal Aid’s Money Counts program) on 5 occasions between September 2013 and May 2014

• Conflict of Interest and Information Barriers, delivered to the CLCNSW Quarterlies in February 2014

• Disability Discrimination (with Legal Aid) in May 2014

MNCCLC actively participates in the Hastings Interagency, the NSW Community Legal Education Workers (CLEW) group, the Family Law Pathways Network, Kempsey Nambucca Cooperative Legal Service Delivery Network, Dunghutti Justice Group, Port Macquarie Mental Health Partnerships, Manning Valley Interagency, Bearlay Aboriginal Interagency, Taree Forster Cooperative Legal Service Delivery Network and the Kempsey Interagency. As part of these networks, MNCCLC has

• Shared a stall at the Saltwater Aboriginal Women’s Camp near Old Bar

• Coordinated a regular legal education program to students at the Macleay Vocational College in Kempsey

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• Co-convened the NSWCLC Community Legal Education Workers Group

• Attended NAIDOC celebrations in Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Taree

Premises

MNCCLC moved to new premises in early 2014. MNCCLC celebrated its third year of operating and the opening of its new premises on 21 July 2014. The launch was attended by special guest Dr David Gillespie MP, Member for Lyne together with many community service providers, local solicitors and members of the community. The new premises are two doors up from the Port Macquarie Court House in the Port Macquarie CBD making MNCCLC more accessible to the local community. The new premises include a library of legal resources and computers which are available to the public to help them with their legal matters.

Celebrating the Opening of New Premises in July 2014 with Dr Gillespie MP and service providers from the area.

Law and Policy This financial year MNCCLC participated in a number of law and policy activities. These include:

• Hosting and facilitating the Hastings Elder Abuse Prevention Network [HEAPN]

• Promoting engagement with the NSW Parliament on “Zoe’s Law”

• Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Access to Justice

• Submission to the State MPs for Oxley and Port Macquarie on the reduction in sittings days at the Port Macquarie and Kempsey courthouses

• Celebrating World Vegan Day on Facebook and Twitter, to promote awareness of animal rights issues

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Quality Assurance

MNCCLC collects feedback from clients who receive advice and casework services. The following table shows the results from this financial year:

Understanding of explanation to the client # Accessibility # Responsiveness # Treatment #

Usefulness of the advice #

Very Well 42 Easy 55 Very quickly 54 Very Well 59 Very Useful 50 Quite well 26 OK 12 Quickly enough 15 Quite Well 10 Useful 18

Not well 1 Difficult 2 Not quickly enough 0 Not Well 0 Not useful 1

Volunteers MNCCLC relies on the support of volunteers to deliver an effective and accessible legal service. We would like to thank Michael Dampney a solicitor in Port Macquarie who supported our evening advice program and provided free legal advice on family law issues to our clients. We would also like to thank a number of student volunteers that have assisted us throughout the year, these include:

• Liz Jokantas (UNE), Legal Assistant • Shannon Nand (MacqUni) (PLT) • Efrem Blackshield (USyd) (PLT) • Patrick Hourigan (Griffith) (PLT) • Jonathon Paff (UNE) (PLT) • Gerard Shea (Southern Cross Uni)

(PLT) • Nicole Stanzer (UTS) (PLT) • Linda Bannan (Melb) (PLT) • Sarah Hamilton (USyd) (PLT)

• Tim Bauer (MacqUni) (Legal Assistant)

• Kathy Dibbs (Southern Cross Uni) (Legal Assistant)

• Natalie Cooper (Southern Cross Uni )(Legal Assistant)

• Georgia Driels (ANU) (Legal Assistant)

• Marlo Slavin (UNSW) (Legal Assistant)

Volunteers Sarah Hamilton, Gerard Shea, Georgia Driels and Shannon Nand Volunteer Voices My experience at the Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre was integral to my evolution as a lawyer. Working in Port Macquarie allows you to see the “coal face”, as it were, of the Australian legal system, as being a regional area many of the problems faced by the system

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are present in an exaggerated form. From a young woman who had circumnavigated the continent on the run from police to an elderly gentleman too ill to find appropriate accommodation it was an experience which challenged me and my assumptions about Australian society. Being able to write official sounding letters, to call up the courts to find information is not something everyone can do, but it something that everyone will need done at least once in their life, and sometimes it can be vital. At the MNCCLC I felt part of a safety net which operated so as to ameliorate some of the bureaucratic harshness present in the our legal system and institutions. Efrem

Marlo Slavin (Legal Assistant) and Patrick Hourigan (PLT) at a Money Counts event in Taree Acknowledgments MNCCLC has continued its work in the local area and improved the Centre’s foundations and links in the area. The work of MNCCLC continues to be a challenging but rewarding experience. This has been an exciting year with results showing the Centre reaching more and more people from the community. We would like to acknowledge all the effort that Melanie Kallmier and Kyrie Couch at MNCCLC have put into their work. We would also like to welcome new staff members, Jane Titterington, Patrick Hourigan and Russell Cavanagh and acknowledge all they have contributed to MNCCLC this year. MNCCLC would particularly like to acknowledge the efforts of Nassim Arrage, our outgoing Principal Solicitor, for his strong and focussed leadership and the significant contribution he has made to MNCCLC. Nassim Arrage is also the Chairperson of Community Legal Centres NSW and we acknowledge his contributions in this role as well.

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MNCCLC would like to acknowledge our partners and hosts for our outreach legal advice clinics, Legal Aid New South Wales, Manning Valley Neighbourhood Services, Manning Uniting Church, Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre, South Kempsey Family and Community Centre and the Department of Justice/Mid North Coast Correctional Centre/ Corrective Services NSW. MNCCLC would also like to thank the large number of firms throughout the Mid North Coast who have supported us by taking referrals and referring clients to the centre. MNCCLC would also like to acknowledge the enormous support given to it by Advocacy Law Alliance Inc, particularly CEO Mark Grierson and Deputy CEO Catherine Peek. Business Manager Joan Ranger, Accounts Officer Kerrie Anderson, Administration Officer Jeff Hynes and Operations Coordinator Peter Kilpatrick have also provided invaluable support, along with many other staff and advocates at Disability Advocacy NSW who have contributed so much time and energy to ensure that the legal centre has had a successful year.

Jane Titterington, Nassim Arrage, Catherine Peek, Kyrie Couch, Melanie Kallmier and Russell Cavanagh at MNCCLC in Port Macquarie

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Documents

Advocating for fairness.da.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Advocacy-Law-Alliance-2013... · 2015-06-14 · Treasurer Margaret Keane I currently hold a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in