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L E G A L A I DW E S T E R N A U S T R A L I A

The Hon Jim McGinty MLA

Attorney General

In accordance with Section 66 of the Financial

Administration and Audit Act 1985, we submit theAnnual Report of Legal Aid Western Australia,

covering the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. This

report has been prepared in accordance with the

provisions of the Financial Administration and AuditAct 1985.

At the date of signing, we are not aware of any

circumstances that would render the particulars in

this Annual Report misleading or inaccurate.

Malcolm McCusker QC

Chairman

George Turnbull

Director

S T A T E M E N T O FC O M P L I A N C E

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C O N T E N T S

Annual Report Artwork Profile 2Section 1 At a Glance 3

Chairman’s Report 5Director’s Report 6Budget and Service Delivery Highlights

Section 2 Highlights and Special Projects 11Congratulations to our Chairman 12Regional Expansion Project 13Wheatbelt Outreach Service 14Regional Community Initiatives 15Legal Education Project 16Profile: Annie Gray 17Family Court Services 18Improving Services for Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander Peoples in W.A. 19Department for Community Development 20Administrative Appeals Tribunal Pilot 21Social Security Project 21Reflection from a Restricted Year Practitioner: Kate Parnell 22Records Management 22Grants Online 23Volunteers 24Working with Law Students 25

Section 3 Report on Operations 27Criminal Law Services 28Family Law Services 30Civil Law Services 32Client Services 33Regional Services 34Domestic Violence Legal Unit 36Child Support Legal Unit 37Alternative Dispute Resolution Unit 38Community Legal Centre Funding 39Special Funding 39Development Services 40Assignments 42Information Management Services 43

Section 4 Our Employees 45

Section 5 Corporate Governance 51

Section 6 Compliance 57

Section 7 Statistical Summary 67

Section 8 Performance Indicators 73

Section 9 Financial Statements 81

Contact Details 112

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Legal Aid WA is pleased to presentthroughout this year’s Annual Report a number of artworks depictingregional themes.

About the ArtistJacqueline Kennaugh has always loved nature. Asa child raised in the English countryside, sheenjoyed interpreting what she saw into drawingsand paintings. When a wonderful school artteacher introduced her to oil paints, her love affairwith the creative process really began.

Jacqueline studied in England and began to exhibitand sell her work. On moving to Australia in 1968she attended Tech in Melbourne, the Victorian ArtSociety and Cheltenham Art Group. She exhibitedin Victoria and New South Wales, winning awardsincluding the Herald Sun Award. In 1976 shemoved to Perth and had two successful soloexhibitions. She then took time out from paintingto concentrate on raising her family and workresponsibilities.

In 2001, Jacqueline retired from business andreturned to painting with new vibrance andenthusiasm. Since then, she has held three soloexhibitions and has exhibited with the MelvilleCouncil for nine months as their invited artist.Jaccqueline is now an active member ofBayswater Art Society, friend of Ellis HouseCommunity Art Centre and has exhibited invarious group exhibitions, cafes and restaurants.

She loves to experiment with various mediumsand techniques enjoying both representational andabstract styles.

Jacqueline believes that her journey as an artist isvery much a work in progress.

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S E C T I O N 1A T A G L A N C E

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C H A I R M A N ’ S R E P O R T

I have pleasure in presenting the Legal AidCommission’s Annual Report for 2004/2005. TheReport provides an accurate, informative, and (Ibelieve) interesting overview of Legal Aid WA’sperformance during the year, noting itsobjectives, key achievements, and the majorservices provided.

The Legal Aid Commission continues to play avery significant role in the administration ofjustice in Western Australia. The Director andofficers of the Commission have regulardiscussions with other key participants in thejustice system, with a view to improvingefficiencies and providing the public with greateraccess to justice. It is particularly pleasing tonote that the Commission and The Law Societyof W.A. continue to have a close and co-operative professional relationship. TheCommission is always mindful that it could notfunction properly without the support of theprivate profession, who provide their services forLegal Aid at a substantially reduced rate; andthat one of the Commission’s statutory duties isto liaise with professional bodies, such as TheLaw Society, in order to facilitate the use ofservices provided by private practitioners, inappropriate circumstances.

This year has been an extremely busy one, as aresult of a very active legislative program by theState Government which has resulted in manysubstantive and procedural changes which haveinevitably increased the workload of theCommission and its staff, in accommodatingthose changes.

One of the key areas on which the Commissionhas focused this year was the establishment ofan extensive Family Court Duty Lawyer service.Commission staff, together with Family Courtjudicial officers, counseling and administrativestaff, have worked in close and harmonious co-operation to provide this valuable service topeople appearing in the Family Court who arewithout legal representation. This has not onlybenefited individual litigants but, I am assured,has greatly assisted the Family Court andproduced greater efficiencies within the Courtsystem. It is a most gratifying illustration of theway that the Commission works in a co-operativemanner with other parties involved in the justicesystem, for the public benefit.

During the course of this year, and followinghelpful discussions and negotiations, theCommission has signed a new four-year fundingagreement with the Commonwealth, giving theCommission an effective 15% funds increase andan improved share of Commonwealth funding.

The Commission is constantly searching for newways to make each dollar go farther, as thedemand for services continues to exceedavailable funds. It is committed to maintaining andimproving legal assistance to those appearing onserious charges in Magistrates Courts throughoutWA. By the use of modern technology, such asthe recently introduced electronic lodgment ofapplications for legal aid, the Commission aims toreduce administrative and overhead costs, so asto enable a greater proportion of its funds to beused for legal services and representation.

The Commission is an independent statutoryauthority created by the Legal Aid CommissionAct 1976, and is funded by both State andCommonwealth Governments. Independence inits decision making process is maintained byLegal Aid’s external review process ofapplications for legal aid. Review Committees,consisting of two private practitioners withrelevant expertise and a lay member from thecommunity, volunteer their time and experienceto make final determinations, where requested,

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on applications for aid. The voluntary contribution of theirtime and effort is greatly appreciated. The members of suchCommittees perform a very valuable task.

In addition to providing direct legal assistance, theCommission develops and maintains a range of legalresources to assist community agencies and members of thepublic generally. Web based materials, databases, kits andmanuals and information sheets are produced and madeavailable by the Commission. They are frequently used,thereby assisting the public to a better understanding of theirlegal rights and obligations, and to help themselves, which inturn reduces some of the direct burden on the Commissionof providing legal assistance.

As part of its yearly Client Satisfaction Survey theCommission canvassed community legal centres to gaugethe usefulness of its online and print publications. The surveyindicated an 84% rate of satisfaction overall (up from 80%last year) which is a very gratifying result, and reflects wellon Commission staff.

This year’s Client Satisfaction Survey also surveyed Legal Aidclients who had received assistance in a criminal matter. Theoverall satisfaction rate for such clients was 72.1%. Thosesurveyed were particularly approving of the process ofapplying for legal aid, 85% being satisfied that it was easy tomake an application for legal aid, and 82% saying that LegalAid responded to applications promptly. The samepercentage of such clients also said that it was easy tounderstand the information provided by Legal Aid relating toapplications. Satisfaction levels with the lawyer who hadrepresented the clients ranged from 69% to 85%, dependingon the nature of the assistance given.

High priority has again been given to extendingthe range of services available fordisadvantaged groups, particularly in regional,remote and rural areas. With the assistance ofState Government funding, the Commission isopening new regional offices in Albany andGeraldton, to service the Great Southern, MidWest and Gascoyne regions. The Commissionhas also introduced a Mid West Outreachprogram with a focus on Northam andsurrounding wheatbelt towns. In conjunctionwith the community legal services sector theCommission also obtained Commonwealthapproval to apply surplus funds to establish avideo conference network throughout theKimberley, Goldfields, Geraldton and Bunburyregions.

Legal Aid WA has completed another difficultbut successful year, responding to thechallenge of balancing the high demand for itsservices with limited funds. The Director, MrGeorge Turnbull, and all of the Commission’sstaff are to be commended on thisachievement, on their dedication to theobjectives of the Legal Aid Commission, andon the high degree of professionalism whichthey continue to display.

I also congratulate those concerned in theproduction of this informative and “reader-friendly” Report. Statistical information ispresented in a clear and understandable way.Performance reporting is balanced with generalinformation, case studies, staff profiles and theviews of a range of stakeholders.

Malcolm McCusker AO QCChairman Legal Aid WA

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With the significant focus on the expansion of legal aidservices to rural and regional areas during the year thedifficulty of attracting and retaining lawyers in the bush hasbeen highlighted. There is no simple solution and it goesbeyond simply increasing fees. In the context of issueshighlighted by the Senate Inquiry into Legal Aid and Access toJustice (June 2004) and the emerging mandatory continuinglegal education policy for the West Australian profession, theCommission and the Law Society of Western Australiacommenced discussions about how to improve access toprofessional development in regional areas, especially theisolated parts in the north and east of the State. TheAboriginal Legal Service and Community Legal CentresAssociation also expressed an interest in working together tosolve the profession wide problem. A partnership has nowbeen formed and a project to develop a professional supportmodel for lawyers in country W.A. commenced. The projectalso incorporates the wider issues of attraction and retentionof country lawyers.

