legal aid commission, nsw 2003-2004 annual report...annual report 2003–2004 we made significant...

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1000 copies of this report were printed byBeaver Press, Sydney. The estimated costper copy is $10.50. Produced by thePublications Unit. This report is alsoavailable on the Legal Aid website:www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au

Legal AidCommissionof NSW

Annual Report 2003–2004

Legal Aid Commission of NSW Annual Report 2003–2004

He ad O f f i c eGround Floor, 323 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2000Tel: 9219 5000 Fax: 9219 5935TTY: 9219 5126

Ba n k s t ownCivic Tower, Level 4Cnr Rickard Rd & Jacobs St Bankstown 2200Tel: 9707 4555 Fax: 9708 6505

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Dubb o64 Talbragar Street, Dubbo 2830Tel: 6885 4233 Fax: 6885 4240

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Man l ySuite 6, Level 4, 39 East EsplanadeManly 2095Tel: 9977 1479 Fax: 9977 3357

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O r a n g e121 Byng Street, Orange 2800Tel: 6362 8022 TTY Fax: 6361 3983

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Pe n r i t hGround Floor, 95 Henry StreetPenrith 2750Tel: 4732 3077 Fax: 4721 0572

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If there is no office near you, callLawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529 forinformation, referral and advice.

Annual Report 2003–2004 Legal A

id Comm

issionof N

SW

The Commission is established underthe Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 toimprove access to justice by providing arange of legal services to socially andeconomically disadvantaged people. Weare an independent statutory body,employing the equivalent of 669 full-time staff around NSW.

We work in partnership with privatepractitioners who receive funding from theCommission to represent legally-aidedclients. In 2003–2004, private practitionersrepresented 43.3% of all legal aid clients.

In 2003–2004 we provided 355,661client services, which includedrepresentation, duty appearances, legaladvice, information services andcommunity education through our headoffice, 20 regional offices and privatepractitioners.

Our corporate governanceframeworkThe Legal Aid Commission’s corporategovernance framework ensures theCommission delivers on its commitment tothe community and operates in accordancewith its corporate values and providesclients with a professional, efficient and fairservice.

The Commission reports to the NSWAttorney General, the Honourable BobDebus, MP. Under the Legal AidCommission Act, an independent Boardwith 10 members establishes theCommission’s broad policies andstrategic plans. The daily management ofthe Commission is overseen by the ChiefExecutive Officer, with assistance fromthe Executive. In 2003–2004, theExecutive of seven (members are listedon page 10) met fortnightly to makedecisions on day-to-day management ofthe Commission.

FundingThe Commission receives its incomefrom the Commonwealth and NSWGovernments, the Public Purpose Fundand client contributions. Combinedincome for 2003–2004 was $143.6million, and expenditure was $143.5million. The Commission undertakes

work for the Commonwealth Governmenton the basis of a four-year agencyagreement, which ended in 2003–2004.

A replacement agreement is beingnegotiated between the Commissionand the Commonwealth.

The Legal Aid Commission

provides legal aid services

in New South Wales. We

are the largest legal aid

agency in Australia.

$46.8m

$72.6m

$3.0m

$2.3m

$18.9m Commonwealth

State

Clients

Other

Law Society

Where our funds come from

$45.1m

$13.7m

$12.2m

$72.5m FamilyCriminal

Civil

CommunityPrograms

How our funds are spent by program

$49.9m$13.3m

$15.4m

$64.9m

Salaries

ExternalLegal

Other

CommunityPrograms

Where our funds are spent

Legal Aid Commission of NSW

mission

valu

es

vis

ionOur mission

To deliver a range of innovative, highquality legal services to our clients to assistthem to resolve theirlegal problems

Our valuesCl i en t fo cu sIn t eg r i t yP ro fe s s i ona l i smEf f i c i en c yEqu i t y

Our visionTo ensure thateconomically andsocially disadvantagedpeople can understand,protect and enforce theirlegal rights and interests

Contents

Overview . . . . . . . . . 1

Clients . . . . . . . . . . 12

People . . . . . . . . . . 20

Organisation . . . . . . 24

Partners . . . . . . . . . 28

Financials . . . . . . . . 34

Appendices . . . . . . 62

* You can access this information on our website.** For a more detailed version of Legal Aid Policies,

go to our website at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au

Audio cassettes available upon request.Tel. 9219 5028

Application for Legal Aid (Max. qty: 200)

Legal Aid App (Duty Lawyer and Advice) (Max. qty: 200)

Legal Aid Policies in Brief (4 pages)** (Max. qty: 200)

Legal Aid News* To subscribe call (02) 9219 5028 or email: [email protected]) (1 per order)

Apprehended Violence Orders (Applicants)*

Apprehended Violence Orders (Defendants)*

Are You Applying for Supreme Court Bail?*

Are You Being Squeezed for a Debt?*

Are You Facing a Committal?*

Children’s Legal Service*

Going to Court: Guide to the Local Court for Defendants*

Get Street Smart: Under 18s: Know Your Legal Rights*

Have You Breached Your Parole?*

Have You Crashed Your Car?