On 23 March 2005, the Commission entered into aMemorandum of Understanding with the Aboriginal LegalService of Western Australia. The Memorandum provides forthe two organisations to support each other in their work toimprove, extend and expand access to legal services toAboriginals and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughoutWestern Australia. The Aboriginal Legal Service and theCommission have had an informal working relationship formany years and the agreement formalises this relationshipand has expanded on it. It is intended that both organisationswill be sharing staff training opportunities and utilising theknowledge, skills and resources of both organisations.

Specific purpose funding has been provided by theCommonwealth for the establishment of a new Family CourtDuty Lawyer service to assist people who seek to representthemselves in Family Court matters before the Family Court.Legal Aid WA Family Court Service has built upon a part timeparalegal service previously provided and now includes a DutyLawyer service, Legal Advice appointments and other formsof assistance (including drafting of court documents andassisting with applications for a grant of legal aid). The FamilyCourt Service also provides a very important role as a focalpoint of liaison between the Commission and the FamilyCourt and other family law service providers. Also consistentwith the move towards more court-based services, a six-month trial of a Legal Advice service at the AdministrativeAppeals Tribunal in Perth was initiated in April 2005. Theservice provides an advice bureau fortnightly and is able toadvise on eligibility for legal aid and make other referrals asappropriate.

Determining the type and extent of assistanceprovided to clients is pivotal to Legal Aid’soperations. With funding limitations our focusremains on providing services in the most costeffective and efficient manner. As not all clients whorequire assistance qualify for a grant of aid underfunding guidelines the Commission continues toexpand its range of alternative services to helpclients resolve their legal problems. Closecollaboration with private practitioners, justiceagencies and other legal service providers isessential to meeting the legal needs of the growingnumbers of people who cannot afford a lawyer,particularly people in rural, remote and regionalW.A.

Expansion of regional services is the theme runningthrough this year’s report. In 2004/05 theCommission secured funding for the establishmentof two new regional Offices in Albany andGeraldton. The new offices will significantly increaseservices in those regions and address the shortageof lawyers available to do legal aid work. Conflicts ofinterest present ongoing problems for regions withlimited service providers and the presence of a LegalAid office goes a long way to ensuring that allparties to proceedings receive some assistance.

Again with the assistance of State funding theCommission is managing a State based communitylegal centre funding program. As part of the fundingprogram a new centre in Peel has been establishedas well as an outreach service in the Gascoyneoperating out of the Geraldton Resource Centre. TheCommission has also obtained Commonwealthapproval for the release of funds to establish a videoconference network between the Commission,Geraldton Resource Centre, Kimberly CommunityLegal Services, Goldfields Community Legal Centreand Bunbury Community Legal Centre. Tocomplement the effort directed at improving accessfor people in rural, remote and regional WA, theCommission also introduced a Mid West Outreachprogram in Northam and surrounding wheatbelttowns.

D I R E C T O R ’ SR E P O R T

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During 2004/05, the Commission at the request of theDepartment for Community Development assisted theDepartment by providing independent legal advice toindividual persons in cases of substantiated abuse whilstthe person was a child in the care of the Department.Funding was provided by the Department and over 100matters dealt with by the In-House Practice. Further caseshave been identified by the Department for CommunityDevelopment as requiring independent legal advice. Withlimited in-house capacity to take on further matters,arrangements have been reached with the Department tomanage a fund to grant aid to private practitioners toprovide independent legal advice.

The private profession continues to play a significant rolein the provision of legal aid services in Western Australia.In 2004/05 62 % of legal aid grants were referred toprivate practitioners, compared to 60% in 2003/04. Privatepractitioners submit 24% of all applications and keystrategies aimed at simplification of the application for aidprocess through Grants Online has continued to be atarget for administrative savings. The expansion of themerits certification/checklist approach continues to giveprivate practitioners a bigger role in determining whichapplicants receive aid. Grants Online is presently used by58 firms, accounting for 50% of all applications receivedfrom or rostered to private practitioners and over 20% ofall applications received. Feedback has beenoverwhelmingly positive. A new enhanced version ofGrants Online incorporating smart forms (improved saveability and reduction in pages), simplified extensionrequests, superior search functionality and intelligentquestions (questions are shown/hidden depending onprevious answers) was released in June 2005. Furtherenhancements are planned for 2005/06.

The Career Planning and Rotation Programs for legalpractitioners continue to provide a range of careerdevelopment opportunities at both junior and seniorlevels. The Regional Rotation Program in particular hasenjoyed continued success with a number of senior legalpractitioners taking advantage of an opportunity to rotateor transfer to another regional or metropolitan position, aswell as a number of junior practitioners from Perth Officebeing afforded regional rotation experience. Thecontinuing legal education of staff is the subject of amajor review within the Commission with a working partyof legal practitioners currently working on thedevelopment and implementation of a comprehensivetraining framework. The Commission’s aim is to obtainaccreditation as a provider of continuing legal education inaccordance with criteria established by the Legal PracticeBoard of W.A.

There are never enough resources to assisteveryone in need in the community and I wouldtherefore like to publicly acknowledge thevaluable work of volunteers and, in particular,those members of the private profession whoprovide their services free of charge to assist inmeeting that need.

I would also like to take the opportunity tocongratulate our Chairman, Mr MalcolmMcCusker AO QC who in January 2005 wasawarded the Order of Australia. In June 2005 hewas also named Western Australian Citizen ofthe Year in the Professions Category. Under MrMcCusker’s Chairmanship, the Commission hasevolved from a small centrally focussed agencydelivering a limited range of services to a muchlarger organisation operating in a vastly moresophisticated environment.

Finally, I would also like to express my thanksand gratitude to all the Commission staff fortheir continued dedication. Despite the every daychallenge of stretching available resources, ourstaff tirelessly strive to provide responsive andquality legal assistance to meet the needs of ourever increasing client base.

George Turnbul lDirector of Legal Aid

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• Operating surplus of $1,561,963boosted by a contribution of$764,000 from the StateGovernment for theestablishment of two newregional offices.

• Revenue from the StateGovernment increased by$1,877,699 or 11.5% and fromthe CommonwealthGovernment increased by$1,428,298 or 11.7%.

• Revenue from activitiesincreased by $2,389,824 or16%.

• Expenditure on legalrepresentation (excludingCommissions of Inquiry)increased by $1,323,279 or8.1%.

• Expenditure of $1,885,963 onthe new State CommunityLegal Centre program.

• Net assets increased by$1,561,963 to $8,512,542.

B U D G E T A N D S E R V I C ED E L I V E R Y H I G H L I G H T S

R E S O U R C E A L L O C AT I O NB Y S E R V I C E

53% Legal Representation

3% Child Support Services

1% Face to Face Services

2% ADR Program

5% Other Community Services

6% State CLC Program

3% Telephone Information Line

8% Duty Lawyer

6% Legal Advice

3% Minor Assistance

9% Assessment and Case Management

O C C A S I O N S O F S E R V I C EB Y S E R V I C E T Y P E

43% Telephone Information LIne

22% Duty Lawyer

14% Legal Advice

4% Minor Assistance

8% Assessment and Case Management

5% Legal Representation

5% Face to Face Services

W H E R E T H E F U N D SH AV E C O M E F R O M

51% State Government

39% Commonwealth Government

7% Other Income

3% Client Contributions

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L E G A L R E P R E S E N T A T I O N• Applications for a grant of legal aid decreased in

comparison to the previous year by 3%, with themost significant reduction in criminal lawapplications of 4%. The approval rate remainedconsistent with the previous year’s result of 65%.

• Grants of aid awarded for the year, under theinfluence of reduced applications received,decreased by 3%. Despite an overall decrease,family law grants increased by 2%.

• Grants of aid awarded for Alternative DisputeResolution conferences continued to increase being5% more than last year.

N O N - L I T I G A T I O N S E R V I C ED E L I V E R Y• Legal Aid WA provides non-litigation services in five

primary areas - telephone advisory services, face toface legal advice, minor assistance services, childsupport services and alternative dispute resolutionservices.

• There was an increase in service delivery for ourtelephone advisory services (4%). However, therewas a decrease in services for legal advice (11%)and minor assistance (5%).

• Clients continued to seek help in all areas of familylaw, as well as a range of civil law problems,particularly involving unfair dismissals and otheremployment law problems, contract and debtproblems, motor vehicle accidents as well as socialsecurity matters.

R E G I O N A L S E R V I C E SDuring the year, Legal Aid WA focused on:

• consolidation and expansion of itsWheatbelt services, including theestablishment of the Wheat Belt OutreachService as a separate business unit;

• funding and preparation for establishmentof the Midwest and Gascoyne regionaloffice in Geraldton and the Great SouthernRegional office in Albany;

• greater emphasis on the provision ofCommonwealth law services in regionalareas, especially family law, includingconsolidation and expansion of the ADRconferencing program;

• the continued use and expansion oftechnology services in the country,particularly video conference, with both astaff and client perspective; and

• the support of the rural regional andremote (RRR) contact centres.

S P E C I A L F U N D I N G During the year, Legal Aid WA receivedspecial funding for various projects.

• Corruption and Crime Commission: specialfunding was received from the StateGovernment to assist serving and formerpublic officers called as witnesses or servedwith notices or summons’ by theCorruption and Crime Commission. Thefund is still in its infancy.

• Department for Community Development:The Department for CommunityDevelopment asked Legal Aid WA toprovide independent legal advice toindividual persons in cases of substantiatedabuse whilst the person was a child in thecare of the Department. During the yearexpenditure totalling $129,227 wasrealised.

• Finance Brokers: Expenditure totalling$115,705 was realised in support of legalactions to recover losses from defaultingfinance brokers and borrowers, and thosewho provided “professional services” tothose persons.

L E G A L A I D W A S E R V I C E S

Services Provided To The General CommunityTelephone Advice Line And Face-To-Face Advisory Services:Assists people to identify and solve legal problems by understanding thechoices for resolution and the resources available to them. Provides initial legaladvice and information including referrals to sections of Legal Aid WA and toother agencies where appropriate.

Duty Lawyer Services:Makes sure people appearing before the courts have access to legalassistance and helps them to understand the options available for respondingto legal actions in which they are involved.

Services For Specific GroupsLegal Advice And Self Help Services:Assists in solving legal problems through advice and self-help servicesdesigned to reduce the need for legal representation including preparing courtdocuments.

Community And Education Services:Improves the reach and service potential of Legal Aid WA and identifiedstakeholder agencies such as courts and Community Legal Centres byproviding knowledge based resources systems, publications, self-help kits andparalegal training.

Legal Representation:Provides legal representation in the courts to priority clients, including children,on a range of family, civil and criminal law matters.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR):In suitable circumstances, an ADR conference provides an alternative solutionfor family disputes through a process other than the court system. Servicesrange from very minor disputes through to late intervention conferences forserious family law disputes including those involving domestic/family violence.

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S E C T I O N 2H I G H L I G H T S A N D S P E C I A L P R O J E C T S

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Committee, and is currently Chairman of the Advisory Board to theWestern Australian Constitutional Centre. In 2003 he was appointedthe first Parliamentary Inspector for the Corruption and CrimeCommission.

Under Mr McCusker’s chairmanship, the Legal Aid Commission ofWestern Australia has evolved from a small, centrally focussedagency delivering a limited range of services to a much largerorganisation operating in a vastly more sophisticated environment.The Commission has established specialist legal aid services in theareas of child support, domestic violence, immigration, youth lawand alternative dispute resolution, and introduced many otherinitiatives, including technological innovations such as electronicsubmission of some applications for grants of legal assistance,resulting in process efficiencies and improved dissemination ofinformation, and contemporary financial management practicesresulting in the Commission receiving the Auditor General’s awardfor excellence in financial reporting in 2001.

Mr McCusker’s commitment to the law is demonstrated by hiswillingness to undertake pro bono work. His representation of theMickelbergs is testament to this dedication. He first becameinvolved in this well known case when Henry Wallwork QC (later aSupreme Court Justice) asked him if he would do a High Courtappeal pro bono for Peter Mickelberg. The Mickelbergs’ appeal wasrecently allowed and their convictions quashed. Mr McCuskerdescribed this as a highlight of his career, in a campaign that he hadbeen involved in, with numerous appeals, for some 18 years.

Malcolm McCusker’s contribution to Western Australia extendsbeyond the justice system. He has provided ongoing financialsupport to a number of charitable institutions including medicalresearch, particularly through the McCusker Foundation forAlzheimer’s Disease Research, of which he is patron. The researchteam of 20 staff and postgraduate students has been supported forthe last 14 years by the McCusker family. He was a member of theInstitute for Medical Research Fundraising Appeal, is a keensupporter of surf lifesaving activities in Western Australia, and hasbeen a member and trustee of the Special Air Services ResourcesTrust since 1998. Mr McCusker also had a long association withtertiary legal education, lecturing part time at the University ofWestern Australia in both the Law and Commerce Faculties for over20 years. He was also a member of the Murdoch University Senatefor 6 years, and co-sponsored a new building at the Murdoch LawSchool.

Mr McCusker has maintained an interest in farming, which began inhis early days of practice. He currently owns a 25,000-acre wheat,sheep and cattle farm at West Calingiri, Western Australia. Hebelieves that his experience in farming and his dealing with the“down to earth” people involved in farming, has helped him to staygrounded and gain a deeper understanding of people.

Mr McCusker has appeared as counsel in a wide range ofcommercial and criminal cases in the District and Supreme Courts,the Federal Court, High Court, and even the Privy Council (not longbefore such appeals ceased). A member of the Independent Bar,and currently the most senior practicing silk in Western Australia, hecontinues to practice the full breadth of the law, a profession inwhich he still finds both fascination and satisfaction.

Congratulations to Malcolm James McCuskerA.O. QC, Chairman of the Legal Aid Commission,who in January 2005 was awarded an Order ofAustralia in the Australia Day Honours list forservice to the legal profession, particularly in thefields of criminal and commercial law, to thebusiness and finance sectors, and to thecommunity through a range of health, church,cultural and sporting organisations. In June 2005he was also named Western Australia Citizen ofthe Year in the Professions category.

Mr McCusker was born in Perth in 1938. Heattended Perth Modern School, and afterdeciding to study law at the University ofWestern Australia, he spent his first yearjuggling full-time studies with a full-time job atthe Shell Oil Company. His lecturers includedfuture High Court Justices Ron Wilson and JohnToohey, future Supreme Court Justice JohnWickham, future Family Court Justice Ian McCalland the future Supreme Court Chief Justice, thelate Sir Francis Burt. He saved enough fromemployment in his first year, to attend full timein the following years. He had been unsureabout law as a career, but says he was inspiredto continue with his legal studies by the contractlectures of Sir Francis Burt (then Burt QC). Therewere “about a dozen” students in his graduatingclass, including the current Chief Justice, theHon. Justice David Malcolm AC CitWA, theformer Solicitor-General of WA, Mr PeterPanegyres, and the well known sportscommentator, George Grljusich. On graduating,he was articled to Bob Wallace (who laterbecame a Supreme Court Justice) at the firmKott, Wallace and Gunning.

Within six months of his admission to practice inDecember 1961, Mr McCusker became apartner at Kott, Wallace, Gunning. Within his firstyear of admission, he had made his first FullCourt appearance - a remarkable achievement.He modestly explains that in those days the legalprofession was smaller with a more collegiateatmosphere and greater opportunities forelevation into positions of high responsibility.After working at Kott, Wallace, Gunning for sixyears practising mainly in commercial law, hefounded his own firm in 1968, which became(when Ron Harmer joined him) McCusker &Harmer. In January 1982 he was appointedQueen’s Counsel. In December 1982 he wasappointed Chairman of the Legal AidCommission and still holds this position today. In1989, as Special Inspector, he conducted aninvestigation into the collapse of RothwellsMerchant Bank. In 1992-93 he was Chairman ofthe Western Australian Constitutional

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S T O O U R C H A I R M A N

With the assistance of State Governmentfunding, Legal Aid WA is in the process ofopening two new regional offices inAlbany and Geraldton to service the GreatSouthern, Midwest and Gascoyne regions.

Staffed by three full time lawyers, anoffice supervisor/paralegal and a legalsecretary, each new regional office willundertake the full range of legal aid workincluding:

• Grants of legal aid• Minor Assistance• Legal Advice Bureau• Duty Lawyer• In person Information• Continuing Legal Education

Both the Albany and Geraldton offices willbe equipped with purpose built AlternativeDispute Resolution conference facilities toassist people to resolve their disputesparticularly in the area of family law. Theseconference facilities will be made availableto the wider community at low cost.

We anticipate that the new regional officeswill:

• result in increased service delivery;• address the shortage of lawyers

available to do legal aid work;• result in improved family law services,

particularly in relation to urgent familylaw matters such as the recovery ofchildren who have been taken withoutconsent, or matters involving violencewhich now can be dealt withimmediately;

• result in improved Children’s Courtrepresentation, particularly in Albanywhere there are no Duty Lawyerservices in the Albany Children’s Court;

• improve services where there is aconflict of interest: Conflicts presentongoing problems for regions withlimited service providers. Even wherethere is a Community Legal Centre,there are often only a few other serviceproviders for people seeking assistance.Thus the party which gets in first to theLegal Centre gets advice and assistanceand the other party quite likely missesout or, even if they do get telephoneadvice, effective follow up assistancemay well be problematic.