What to do about property damage*

Legal Help for Veterans and their Dependants*

Mental Heath Advocacy Service*

Reviewing and Appealing Local Court Decisions*

Prisoners Legal Service*

Questions You Should Ask Your Lawyer*

Youth Drug and Alcohol Court Program (limit of 50)*

Do You Have a Legal Problem?* English

Arabic* Chinese* Croatian*

Greek* Italian* Khmer*

Laotian* Macedonian* Serbian*

Spanish* Turkish* Vietnamese*

Family Law – Frequently Asked Questions* English

Arabic* Chinese*

Vietnamese* Spanish*

Do You Need Help with Child Support?* English

Arabic* Chinese* Vietnamese*

Family Law Conferencing Factsheet* English

Chinese* Cambodian* Vietnamese*

Thai* Laotian* Arabic*

Spanish* Khmer*

Date Received: Amount:

Date Sent: Sent by:

BROCHURES: English and other languages

POSTERS (Max. quantity 200) QTY

Under 18s HotLine poster (Limit of 5 per order)

Who’s Who in the Local Court (Limit of 5 per order)

Get Street Smart mini poster (Limit of 3 per order)

October 2004

OFFICE USE ONLY

Under 18s HotLine Card

FORMS, POLICY BRIEFS AND MAGAZINES QTY BROCHURES (Max. quantity per brochure: 200) QTY

PUBLICATIONS ORDER FORMNOTE: THE MAXIMUM ORDER FOR EACH BROCHURE OR CARD IS 200.

Write quantities in box to the right of publication title and fax this form to FAX: (02) 9219 5038

Name: Organisation:

Address: Post Code:

Phone: Fax: Required by: / /2004

Tel: 9219 5028 for enquiries or orders over 200. All publications are free of charge.

Do You Have a Legal Problem? (large print; limit of 50)

Write no ofcopies here

Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Program* English

Arabic Chinese Greek

Italian Spanish Tagalog

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Are You Pleading Guilty to a Drink Driving Charge?* English


Character References* English


TELEPHONE CARDS (Max. quantity 200) QTY

Write no ofcopies here

Max qty per brochure: 200


We made significant progresstowards our corporate goals this year.

Our overall priority was findingways of improving access to the rangeof legal aid services, particularly forpeople in rural and regional areas.

We achieved this through a rangeof strategies, including more outreachprograms and innovative partnershipswith other legal service providers. Themost significant of these was the Co-operative Legal Service DeliveryModel pilot program, which applies apartnership model that we hope willbe duplicated across New SouthWales.

Assisting staff with greateropportunities in training and self-development resulted in trainingattendance increasing by 273%.Combined with last year’s 270%increase, this has helped to establishthe Commission as a “learningorganisation”.

Finally, the completion of a majorrestructure has allowed the Commissionto consolidate its working relationshipsand implement a system of strategicbusiness planning and improvedcommunication.

Our clients>> A number of the cases we ran in

civil, family and criminal law raisedimportant legal issues andachieved benefits for the widercommunity.

>> In the Central Far West and theNorthern Rivers regions of theState we launched a Co-operativeLegal Service Delivery Model pilotscheme. The scheme bringstogether government, communityand private sector agencies toimprove legal services for people in rural communities.

>> There was a marked increase infamily and civil law outreachservices to clients in areas such as Taree, Murwillumbah, Ballinaand Ocean Shores, Katoomba,Lithgow and Windsor.

Our people>> Inhouse training attendance

increased by 273%.

>> Fourteen of our staff attained theDiploma of Business (FrontlineManagement) from the UTS.

>> We supported our staff byproviding them with improvedservice delivery tools.

Our organisation>> We completed a major restructure

and established a framework for a statewide practice model thatincludes consistent practicestandards.

>> We commenced a planning strategythat will help ensure the rollout ofbetter services and programs todisadvantaged communities acrossNew South Wales.

>> We implemented key initiativesrecommended in the Criminal LawReview and undertook a majorreview of our Civil Law Program.

>> By improving our business analysisand reporting systems we wereable to provide useful onlineinformation to both inhouse staffand external stakeholders.