R E G I O N A L E X P A N S I O N P R O J E C T: G R E A TS O U T H E R N , M I D W E S T A N D G A S C O Y N E

D I D Y O U K N O W Regional Offices play akey role in servicedelivery at Legal AidWA. In 2004/2005 ourregional officesdelivered:

• 23% of our total legal aidapplications

• 54% of our total MinorAssistance Program;

• 35% of our total Legal AdviceBureau services;

• 49% of our total Duty Lawyerservices;

• 33% of our total In PersonInformation;

• 14% of our total Policy Advice;and

• 10% of our total ContinuingLegal Education.

Great Southern office in Albany

• improve our presence in thecommunity. Local Legal Aid WA officesare part of the local community andaccrue the necessary knowledge torespond effectively to local situations.

• result in the provision of immediate inperson assistance. Often being able tohandle matters in person and quicklycan reduce the level of frustration,anxiety and anger particularly in familylaw matters, avoiding the potential forviolence.

• Result in better mediation services:The Family Court requirement toattempt mediation means that suitablemediation services need to be availablein the regions. Experience has shownthat our Alternative Dispute Resolutionprogram works much more effectivelywhere there is a local Legal Aid WAoffice in the hub town of a region.

• improve access to justice for remoteclients. Both new regional offices willbe equipped with state of the art videoconferencing facilities

Great Southern Our new Great Southern regional officeopened in Albany on 27 June 2005. Thisinitiative will help us to provide morecomprehensive services in the GreatSouthern region and in the Southwestregion, which previously serviced theGreat Southern area from our Bunburyoffice.

At this stage the office is located at 104Aberdeen Street, Albany, however duringthe next 12 months we will be lookingfor more suitable longer-termaccommodation that can house ourplanned Dispute Resolution Centre.

Midwest and GascoyneOur new Midwest and Gascoyne regionaloffice opened on 19 August 2005.

The office is located at Unit 7 TheBoardwalk, Foreshore Drive, Geraldton. Apurpose built Dispute Resolution Centrewill also be located in Unit 8 TheBoardwalk, Foreshore Drive, Geraldtonand should be completed by late August2005.

Midwest and Gascoyneoffice in Geraldton

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towns up to Jurien and inland to Moora and other towns. Anincrease in demand in this region is expected as moreprospective clients become aware of the existence of thisservice.

The SolicitorJack Trainor has worked for Legal Aid WA since 1987. He spentthe majority of that time working in what is now known asAssignments. He has also worked in the Finance Brokers Unit,as Human Resources Manager and as Special Projects Officer.He has been the Outreach Solicitor since the role wasestablished in November 2004.

Prior to his employment with Legal Aid WA, Jack worked as thesolicitor for the Farmers Union of WA, now known as theFarmers Federation. Part of his duties included representation ofthe Farmers Union in several industrial law cases involving thepastoral industry, negotiations with the relevant union andgovernment departments, as well as representing individualfarmers in civil proceedings for damages and defending farmerswho had been subject to prosecution.

Jack has found himself very busy with the Outreach Service andhas had a very good response to Legal Aid WA’s presence in theWheatbelt. There is no longer a Community Legal Centreoperational in Northam and only one other legal firm in town, sothere is a real demand for the service.

Jack considers that Legal Aid WA is providing an importantservice and servicing a need that is in many respects untapped.As the outreach solicitor he is required to take a holistic approachto the problems of the people he sees. Very often the legalproblem is a symptom of underlying problems and this requiresJack to delve into referrals and financial matters in addition to themore obvious problem. These problems are further complicatedby the lack of resources in country areas compared to theresources available in Perth. Jack has also found that, in countryareas, it is important for the clients to know their solicitor. Byvisiting these areas and spending time with his clients, Jack isable to provide a more personalised and effective service than ispossible through telephone assistance.

The ServiceThe Wheatbelt Outreach Service (originally calledMidwest Outreach Service) was established as aseparate business unit in November 2004 to dealspecifically with the provision of legal services to theMidwest of Western Australia. Previously duty lawyerand advice services were provided out of the MidlandOffice

A legal advice bureau operates from Northam on threeFridays each month. . The legal advice bureau covers theareas of civil law, family law and criminal law. On thefourth week of the month there is a three day advicebureau service provided in Geraldton. In 2005-2006, thispart of the service will be taken over by the newlyformed Geraldton office as will telephone advicecurrently provided by either the Outreach Solicitor or theMidland office.

Additional assistance is provided by the minor assistanceprogram in which clients are helped with drafting ofletters of demand, summons’ and various family lawdocuments. The drafting of documents is usuallyundertaken by the Outreach Solicitor back in the Perthoffice with support from other staff.

The minor assistance program enables clients to pursuelegal remedies that would not ordinarily be covered by agrant of legal aid

The Wheatbelt Outreach Service solicitor, Jack Trainor,also travels to Northam each Monday to provide DutyLawyer services and will also soon be appearing in theMerredin Magistrates Court on a monthly basis. Atpresent Duty Lawyer services in Merredin are providedthrough the Midland office.

The Duty Lawyer service consists of providingrepresentation before the presiding magistrate onmatters for which a plea in mitigation is required andobtaining adjournments for legal advice prior to thematter coming back to court.

Clients appearing on charges that will ultimately proceedin the superior courts are also represented, howeversuch representation only covers procedural or interimissues.

The Duty Lawyer service covers matters that would notordinarily attract a grant of legal aid and providesassistance to persons who otherwise would appearunrepresented in the magistrate’s court.

Currently the Outreach Service provides assistance toclients from Northam, York, Toodyay, Wundowie,Beverley, Cunderdin, Dowerin, Goomalling, Corrigin,Merredin, Geraldton, Northampton, Dongara andGreenough.

With a fully operational office in Geraldton shortly, it isanticipated the Wheatbelt Outreach Service willconcentrate on other areas where the need for legalservices is currently not being met such as the coastal

W H E A T B E L T O U T R E A C H S E R V I C E

Key Strategy - CustomerServiceDevelopment of strategies to ensureequity of access to services regardlessof regional and time constraints.

The establishment of the Wheat beltOutreach Service to provide theMidwest of WA with access to DutyLawyer, legal advice and minorassistance services.

Jack Trainor

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Community Legal CentresDuring 2004-2005 there was a strong focus on working withCommunity Legal Centres (CLCs) in rural, regional and remote(RRR) areas.

The National Community Legal Centre Conference was heldin Adelaide in September 2004. At the conference, Legal AidWA and representatives of regional CLCs formed the RRRCLC Working Party. Representatives of the Aboriginal LegalService and Indigenous Women’s Network also participate inthe working party. The working party was established toexamine special issues facing RRR centres, includingdifficulties in recruitment of solicitors and supervision of juniorpractitioners.

The RRR working party has proved to be a successfulinitiative. As a result of combined CLC and Legal Aid WAefforts, Commonwealth approval was granted to establish avideo conference network between Legal Aid WA, GeraldtonResource Centre, Kimberley Community Legal Services,Goldfields CLC and Bunbury CLC. This exciting new projectwill mean that regional centres and Legal Aid WA will belinked by video conference technology for training and otherpurposes.

Work is continuing on the project examining supervision ofrestricted practitioners in country areas and ongoingprofessional support and training for country lawyers.

Community Contact PointsLegal Aid WA’s regional offices have a strong history andrelationship with their local communities. Community ContactPoints provide people with access to a confidential interviewroom and the use of telephone, facsimile, copier and printingfacilities.

Requirements to be a Legal Aid WA Community ContactPoint include:

• providing services to people on a low income or with someother social or cultural barrier to accessing legal services.

• providing a private interview space with access to atelephone or video conference unit.

• the ability to confidentially send and receivedocuments by fax, post and email.

• attendance at an induction training sessionon Legal Aid WA services.

• the ability to provide space for Legal Aid WApublications and other legal resources.

Community Contact Point centres providepeople with access to Legal Aid WA servicesincluding the availability of a confidentialinterview room for people to be providedtelephone legal advice by one of Legal AidWA’s solicitors. Legal Aid WA continues tooffer legal advice appointments at theMandurah Court. Appointments are madethrough the Legal Aid WA Infoline.

Legal Aid WA provides training to communityagencies staff members on the referral andassistance guidelines.

Community Contact Points have beenestablished at the Waroona Community Centreand Mandurah Citizens Advice Bureau. TheseCommunity Contact Points are operating aspilot projects, which Legal Aid WA expects toextend to other isolated areas in future years.

Regional Office Video-linksLegal Aid WA’s Development Services’ monthlyVideo-link with regional staff delivered serviceupdates on a large diversity of matters, and afurther eight legal update sessions coveringlegislative and other changes. Legal updatescovered a diversity of matters including the civiland criminal law and procedural changesincluded in domestic violence legislation, theMagistrates Court Act and Regulations, SimpleOffences legislation, the requirements underoffender reporting, and an overview of theoperations and requirements in the StateAdministrative Tribunal and a range of familylaw initiatives.

Community Legal Centres with access to videolink equipment are invited to these sessions.This initiative will be expanded in the nextfinancial year, as a greater number of ruralCommunity Legal Centres will have access toequipment. Further, Legal Aid WA’s responseto the advent of mandatory continuing legaleducation, as a prerequisite for renewal ofprofessional practice certification from 2006,will include delivery of accredited training bothto, and in conjunction with, Community LegalCentres and other like-minded organisationssuch as the Aboriginal Legal Service.

R E G I O N A L C O M M U N I T Y I N I T I A T I V E S

Key Strategy- CustomerServiceDevelopment of strategies to ensure equity ofaccess to services regardless of regional andtime constraints

Offering greater accessibility to legal adviceand assistance for people living in regional,rural and remote regions with use oftelephone and video conferencing technologyand building strong community links.

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practice certificate. However, practical and continuing legaleducational resources are not readily available to countrylawyers.

The Senate Inquiry into Legal Aid WA and Access to Justice(June 2004) acknowledged the particular disadvantageexperienced by clients seeking to access legal services inrural areas. The report recommended investigating options toincrease services in non-metropolitan areas, developing acoordinated approach to service delivery and strategies toattract and retain lawyers in non-metropolitan areas.

At the Legal Aid Congress in Queensland in November 2004,the issue of diminishing legal services in areas outside themetropolitan area raised considerable interest and concern.One of the key recommendations arising out of the Congresswas to investigate mechanisms for cooperative arrangementsamong service providers in the rural, regional and remoteareas and other stakeholders who can develop long termstrategies which see professional service providers return tothe bush.

Initiatives are already underway in Queensland and NewSouth Wales that offer examples for partnershiparrangements across the legal sector.

It was in this context that Legal Aid WA and the Law Societyof Western Australia commenced discussions in 2004 abouthow to improve access to professional development in theWA bush, especially the isolated parts north and east ofPerth. The ALSWA and CLCs subsequently expressed aninterest in working together to solve the profession wideproblem. This led to the formation of a partnership tosupervise the project which incorporates the wide issues ofattraction and retention of country lawyers. By June 2005, theproject proposal was ready for advertisement. It is envisagedthat the project will commence in September 2005 andconclude by the end of March 2006.

The country lawyers project is aimed at improving theemployment and retention of lawyers in country WA andimproving access to professional development for countrylawyers. The project has two elements. The first element ispiloting several programs and assessing their effectiveness.The programs include remote Continuing Legal Education,judicial briefings, mentoring and building local capacity. Thesecond element is analysing, reporting and makingrecommendations about ongoing issues, including analysingthe pilot projects and developing an industry-wide solution forthe recruitment and retention of rural lawyers.

The difficulties inherent in providing legal services to regionalareas of Australia are particularly pronounced in WesternAustralia. This ongoing problem is one that Legal Aid WAconsiders it extremely important to address. It is hoped thatthe Lawyers in Country WA Project will lead to significantimprovements in this area.

Mandatory Continuing LegalEducation (CLE) for LegalPractitionersDuring the year, Development Servicesestablished a project to examine how themandatory CLE requirement for legalpractitioners can be met, and how we cansupport our community partners as well asensure any initiatives have regional applicationand accessibility. Existing materials are beingexamined to determine how they can berevised and updated for inclusion as accreditedmaterials. Documentation developmentincludes a process to identify audience,outcomes, ensure continuing legal integrity andto identify the particular significance of thematerials to the various criteria established bythe Legal Practice Board of WA. DevelopmentServices will continue to work closely withregional offices and external service partnerson this initiative.

Lawyers In Country WALegal Aid WA, in collaboration with the LawSociety of Western Australia, Aboriginal LegalServices of WA (ALS) and the Association ofCommunity Legal Centres (WA) (CLCs), hasrecently embarked upon a project to addressthe problems facing country lawyers.

Western Australia is the largest geographicaljurisdiction in the world. There are 148 countrylawyers in regional WA, often in isolated townsand cities. Attraction and retention of lawyersis difficult, with some vacancies remainingunfilled for many months and others filled onlyby very junior staff. In 2006, all WA lawyers willbe required to comply with mandatoryContinuing Legal Education requirements as acondition of the renewal of their annual

L E G A L E D U C A T I O N P R O J E C T S

Key Strategy- CommunicationsImplementing strategies that ensure open andclear communication about our services withour customers and the community

We continue to provide advice and trainingfor Community Legal Centres, our regionaloffices, government agencies, and otherrelevant service providers to increase theawareness about the services availablethrough Legal Aid WA.

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Annie says the bulk of her work is made up ofminor assistance work. For example, one ofmany tasks that is relatively simple on themainland is filing for a divorce. This taskbecomes more complicated on the Island due tolanguage difficulties and an unreliable and slowmail service. This is an area in which Annie canhelp by assisting people with applications, byfiling documents at the court with requests fortelephone hearings and by arranging service ofcourt documents either on the mainland or onthe Island. Annie and Nora have even resorted torole-playing to explain to their clients how toeffect service of their documents!

Annie also has an important role to play inproviding community legal education to theIsland’s population. Each trip Annie tries toprovide some training to a particular communitygroup such as the hospital staff, the police, theJustices of the Peace and even the ChristmasIsland Women’s Association. She has providedgroup training and has provided information toteachers for their professional learning program.Her talks vary according to the audience andcover all manner of civil, family and criminalmatters. The island also has a bi-weeklynewspaper, The Islander. Legal Aid WA providesan article for the paper each month, translatedinto English, Chinese and Malay. Nora does theChinese translation.

The location of her office and the nature of herclients make Annie’s job special, and it is theclients who are the favourite part of her job. Sheloves the informality of the Island, even whenclients walk straight into her office without anappointment. Another Legal Aid WA employee,Judith Quinlivan, has spent time on the Islandwith Annie. Judith says of Annie “she was reallywell respected and regarded by all of thecommunity, including Chinese, Malay and ‘whitefellas’. It was really obvious to all that she wascompletely committed to her individual clientsand also the community outreach kind of work ...There is a real sense of Annie being part of thecommunity even though she comes and goes.They love her there!”

Annie Gray has always kept herself busy. Sheworked for approximately five years in privatepractice both in Sydney and in Perth beforebecoming involved in community law. Sincethen, she has worked part time for FremantleCommunity Legal Centre (formerly CommunityLegal and Advocacy Service), a CommunityLegal Centre in Fremantle. At the same time,she has worked part time in a number of otherpositions, including as Deputy Chair of theHomeswest Independent Appeals Tribunal,senior case manager at the National NativeTitle Tribunal and supervising the Infoline atLegal Aid WA. Since January 2001 she hasworked part time for Legal Aid WA asSolicitor/Manager of the Islands Service, whilecontinuing her work with Fremantle CommunityLegal Centre.

As manager of the Islands Service, Annietravels to Christmas Island (approximately2650km north west of Perth) once a monthexcluding January. She stays for 3, 5 or 7nights each visit (depending on the availabilityof flights!). She travels to Cocos (Keeling)Islands if someone has been charged with anoffence, although this is not a commonoccurrence. The Christmas Island office is alsostaffed by Nora Koh, a paralegal officer wholives on the Island, and whose assistance is ahuge benefit to Annie.

The population of Christmas Island fluctuatesover time. Approximately 60% of thepopulation is Chinese with the remainder madeup of Muslim, Malay and Caucasian people.The population is currently around 1100 people,but increases and decreases depending uponthe number of asylum seekers arriving andcontractors involved in capital works. Thenature of the population at any one time candetermine the type of work that is required ofAnnie.

Annie’s work is nothing if not varied. She isinvolved with community legal education, sheprovides legal advice bureau, Duty Lawyer andminor assistance, as well as assisting peopleunder grants of aid. Her work covers family,criminal and civil law. Her work is funded by aservice delivery arrangement with theCommonwealth.

P R O F I L E : A N N I E G R A Y - S O L I C I T O R / M A N A G E R , I S L A N D S S E R V I C E

Annie GrayoutsideChristmasislandCourtroom

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During the 2004-2005 financial year the Commonwealthgovernment provided funding to the Legal Aid Commissions ineach state to provide Duty Lawyer assistance to selfrepresented litigants at the Family Court. A National Protocolfor the service was developed in consultation with NationalLegal Aid, the Family Court of Australia, the Family Court ofWestern Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court. Locally,Legal Aid WA staff and Family Court judicial, counselling andadministrative staff worked closely together to establishappropriate protocols and workflow processes for thedelivery of the service in Perth.