Our partners>> By June 2004, 442 firms were

registered for E-lodgement (lodgingapplications for legal aid online),an increase of 67% on this timelast year. 90% of the top 50private law firms who undertakelegal aid family law work are nowregistered for E-lodgement.

>> 17,902 family law applications werelodged electronically in 2003–2004,an increase of 68% over theprevious year.

>> The number of non-staff membersattending our conferences andMandatory Continuing LegalEducation (MCLE) courses morethan doubled.

Key Improvement Areas

Areas identified as a priorityfocus in 2004–2005:

>> Use our new servicedelivery tools strategicallyto better meet our clients’diverse needs.

>> Attain consistent statewidepractices across theCommission and ensure wemeet the needs of thecommunity by deliveringinnovative, high qualityservices.

>> Strengthen our partnershipsto ensure disadvantagedcommunities have access toimproved legal services.

>> Improve services toAboriginal, rural andregional communities.

performance highlightsThis year, our main emphasis was on developing client servicestrategies which ensure real equity of access to the law, particularly for disadvantaged people.

high

light

s

1

2


Summary of services by programWhat we spent Services we provided

Total expenditure $72.462m- State $67.678m- C’wealth $4.784m




See pages 13–14 for more details



See pages 32–33,74–75 for moredetails

Criminal Law

Facilities:Head office and 19regional offices

CommunityPrograms

Community LegalCentres andWomen’s DomesticViolence CourtAssistance Program

Facilities:Statewide programs

Civil Law

FacilitiesHead office and 10regional offices

Family Law

FacilitiesHead office and 20regional offices

0 20 40 60 80 100

Assigned representationInhouse representation

Total legal representationAssigned duty appearancesInhouse duty appearances

Total duty appearancesLegal advice

Information servicesCommunity Legal Education Sessions

Under 18s Hotline services

000s

9,009 32,123

41,132 41,757 44,780

22,492 25,730

5010,174

86,537

0 20 40 60 80 100

000s

9,054 3,001

12,055 3,734 1,384 5,118

24,131

1,732

38,722

82

Assigned representationInhouse representation

Total legal representationAssigned duty appearancesInhouse duty appearances

Total duty appearancesLegal advice

Information servicesAlternative Dispute Resolution

Community Legal Education Sessions

0 20 40 60 80 100

000s

375

783

1,158

8,872 13,224

22,096

18,692 57,584

82

Assigned representation

Inhouse representation

Total legal representation

Assigned duty appearances

Inhouse duty appearances

Total duty appearances

Legal advice

Information services

Community Legal Education Sessions

sum

mar

y of

ser

vice

s

LegendADR:Alternate Dispute ResolutionATSI:Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderCLC: Community Legal CentreCLE: Community Legal EducationC’wealth: CommonwealthE-Lodgement: Electronic LodgementWDVCAP:Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance ProgramWDVCAS:Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme

3


Criminal law case representation

Duty appearances at Local Court

Criminal law legal advice and minorassistance

General criminal law information

Under 18s HotLine

Adult and Youth Drug Court Programs

Community Legal Education

What we do

>> Implemented consistent statewide servicedelivery practices

>> Implemented protocols for the assignment ofcriminal matters to private practitioners

>> Improved service delivery for clients in custodythrough greater use of video-conferencingfacilities

>> Improved the management of expensivecriminal cases

>> Conducted a three-day criminal law conferenceattended by 237 practitioners

>> Commenced E-Lodgement of applications forlegal aid in Local Court crime and the Children’sCourt

>> Work with other criminal justice agenciesto monitor and address factors influencingthe progress of matters through thecriminal justice system

>> Continue to work with Aboriginal LegalServices to enhance service delivery forindigenous persons throughout the State,and actively promote joint traininginitiatives

>> Develop improved systems for measuringthe quantity and cost of inhouse work, inorder to produce a more comprehensiveprofile of all work done by the CriminalLaw Division

>> Expand the use of E-Lodgement of legalaid applications

Civil law case representation

Civil law legal advice and minor assistance

General civil law information

Alternate Dispute Resolution Conferencing


Veterans’ Advocacy Service

Mental Health Advocacy Service, includingduty appearances before magistrates andthe Mental Health Review Tribunal

Family law case representation

Duty appearances at Local and FamilyCourts

Family law legal advice and minorassistance

General family law information

Alternate Dispute Resolution Conferencing


Representation and assistance in care andprotection matters

>> CLCs conducted a number of test cases andclass actions with successful outcomes thatbenefit the wider community

>> Compiled a Best Practice Guide to assist the33 WDVCAP Schemes in providing a consistenthigh quality service

>> Launched a new resource to assist Aboriginalwomen with domestic violence issues inaccessing the legal system

>> Held a two-day conference attended by 160people, focussing on domestic violence in ATSIcommunities

>> Participate in a joint State/Commonwealthreview of the CLC program

>> Work with CLCs to deliver improved servicesto ATSI communities

>> Improve services to ATSI womenexperiencing domestic violence

>> Implement major recommendations of theCivil Law Review report

>> Enhance access to the civil law program forAboriginal people

>> Undertake a project aimed at improvingoutcomes for forensic patients

>> Expand our mediation program and revisestrategies for indigenous mediation

>> Consolidate our outreach program to ensurepeople in regional areas have improvedaccess to legal services

>> Expand family law services to Walgett andBroken Hill as part of the Co-operativeLegal Service Delivery Model

>> Work with other agencies to developpolicies and procedures in care andprotection cases

>> Develop practice standards for chairpersonsin Alternate Dispute Resolution matters

>> Completed a comprehensive review of the civillaw program

>> Piloted a new duty advice service forAdministrative Appeals Tribunal

>> Commenced a new civil law service at ourDubbo office, with two outreach servicestargeted at Aboriginal communities

>> Implemented E-Lodgement of applications forlegal aid in veterans’ law

>> Increased C’wealth family law duty services by25%, and Alternate Dispute Resolution by 23%.

>> Employed extra staff resources at Lismore,Newcastle Parramatta, Wagga Wagga andGosford

>> Established a permanent duty scheme in theFamily Court and Federal Magistrates Court atParramatta.

>> Commenced a pilot duty service to the FamilyCourt and Federal Magistrates Court atNewcastle

>> Established outreach services at Taree, TweedHeads, Murwillumbah, Ballina and OceanShores, Katoomba, Lithgow, Windsor andKempsey

>> Established the Nowra regional office toprovide family law services along the southcoast to the Victorian border

Plans for the year aheadWhat we achieved this year

ov e r v i e w

Distribute State and Commonwealthfunding to 32 Community LegalCentres

Monitor their Strategic Plans forservice delivery to meet communityneeds

Distribute State funding to 33 WDVCAPschemes, providing assistance towomen at 55 courts throughout theState

Provide a domestic violence solicitorscheme at 12 courts to represent allwomen making ADVO applications

Legal Aid Commission of NSW Corporate plan 2003–2004

We will facilitate a statewide legalaid service encompassingcommunity education, information,advice and representation to meetcommunity needs and highprofessional standards.

We will have a professional workculture and a positive workenvironment.

We will be an organisation withmodern systems and processeswhich maximise the efficient andeffective use of Commissionresources.

Business strategies Key targets

Implement panels in designated areas of legalpractice.

Improve our family law services across theState to enable equitable access by ourclients.

Develop and implement an integrated servicedelivery model for client services across theState.

Improve the quality and delivery of targetedcivil law services across the State.

Implement the Communications ImprovementPlan across the Commission.

Increase use of electronic lodgement.

Implement the Criminal Law Review.

Develop and enhance our links withgovernment, the courts and partners in thejustice system.

Participate fully in all justice system forums andprovide expert input into law reform initiativeswhen the Commission’s views are sought.

Develop and implement strategies to enableprivate practitioners to deliver a betterservice to legal aid clients.

Implement electronic lodgement in threeadditional legal areas by June 2004.

Provide managers with relevant and reliablebusiness information to assist them in servicedelivery and planning activities.

Implement 50% of the accepted recommendationsfrom the Criminal Law Review by 30 June 2004.

Develop and implement an MCLE strategy for allpractitioners undertaking legal aid work by 31 December 2003.

Ensure practitioners are able to communicateelectronically with the Commission by 30 June2004 and access online information relevant totheir delivery of services to legal aid clients.

Implement ATSI strategies, as funding permits,by 30 June 2004.

Implement panels in care and protection, childrepresentation, veterans and Court of CriminalAppeal work by 30 June 2004.

Achieve a 20% increase in Commonwealth familylaw services across all areas.

Develop a comprehensive recruitment strategyto attract and multi-skill entry-level staff.

Develop and implement a recruitment strategyby 30 June 2004.

Pilot the integrated service delivery model intwo areas and develop a framework forevaluation.

Conduct and finalise a review of the civil lawprogram (both in-house and assigned) by 30 November 2003 and develop a process forimplementation of the recommendations.

Implement all accepted recommendations fromthe Communication Improvement Plan by 30 June 2004.