On Tuesday 29 March 2005 the service, called Legal Aid WAFamily Court Services, commenced operation.

Legal Aid WA Family Court Services builds upon the paralegalservice Legal Aid WA has previously offered at the FamilyCourt and encompasses:

• a Duty Lawyer service (two lawyers available each day);

• legal advice bureau appointments;

• minor assistance (drafting of court documents, assistingwith applications for grants of legal aid etc); and

• liaison between Legal Aid WA and the Family Court, andother family law service providers.

The service functions as a provider of and referral point forthe full range of Legal Aid WA family law services, rather thansimply a stand-alone Duty Lawyer service. It operates from9.00am to 4.00pm each weekday. The first point of contact atthe Family Court for client referrals is the assessment counteron the ground floor.

Clients Requiring Representation:Our clients are people who:

• have an imminent court date (either the same day or thenext day);

• have a matter in the General List;• have been served with court documents and have not had

an opportunity to respond;• feel they are unable to represent themselves on the day;• may fit into the guidelines for the Legal Aid WA Minor

Assistance Program where Client Services have assessedthat it would be beneficial to have a Duty Lawyer representthem on the day.

Duty Lawyers’ RoleThe Duty Lawyers can:

• give legal advice;• apply for adjournments;• appear on behalf of clients in short matters;• negotiate between parties or with the other

party’s solicitor;• prepare minutes of consent orders for

presentation to the court on the day;• prepare simple court documentation such as

recovery order applications and supportingaffidavits;

• not represent clients in trials.

Conflict:In offering this service Legal Aid WA is aware ofthe potential for conflicts of interest to arise.Where a conflict of interest is identified, weendeavour to provide the affected in-personlitigant with a service equivalent to that whichwould have been offered had there not been aconflict. Circumstances may also arise where aclient requires urgent legal assistance that our in-house practice is not in a position to provide onthe day.

Referrals from Legal Aid WA Family CourtServices are offered to members of the LegalAid WA Family Law Panel to enable thesepeople, in appropriate circumstances, to accesslegal advice and assistance from a privatepractitioner. The Director of Legal Aid WA hasprovided panel members with information aboutthe service and the arrangements associatedwith the referral process.

Trends:Since the commencement of the operation ofthe service:

• Client numbers are increasing, from 223 inApril to in excess of 300 in July;

• It is apparent that many people use the FamilyCourt as their first contact point after arelationship breakdown and are unsure of theprocess that follows separation. These peopleoften require referrals for non-legal assistancesuch as counselling and other emergencysupport from Family Court Services staff;

• Most clients require assistance in relation toresidence and contact matters and a highproportion of these are seeking recoveryand/or location orders; and

• Family Court Services staff are well placed toidentify and make appropriate and timelyreferrals of clients into the Legal Aid WAAlternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program.

F A M I LY C O U R T S E R V I C E S

The FamilyCourtServicesteam

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During 2004-2005, a working group comprisingmembers from Legal Aid WA and the Aboriginal LegalService of Western Australia (Inc) (ALS) met regularlyto consider how an already close working relationshipcould be extended even further to achieve better legaloutcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderpeoples in WA.

Around 15% of Legal Aid WA clients are fromAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.Legal Aid WA is committed to understanding culturalsensitivities that may have a bearing on their legalissues, and to working cooperatively with ALS todevelop and expand resources and trainingopportunities that will benefit our mutual clients.

On 23 March 2005, these discussions culminated in aMemorandum of Understanding signed by theChairman of Legal Aid WA, Malcolm McCusker, AO,QC, and Victor Woodley, President of the ExecutiveCommittee of the Aboriginal Legal Service.

The Memorandum sets out our organisations’ desireto utilise the knowledge, skills and resources of bothorganisations to maximum effect and to minimiseduplication of effort in order to extend and expandservice to Indigenous clients across WA. Animplementation plan was adopted establishingpriorities and activities to be undertaken during thenext financial year, including:

• identification of appropriate contact people withinvarious sections to promote prompt and effectivecommunication, and development of thoserelationships;

• sharing resource information including library andInformation Technology systems knowledge;

• shared access to training opportunities; and• provision of cross-cultural training by ALS staff for

Legal Aid WA personnel.

Legal Aid WA looks forward to expanding itsknowledge and capacities through these links withALS in the future.

I M P R O V I N G S E R V I C E S F O R A B O R I G I N A L A N DT O R R E S S T R A I T I S L A N D E RP E O P L E S I N W A .

Key Strategy - CustomerServiceDevelopment of strategies to ensure equity ofaccess to services regardless of regional andtime constraints.

Family Court Services established to providefull range of family law services includingDuty Lawyer services, legal advice and minorassistance to those who are unrepresentedbefore the Family Court.

Feedback from the Family CourtRegistry Staff on the progress of theservices:Clients often see the Family Court as their firstport of call for advice when faced with difficultsituations in their family law disputes, particularlywhen they identify a need for a recovery order,assistance with document completion on anurgent basis or feel that they are unable toproperly represent themselves in court.

The Court is unable to give legal advice orcomplete documentation for clients. Prior to theintroduction of Legal Aid WA Family CourtServices, the Court directed clients to a supportservice. Clients often became distressed andagitated by the redirection, felt it was all too hardand didn’t follow through with court processesor alternative dispute resolution.

With the introduction of Legal Aid WA FamilyCourt Services, the court staff have reported amarked decrease in aggression from clients atthe main reception area as they can be told thatLegal Aid Duty Lawyer services are available andthey may be able to get immediate assistance atthe Court without being redirected elsewhere.The benefits of this service therefore extendbeyond the clients’ perceptions of a positiveservice, to improving the general working day forCourt Staff. The presence of Legal Aid at theCourt has had a major impact on resolvingchildren’s matters where proceedings havenewly commenced.

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In January 2004, the Department for CommunityDevelopment formally requested assistance fromLegal Aid WA to provide independent legaladvice to individual persons in cases ofsubstantiated abuse whilst the person was achild in the care of the Department. Many ofthese persons are still children (that is, under 18years of age). An agreement was reached withthe Department for Community Development toprovide $50,000 to help fund the cost of onelawyer to provide the legal advice. Just over 100matters have been referred in house for adviceunder the initial arrangement.

Towards the end of 2004, Legal Aid WA reachedmaximum in house capacity for these mattersand the Department for CommunityDevelopment agreed to provide Legal Aid WAwith a further $165,000 to arrange for privatelawyers on Legal Aid WA’s panel to investigateand advise in relation to a further 80 cases. Themajority of the funds provide for privatepractitioners fees with disbursements (mainlymedical and psychological) and provision forLegal Aid WA’s cost of administering the“scheme” making up the balance. Fundsauthorised under grants of legal aid for this partof the scheme have now been committed forthe amount provided.

The Department for Community Developmenthas notified Legal Aid WA that there are afurther 120 cases requiring independent legaladvice. Legal Aid WA is arranging for privatelawyers on Legal Aid WA’s panel to investigateand advise in relation to all of these furthermatters. An additional allowance has beenagreed to cover private lawyers fees inacknowledgment for the extra time that is beingexperienced in investigating these matters. Also,the amount allowed for disbursements and forLegal Aid WA’s administration costs wereincreased under new funding arrangements forthe additional 120 cases.

To date, Legal Aid WA has issued writs in theDistrict Court against the Department allegingabuse in care on behalf of six children. Thosecases are still in progress.

In a number of other cases, rather thanproceeding against the Department, theappropriate course of action has been identifiedas a claim for criminal injuries compensationbecause of a criminal offence perpetratedagainst the child. A number of those mattershave reached conclusion including one in whicha ward of the state was placed at a privatechildren’s home and a home based carerperpetrated physical abuse on the child.

There are a number of unique aspects to theproject. One is the high level of cooperationbetween the various Government agenciesinvolved - the Department for CommunityDevelopment, Legal Aid WA, State Solicitor’soffice, Public Trustee, Assessor of CriminalInjuries Compensation and the District Court.Although contentious matters are beinginvestigated and litigated, there is scope for thevarious agencies involved to liaise and co-operate to produce appropriate outcomes forthe children affected whilst ensuring thatadministrative and legal costs are kept withinreasonable limits.

The unique aspects of this project highlighted aneed to inform and educate the privatesolicitors carrying out the work involved and tothis end Legal Aid successfully conducted aseminar for 22 private practitioners in June2005.

D E P A R T M E N T F O R C O M M U N I T YD E V E L O P M E N T M A T T E R S

Key Strategy - CustomerServiceDevelopment of strategies to ensure equity ofaccess to services regardless of regional andtime constraints.

Expansion of court based services into thespecialist area of the Administative ReviewTribunal is aimed at providing timely accessto advice services and referrals whereappropriate and to target an identified gap inservices available for social security clients.