Implement improvements to key areas identifiedby the staff survey by 30 June 2004.

Establish a career development and performancemanagement system for implementation in2004-2005.

Our

par

tner

sOur

org

anis

atio

nOur

peo

ple

Keyresultareas

partnersDevelop and implement an ATSI justicestrategy.

people

clients

Develop a career development andperformance management system for useacross the Commission.

Implement an ATSI employment strategy. Increase the number of ATSI employees by100%.

Analyse results of the staff survey and identifykey areas for organisational improvement.

Our

clie

nts

Goals

organisationImprove monitoring of the business bybuilding better analysis and reportingsystems.

We will work co-operatively withother legal service providers todeliver a range of effective andefficient legal aid services acrossthe State; and

We will participate fully in the legalaid system to ensure the interestsof the economically and sociallydisadvantaged are protected andenhanced.

Develop an online resource for legalpractitioners.

4


Achievements

Completed action to recruit practitioners for Care & ProtectionPanels. Implementation process is underway with full rolloutexpected by September 2004.

Action to recruit practitioners for the child representation andCourt of Criminal Appeal panels is close to completion, withrecruitment for the veterans’ law panel opening in July 2004.

Achieved a 25% increase in C’th family law duty services anda 23% increase in Alternate Dispute Resolution services.

Provided extra staff at Lismore, Newcastle, Parramatta, Wagga Wagga and Gosford.

Developed a framework for a Co-operative Legal ServiceDelivery Model. Commenced pilots of the model in theCentral/Far West and Northern Rivers regions in March 2004.

Completed a comprehensive review of the Commission’s civillaw program in December 2003. A plan for implementing therecommendations of the review has been developed and isbeing guided by the Board’s Civil Law Sub-committee.

Enhanced the intranet site. The new site will be launched inJuly 2004.

Recruited a Communications Project Officer to drive theimplementation of remaining recommendations.

Established a management development program andexpanded staff training.

Survey outcome information widely distributed across theCommission. (Also a recommendation of the staff survey).

Formed a working party to actively facilitate a balanced andpositive work environment.

Facilitated opportunities for dialogue through regular visits bysenior executives to regional offices.

Increased the number of ATSI permanent employees by 60%bringing the total number of ATSI employees to 11 (1.5% ofstaff ).

The first ATSI Employment Coordinator commenced work inAugust 2003 and is currently developing an ATSI Employmentand Career Development Strategy.

Appointed five ATSI clerical trainees to permanent positions.

Commenced electronic lodgement of applications for legal aidin the additional legal areas of Local Court crime, Children’sCourt crime and veterans’ law.

Approximately 30% of private law firms performing criminallaw legal aid work in the last 12 months are registered for E-lodgement and therefore receive faster notification of casedetermination results by email.

Prepared a revised reporting format for financial informationwithin WebFOCUS. The new reports will be available for useduring the 2004-2005 year.

Upgraded the reporting functions of the SAP financial systemand the CHRIS payroll system.

Recruited Regional Program Coordinators (RPCs) in February2004 to give effect to the Review’s recommendation forimproved statewide service delivery.

Prioritised and costed the implementation of the remainingrecommendations.

Distributed a draft recruitment strategy to staff for comment.The strategy provides a focussed list of initiatives to attractand retain a high standard of applicant.

Completed a review of entry-level clerical/administrative roleswithin the Commission.

Participated in a number of justice system forums andstakeholder meetings with state and federal governmentdepartments across all areas of law.

Made submissions on 20 major law reform proposals.

Commenced revision of the draft Aboriginal Justice Plan tomake it consistent with, and complementary to, the NSWGovernment’s NSW Aboriginal Justice Plan 2003-2012.

Completed a formal evaluation of the ATSIFAM Program in May 2004.

Improved the internet site for private practitioners andprovided easy access to e-lodgement and panels registration.

Provided online access to current policies, discussion papers,fee scales, upcoming conferences & events.

Developed a career development and performancemanagement system that will be piloted during 2004-2005.

See pages 15–16for more details

See page 12 for more details

See pages21–22 for moredetails

See pages21–22 formore details

See pages17 & 30 for more details

See page 26 formore details

See pages 77 & 80 for more details

See page 75for more details

See pages 17 & 30 for more details

5

ov e r v i e w

Over 100 private practitioners attended our various civil, criminal and family MCLE seminars & law conferences.


See pages 24-25 for details


This is the 25th annual report ofthe Legal Aid Commission forthe year ending 30 June 2004.The Commission achieved anoperating surplus of $0.113 million forthe year.The result was facilitated byadditional funds received from theNSW Government and a favourablesuperannuation balance.This was apleasing result in a climate wherethere is increasing demand forservices of the Commission,particularly in the criminal law area.During the year a new board wasappointed for a term of three years.The new members are MarkRichardson, the Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the NSW Law Society andSimon Moran, the Principal Lawyerof Public Interest Advocacy Centre.On behalf of the board I would like torecord the Commission’s thanks forthe outstanding contribution made tothe Commission by former boardmembers John North and DanaeHarvey who retired during the year.The Commission is conscious of theneed to maintain efficiencies.To thisend, the Commission has continued toreview its management, organisationaland reporting systems and proceduresto ensure that they are consistent withbest practice.Other steps have been taken to ensurethat its clients’ needs are beingproperly and professionally attendedto. For example, solicitor panels arenow in place in Children’s Crimewith Panels due to commence shortlyin Care and Protection, ChildRepresentation and Court of CriminalAppeal. Audit and complaintsprocedures are being developed.Other key developments during thecourse of the year include:>> a detailed review of the

Commission’s civil law programwith a view to identifying theareas of civil law which will be thepriority areas for the Commissionover the next few years. One areaalready identified is the needs ofthe indigenous community;

>> implementation of the Co-operative Legal Service DeliveryModel.This is an excitingdevelopment involving moreeffective co-ordination of legalservices in rural areas by the keyparticipants. Currently pilots arebeing conducted in the NorthernRivers and Central Far West areas.

As well as administering grants oflegal aid to its clients, the Commissionis an active participant in the justicesystem.The Commission is engaged in regulardiscussions with participants in thejustice system (including Local,District and Supreme Courts) with aview to increasing the efficiencies ofthe system and improved access tojustice.One of the key areas of focus has beencommittals in criminal matters.TheCommission has been a driver ofstrategies to reduce costs and toincrease efficiencies and fairness in thetrial process.The Commission is also a keycontributor in policy areas in thejustice system.The Commissionresponds to new legislative andpractice developments; one of its keygoals is to keep the judiciary,legislators and the communityappraised of the impact of potentiallegislative and policy initiatives on theavailability of legal aid and its abilityto discharge its function.Overall, I believe that the Commissionhas had a successful year and I amconfident that it will continue to servethe needs of its clients efficiently andeffectively over the coming year.I would like to record my heartfeltthanks to the Chief Executive Officer,Bill Grant, and his team for theircontinuing efforts to fulfil theCommission’s charter of the provisionof legal aid to those in need in NSW.I also thank the other board membersof the Commission for theircontinuing contribution.

6

Chairman’sreport


The Commission is an active

participant in thejustice system

7

I am pleased to present theCommission’s Annual Report for2003–2004, which has been achallenging, yet rewarding year, atthe Commission.I am particularly pleased that therestructure of senior managementpositions in the Commission is nowcompleted and we have Mr SteveO’Connor as the Deputy CEO Legaland Mr Russell Cox as the DeputyCEO Business and Client Services.The appointments of the Directors ofCriminal, Family and Civil Law havealso been finalised and I am veryconfident that the senior managementteam now in place can provideeffective leadership for theCommission to the benefit of ourclients and our staff.One of the very important initiativescommenced by the Commission thisyear was the launch of the Co-operative Legal Service Delivery(CLSD) Model Project on 8 June 2004by the Hon RJ Debus MP, AttorneyGeneral. The CLSD Project will helpto address unmet legal needs in ruraland regional areas of the State.Thisproject is being piloted in theCentral/Far West and Northern Riversregions and seeks to assist all agenciesproviding legal services todisadvantaged persons to coordinatetheir activities on a regional level.It is pleasing to note that in thesedifficult economic times theCommission, with the support of theNSW Treasury, recorded a smallsurplus in 2003–2004. At a time whenthere is an ever-increasing demand forthe Commission’s services, throughboth our inhouse practice and throughour private practitioner colleagues, itis heartening to receive additionalTreasury support for the provision ofour services. I also acknowledge thesupport of the Trustees of the PublicPurpose Fund who were able toprovide additional resources to theCommission as part of our newtriennial agreement.

Some of the highlights of 2003–2004include:>> Inhouse training attendance

increasing by 273%;

>> Completion of the Civil LawReview;

>> Our first 14 members of staffgraduating with a Diploma ofBusiness in Frontline Managementfrom UTS;

>> Outreach services increasing acrossrural NSW;

>> The further growth of ourelectronic lodgement facilities infamily law and now, on a pilotbasis, into areas of criminal law andveterans’ work.