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A six month trial of a duty advice servicebased at the Administrative Appeals Tribunalin Perth commenced in mid April 2005. Theservice provides an advice bureaufortnightly.

The service is for unrepresented partiescurrently involved in proceedings in theAdministration Appeals Tribunal. The serviceis limited to legal advice and the Legal AidWA lawyer does not, as part of the service,represent appellants at conferences orhearings in the tribunal. This is in line withcourt based services now in operation inNew South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.The service is free with the usual fee forlegal advice being waived during the trialperiod.

Advice appointments are limited to adviceabout immigration, social security andveteran matters. The Legal Aid WA lawyeron duty is also able to advise on eligibility fora grant of legal aid and make other referralsas necessary. Applications for legal aid canbe taken from appellants where it isconsidered appropriate and representation inthe proceedings then provided under a grantof aid.

The Administration Appeal Tribunal continuesto refer clients who have not yetcommenced proceedings to Legal Aid WA inthe usual way.

The Service has definitely been helping fromour point of view. People seem to be comingbetter prepared when they attendConferences. They also seem to be relieved tobe able to access the Service to getindependent advice about proposals forsettlement of their claim.

Barry Johnson, Distr ict Registrar,Administrat ive Appeal Tr ibunal

A D M I N I S T R A T I V EA P P E A L S T R I B U N A LL E G A L S E R V I C E

T H E S O C I A L S E C U R I T YP R O J E C T

The project was successfully transitioned overto general service provision and we are happyto report the project completed the following:

• The necessary resources for service deliverywere identified and made available both inhard copy and online

• Key service partners were located andservice strategies developed to ensuresmooth interactions for clients and eachother

• Key internal staff were drawn together todevelop an integrated service package -notably staff from Assignments, the In-housePractice, the Duty Lawyer Service, FrontlineCoordinators and Client Services.

• Six well attended training and informationsessions were held for staff in Perth and aspecific session for regional staff via videoconferencing

• The qualifications and experience needed bya practitioner to provide In-house Practiceservices were identified and a permanentstaff member was employed to carry thisinitiative past inception phase into standardservice delivery

We continue to monitor and further developresources and materials in this field.

As a newly admitted restricted year practitioner (RYP) in theSouthwest Regional Office, life has been exciting,challenging and certainly quite hectic over the last 5 months.

Appearing before the same two Magistrates several times aweek, every week, can be daunting - but it also reaps itsrewards. A definite highlight of the year so far was recentlyconducting my first trial - and sitting down with theMagistrate to have a friendly chat afterwards!

A typical week involves providing duty lawyer services toclients in Bunbury Magistrate’s Court, as well as travellingout to smaller courts such as Busselton and Bridgetown.Then the rest of the week is taken up with casework forcriminal and family matters, including ADR conferences andMagistrate’s Court trials, legal advice bureau and minorassistance. Needless to say I’m usually exhausted by theend of the week!

Anyone who has ‘gone regional’ will tell you that it’s thediversity of the work and clients that really amazes andchallenges you. I’ve been asked for advice on just aboutevery topic imaginable across the spectrum of family, civiland criminal law.

I find that the most rewarding aspect of working in a regionalcommunity is helping clients navigate difficult and stressfultimes in their lives, usually in several different areas at once.

A typical example of multi-tasking legal advice was my first‘file’ client. He was a middle-aged man with serious criminalcharges pending in Magistrate’s Court, and significant mentalhealth issues. While he was remanded in custody, Inegotiated with his landlord to hold off on pursuing unpaidrent until my client was sentenced, and assisted my clientwith his problems with Centrelink. Following his release fromcustody on a suspended sentence, I helped with follow-upadvice on the tenancy issue, a referral to financial counsellingand negotiation letters regarding his family law dispute aswell. It was all made incredibly worthwhile when he went toextreme measures to thank me in person - hitchhiking from

Boyup Brook intoBunbury, and waitingfor me at Court forover an hour, just tosay thank you.

For me, theexperience of workingin a regional office hasbeen invaluable andhighly enjoyable, andone I would stronglyrecommend to anypractitioner!

Legal Aid WA has made substantial progresstowards meeting its business requirements forthe effective management of all agency recordsand documents, both in paper and electronicformats.

The Hummingbird electronic records anddocument management system (DMS) hasnow been installed at Legal Aid WA. It iscurrently being used by Records staff and byother staff within the Information Managementbranch. Electronic document managementfunctionality will be rolled out across theagency in the coming months. The system willbe mandatory and is anticipated to have amajor impact on the work practices of all staff.Existing non-compliant records repositories,both paper and online, will be progressivelyshut down.

The agency has placed a significant emphasison development of policies, strategies andsystems in this area. A complete review of itsadministrative file system has been completedand a new business classification system hasbeen approved and partially implemented. Allpreviously existing administrative files havebeen closed and new files created in the newDMS. Work is now in progress to bring all grantapplication and client representation files intothe system.

A training and awareness program has beenestablished. As a result, most staff haveundertaken at least introductory training inrecords management principles. Newlyappointed staff are also required to go throughthis process. Information Management andRecords staff have all received additionaltraining in relevant components of the system.

R E C O R D SM A N A G E M E N T

R E F L E C T I O N F R O M A R E S T R I C T E D Y E A RP R A C T I T I O N E R :K A T E P A R N E L L

Kate Parnell

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The Grants Online (GOL) systemcontinues to be expanded andrefined for user functionality,efficiency, and design.

In terms of its continueddevelopment, GOL has recentlyundergone major improvementsassociated with the website. Thehome page now presents statisticsillustrating the number ofoutstanding requests (giving them astatus of saved or submitted), thenumber of requests that have beenprocessed in the last seven days,and the total submitted requests forthe year to date. Significantprogress has been made insimplifying and improving the clientsearch function and the submissionand payment of tax invoices. Theformat of the application form hasalso undergone extensiveenhancement with the introductionof intelligent questions. Questionsare shown/hidden depending onprevious answers.

GOL is presently used by 58 firms,accounting for 50% of applicationsreceived from or rostered to privatepractitioners, and over 20% of allapplications received. A further 26firms have expressed a currentinterest in being connected to GOL.It is envisaged that the in-housepractice and all in-person and postalapplications will be incorporatedinto the GOL system. The objectiveremains to ultimately standardiseelectronic lodgement and make itmandatory for private firms whoundertake Legal Aid WA work (apartfrom the few firms who generatelimited number of applications). It isanticipated that all current privatefirms will adopt GOL by the end of2005.

Grants Online - Regional ExperienceGOL has been particularly well received by regional legal firms who undertake LegalAid WA work. One of the first regional areas to incorporate GOL into workplacepractice was Geraldton, and the comments below accurately sum up the generalconsensus regarding the benefits of GOL.

Ms Jan Tracey, who has been the dedicated Legal Aid WA officer for Geraldton, alsocomments on the many practical advantages of using GOL in regional areas:

“I have been the dedicated Grants Online (GOL) Assessor for over a year now. I havefound it mutually beneficial dealing with all Geraldton solicitors, specifically thevarious problems faced in areas where criminal courts sit on a circuit basis. It becameclear to me that the District Court circuit matters take a lot longer to get to trial thanthey do in the Perth Metropolitan area, as they continue on a round of StatusConferences with trials eventually listed on a number basis.

GOL has assisted both myself and the solicitors in dealing with any requests farquicker than using the post service, as sometimes letters can take as long as a week toreach Geraldton and vice versa. The comments made by solicitors in this area confirmthis. I have also been able to provide direct contact details to Community LawCentres in Geraldton when they need to contact Legal Aid WA in relation to theirclient’s applications, thus creating a valuable rapport with those service providers”.

Jan TraceyGrants On-l ine Assessor

“The advantages I have experienced with Grants Online are:

1. A set contact person at Legal Aid WA to whom I can direct most queries. (Jan, youare great!).

2. Quick turnaround on requests for grants of aid.3. Easy submitting of bills.4. Prompt payment of accounts.5. Saves on postage and paper shuffling.

In general, I have found the system to be great and am very happy.”

Ms Al ison CampSol ic i tor

“We have found the system to be extremely successful. Turnaround on grants hasbeen extremely fast and efficient. We also feel having a designated Assessor hashelped to streamline the system and to build good relationships. Service has beenmuch improved.”

Susan J El l isSol ic i tor

G R A N T S O N L I N E

Key Strategy - ServiceImprovementExtending access to services throughappropriate use of technology, and developingmanagement information systems to promotecontinuous improvement in the servicesdelivered.

Together with enhancement of electroniclodgement and management of applicationsfor aid expansion of meritscertification/checklist approach continues toimprove response times for practitionersparticipating in Grants Online and realisesubstantial efficiencies.