I look forward to a very busy andproductive 2004-2005 and I am surethat with the support of theCommission’s staff, we can continue toexpand our range of client services tofulfil our corporate vision that theeconomically and socially disadvantagedcan understand, protect and enforcetheir legal rights and interests.

CEO’sreport

Annual Report 2003–2004ov e r v i e w

Our corporatevision: ‘that theeconomically and sociallydisadvantaged canunderstand, protect and enforce their legal rights andinterests’

8

A Board with 10 Membersestablishes the Commission’sbroad policies and determines itsstrategic priorities.

The Board consists of the ChiefExecutive Officer and nine part-time Members, including theChairman. Board Members areappointed by the AttorneyGeneral for a term of three years.

Meetings of the BoardThe Board meets monthly, unless aspecial meeting is convened.Therewere 11 meetings in 2003–2004.TheBoard did not meet in January 2004.

CommitteesThe Board is advised on specificmatters by a number of committees.These include the Audit and FinanceCommittee, which advises onbudgetary and internal audit matters,and committees for each area of law.Details of these committees areincluded on pages 79–80.

Board Members’ feesPart-time Board Members are entitledto be paid fees for their work inattending meetings, readingbackground papers, sitting oncommittees and representing theCommission at meetings with otherorganisations.The rates ofremuneration are $3,120 per annumfor Members and $26,000 per annumfor the Chair. No fees are paid toMembers who are salaried governmentemployees. Not all Board Membersaccept payment.

Legal Aid Commission NSW Board of Directors

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1

5

9

2

4

3

Mr Jack Grahame is absent.

9


Board membership 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004 Meetings attended

10

11 (including 1 as Chair)

10

6

5

11

3

2

10

10

11

8


Mr Phillip Taylor BA LLB. Solicitor appointed by the Attorney General asChair. Phillip practises in the area of banking and finance as a consultant atFreehills, where he was a partner for many years as well as Chair of the Freehillspro bono committee. He is currently a director on a number of boards.

Mr Bill Grant LLB. Appointed by the Attorney General as Chief ExecutiveOfficer (See pages 10 and 63 for more details).

Rev Harry Herbert BA BD STM Dip. Legal Studies. Executive Director ofUnitingCare NSW,ACT, representing consumer and community interests. Harryalso chairs the Casino Community Benefit Fund and the NSW Social JusticeReference Group. He is the longest serving member of the Board.

Mr Simon Moran BA LLB. Solicitor, representing bodies providing communitylegal services (appointed 13 October 2003). Simon is Principal Solicitor of thePublic Interest Advocacy Centre and Public Interest Law Clearing House. He iscurrently also a Board Member of several community legal centre groups.

Mr Mark Richardson BA, LLB(ANU), LLM(Syd). CEO of the Law Societyof NSW, nominated by the Law Society (appointed 27 October 2003). Markserved as Director of the Commission 1989–1992. He is a member of severalboards and is a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development Australia.

Mr Geoff Lindsay BEc, LLB(ANU) SC. Barrister, nominated by the NSW BarAssociation, Geoff has practiced principally in the Equity and Commercialjurisdiction. He is involved in legal publishing and is Secretary of the FrancisForbes Society for Australian Legal History.

Ms Danäe Harvey BA(Hons) LLB. Solicitor, representing bodies providingcommunity legal services (Board Member from July to September 2003).

Mr John North BA Dip Ed LLB. Solicitor, nominated by the Law Society ofNSW (Board Member from July-September 2003).

Mr Jack Grahame BA. Solicitor, Legal Aid Commission NSW, nominated by theLabor Council of NSW. A solicitor for almost 40 years, Jack was in privatepractice before joining the Commission’s Prisoners Legal Service in 1991.

Representatives who, in the opinion of the NSW Attorney General,possess skills and experience that would benefit the Commission:

Ms Anne Britton BA LLB. Anne is a judicial member of the AdministrativeDecisions Tribunal and is also appointed to the Workers CompensationCommission and the Government and Related Employees Appeal Tribunal.She has extensive experience in industrial relations and arts and media law.

Mr Robert Corben FCPA, FCIS, FCIM. Robert has been in private practice for25 years and was appointed by the Attorney General to the boards of the LegalAid Commission and the Sydney Catchment Authority. His practice providesextensive accounting, taxation and financial advisory services to a diverse clientbase.