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Review CommitteesNot every person who applies for legal aid willreceive a grant of aid. However, anyone who isrefused a grant of aid can request areconsideration of that decision. If aid is refusedagain, the applicant can request that the mattergo to review. It is at this point that the hard workof the members of Legal Aid WA’s ReviewCommittees comes into play.

Reviews are conducted by independent ReviewCommittees, consisting of two private legalpractitioners who practice law in the relevantarea and a layperson from the community. Thereare seven different committees, each of whichspecialises in a different area. Each committeemeets 6 or 7 times per year. The members ofeach committee are volunteers and areindependent of Legal Aid WA. They play anextremely important role for Legal Aid WA inensuring that appropriate decisions are made inrelation to grants of aid. Applicants alsoappreciate the fact that they can attend ReviewCommittee Meetings and speak to the membersthemselves. Those clients who are unable toattend in person are able to put their case bytelephone. Legal Aid WA extends its thanks to allof the members of the review committees forthe services they provide, and congratulates themost long-standing members, Bruce Goetze,Gino Monaco and Anne Hawkins.

Court Welfare ServiceIn 2005, Legal Aid WA nominated the CourtWelfare Service for the Golden Swan Citizen ofthe Year Award. This nomination was made inrecognition of their ongoing contribution as avoluntary service association.

Court Welfare provides a range of services incourts throughout Western Australia, includingwelfare services, assisting people applying forrestraining orders, assisting defendants,assisting Duty Lawyers, and assisting thecourts.

Court Welfare Service members have beenproviding voluntary assistance in WesternAustralian Courts for over 30 years. In 2005,the Service had 80 members aged between 40and 75 years who, on average, assisted around700 people per week in Courts of PettySessions, Children’s Courts and District Courtsin Western Australia.

In addition to providing invaluable assistance tocourt users, the Court Welfare Service alsoprovides tremendous logistical support to thecourts themselves and to the Duty Lawyerservices run by Legal Aid WA. At a busy court asingle Duty Lawyer will regularly advise andrepresent in excess of 20 clients before thelunchtime break. The administrative and othersupports provided by Court Welfare to the DutyLawyers are invaluable. Put simply, the DutyLawyer service and in turn the courtsthemselves, could not run as effectively orefficiently without the assistance of CourtWelfare. This is particularly so with difficultclients who may have to wait some timebefore being seen by a lawyer and dealt withby the court. The Court Welfare Service alsoprovides valuable assistance to applicants inrestraining order matters and to other courtsupon request.

V O L U N T E E R S

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This year Legal Aid WA continued tomaintain strong links with the law schoolsat Murdoch, Notre Dame and the Universityof Western Australia. This has provedmutually beneficial - Legal Aid WA benefitsfrom the assistance law students provideand the students benefit from the hands onexperience, training and professionaldevelopment opportunities available.

This year:

• 275 law students applied to participatein our winter and summer clerkshipprogram. Of these, 25 have beenchosen to undertake a 2 weekplacement that will provide them withthe opportunity to gain practicalexperience in different areas of the lawwhile developing an understanding ofthe values and practices of ourorganisation.

• We also continue to employ lawstudents on a part-time and casual basison our Infoline. These students benefitfrom the ‘hands-on’ experience ofdelivering information and advice ondiverse areas of law to a wide range ofclients and gain first hand knowledgeabout our organisation.

“I have found my time at Legal Aid WA as an InfolineAdvisor to be incredibly rewarding. I have been workingon the Infoline for the past four years and as an advisor,provide assistance and information on a wide range onlegal issues to the community. This can vary greatly andin any one day, I can go from giving initial advice to aclient on a Family Court procedure to referring anotherclient onto a centre for emergency housing. The experienceof dealing with a wide range of legal issues has been greatin allowing me to establish a sound understanding ofmany different areas of law and gain a better appreciationof the processes involved in the legal system.

Working on the Infoline has also allowed me to furtherdevelop my client service skills. At Legal Aid WA, we dealwith a diverse range of clientele and on the Infoline weare often the first point of call for clients, who may bedistressed or unsure of their legal options. One recentanxious client called seeking information regarding herfamily law matter and expressed appreciation for thehelpful service that was provided, stating that the Infolineadvisor was both courteous and empathetic towards hersituation. It is this positive feedback that we receive fromclients that makes the job even more rewarding.

In my time as an advisor, the Legal Aid WA environmenthas been very supportive, with the teamleaders,supervising solicitors and managers always happy toshare their time and knowledge. Overall, working at LegalAid WA on the Infoline has been an invaluable experienceand has served to validate my desire to continue withwork of this nature.”

Sharni Redfearn, Infol ine Advisor

W O R K I N G W I T H L A W S T U D E N T S

SharniRedfearn,

InfolineAdvisor

Key Strategy- PeopleManagementDeveloping a workforce with portable skillsthat respond to new challenges and whichvalues professionalism.

We continue to expand the use of lawstudents in the provision of legal servicesthrough winter and summer clerkships aswell as employment with the added benefit ofhands on experience for students.

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Student Comments about vacation clerkships at Legal Aid WA

“Legal Aid WA offers an excellent introduction to office administration, operationalmanagement of incoming work, variety of work duties and an overview of therealities of working in a busy legal office for students who are unfamiliar with acorporate work environment or a government work environment.”

---“I attended a seminar on “How to manage difficult clients” by Legal Aid WA, forthe benefit of the court welfare workers at the Perth Magistrates Court. This was afantastic seminar. The strategies and techniques discussed by Leah Young and JaneStewart on managing difficult clients will continue to be with me hopefully wellinto my time in legal practice.”

---“Thank you for giving this opportunity. This was one of the best clerkships I’ve had.”

---“My clerkship with Legal Aid WA has been an excellent learning opportunity. Thework was varied, challenging and interesting and the people were always morethan supportive, friendly and informative. It was an excellent insight into theorganisation’s values and culture.”

---“Legal Aid WA is unique in providing such early exposure to clients. I havethoroughly enjoyed working with the clients and consider this to be the mostimportant part of a Legal Aid WA clerkship.”

---“I had a really wonderful and incredibly interesting/eye-opening time here at LegalAid WA. I feel the rotation I had has given me exposure to a good cross-section ofthe work of Legal Aid WA and its staff and clients. I have thoroughly enjoyed it all,and really appreciate the opportunity.

In terms of suggestions - only that I would have appreciated the opportunity of abrief taste/exposure to the other units/sections of Legal Aid WA that I didn’t get torotate into, as I realise each section does quite discrete work in different ways.”

---“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Legal Aid WA. Gained invaluable exposureand insight into various aspects of criminal practice. The staff in both sections werewelcoming and most prepared to guide and assist.

Overall, the two weeks here at Legal Aid WA have been fantastic. Staff have beenincredibly helpful and have talked openly about cases they have been working onas well as their experiences in law more generally.”

---“I really enjoyed my time at Legal Aid WA ... You do place a lot of emphasis on thefact that vacation clerks get a lot of work to do, and that it is real work, and this istrue - I got some great research work, especially from Youth Law. However, the realbenefit of my clerkship was not doing work - just following around solicitors, goingto court, sitting in on interviews, reading files etc. This gave me a real impression ofwhat it is like to work at Legal Aid WA ... The people in both sections were fantasticalso. Everybody is very busy, however, people always found time to talk to me, giveme advice, explain things to me. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to have thisexperience!”

---

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S E C T I O N 3R E P O R T O N O P E R A T I O N S

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Children’s IssuesThe representation of children on criminal matters requiresspecialised skills. In addition to legal representation, it alsoencompasses a detailed understanding of welfare, mentalhealth and multicultural issues. Lawyers who act for childrenin the criminal justice system must also be skilled inaddressing the particular and special needs of children asclients. Our Youth Law Team is a specialist team with fivelawyers who provide representation for children on criminalmatters.

Most matters require representation at a superior court levelbefore the President of the Children’s Court. Many involvecomplex issues, including appeals and psychiatric defences.

A Duty Lawyer service is provided in the Perth, Joondalupand Midland Children’s Courts. In the past year, Legal Aid WAextended its Duty Lawyer service to the Mandurah Children’sCourt. The Duty Lawyer is in attendance on the first Mondayof every month. If on-going grants of aid are required, they

People charged with or convicted of criminaloffences can access a range of Perth basedand regional criminal law services, includinglegal representation, Duty Lawyer assistance,Prison Visits, Minor Assistance, Legal AdviceBureau, and the telephone Infoline to resolvetheir legal problems.

CaseworkWhere an application for legal aid is successful,a client will be allocated an in-housepractitioner or private practitioner to conducttheir case. Legal Aid WA’s in-house criminal lawpractitioners work in the Criminal Law Sectionand Youth Law Team at the Perth office andalso at the regional offices throughout theState. Practitioners represent clients in allcriminal jurisdictions for pleas of guilty, trialsand appeals.

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