Ms Linda Webb OAM, BA, FAIM, MAICD. Linda is a consultant with a lawfirm and serves on several government boards. Her areas of expertise aregovernance employment, community services and transport. Her OAM wasawarded to her in 2002 for service to the Australian Capital Territory throughpublic administration and social policy.

ov e r v i e w1

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8

Bill Grant, LLB

Chief Executive Officer (SES Level 6)Budget Total: $141.8 million Staff: (EFT) 669 Total Actual: 721

Bill has served as the Commission’sCEO since 26 November 2001. Beforethat he was Deputy Director General ofthe NSW Attorney General’sDepartment for 10 years.A member of several boards (see pages81-82), Bill also took on the additionalrole of Acting Commissioner, HealthCare Complaints Commission fromDecember 2003 to March 2004.

Bill is responsible for the provision oflegal aid services through 20 regionaloffices and head office. Having finalisedthe restructure of senior management,his focus now is on attaining consistentstatewide practices across theCommission and ensuring that theCommission meets the needs of thecommunity by delivering innovative,high quality services.

Steve O’Connor, DIP LAW (BAB) DIP CRIM

Deputy CEO Legal (SES Level 4)Budget Total: $54.2 million Staff: (EFT) 276 Total Actual: 309

Steve was appointed on 1 September2003. He was previously the Solicitorfor Public Prosecutions in the NSWOffice of the Director of PublicProsecutions (DPP). In 1999 Steve wasappointed an acting Magistrate.

Under our recent restructure, Steve hasresponsibility for the statewide practicesof the Criminal, Family and Civil LawDivisions. One of his first achievementswas to establish the framework for theimplementation of a statewide practicemodel for the Commission.

Russell Cox, BCOMM.Deputy CEO Business and ClientServices (SES Level 4)Budget Total: $9.3 million Staff: (EFT) 78 Total Actual: 80

Russell was appointed on 1 September2003 under the recent restructure to takeresponsibility for the Commission’scorporate services functions. Before that,he worked in the Attorney General’sDepartment of NSW as DirectorManagement Services.

Russell has introduced a number ofinitiatives to improve corporate serviceswithin the Commission, includingupdating the Internal Audit Plan to

focus on core operational areas andintroducing a new budget allocationmodel to better reflect the priorities ofthe Commission. Russell is also involvedin several interagency initiatives (Seepage 81).

Richard Funston, BCOMM, LLB

Accredited Criminal Law SpecialistDirector, Grants (SES Level 2)Budget Total: $61.9 million Staff: (EFT) 76 Total Actual: 80

Richard’s earlier experience includeseight years with Legal Aid in Victoriaand four years as Principal Solicitor ofthe Inner City Legal Centre in NSW. Insix years with the commission, he hasheld leadership roles as Solicitor-in-Charge of the Children’s Legal Serviceand Director of Family and Civil Law.Richard is currently undertaking theExecutive Masters of PublicAdministration with the Australian andNew Zealand School of Government.

Richard’s division is responsible fordetermining legal aid grants, allocatingmatters to inhouse and privatepractitioners. Under Richard’sleadership, major improvements havebeen made to all business processes thatare part of the administration of grants.

Brian Sandland, BCOMM, LLB

Director, Criminal Law (SES Level 2)Budget Total: $29.6 million Staff: (EFT) 130 Total Actual: 138

Brian has 23 years’ experience withthe Commission. Most recently, heacted as Director Regional andCommunity Services before taking uphis current position. Brian’s maininitiatives this year have includeddeveloping Business Rules for eachjurisdiction, conducting strategic

planning days for key services, andidentifying initiatives forimplementation from the CriminalLaw Review.

Judith Walker, BA, DIP ED; MA (HONS)

LLB, SAB

Accredited Specialist Family LawDirector, Family Law (SES Level 2)Budget Total: $14.5 million Staff: (EFT) 63 Total Actual: 66

Judith’s relevant experience includesworking in the Department ofGovernment and Public Administrationat the University of Sydney, as a lawyerin private practice, then with the NSWLaw Reform Commission and from1987 with the Legal Aid Commission.Judith was Senior Solicitor in the FamilyLitigation Section before becomingActing Director, Family Law inSeptember 2003.

Judith’s main initiatives this year havebeen to enhance the Commission’sconferencing program and developimproved family law practice standards.

Stella Sykiotis, BCOMM LLB

Director Civil Law (Senior Officer Grade 1)Budget Total: $8.9 million Staff: (EFT) 41 Total Actual: 42Stella has worked as a communitylawyer since 1988 with a particularfocus on consumer protection law. Shebegan work at the Legal AidCommission in the Civil Law Programin 1996. Stella was appointed to hercurrent position of Director, Civil Lawin November 2003. Her main initiativethis year has been to commence a newcivil law service at the Commission’sDubbo office.

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61

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Legal Aid Commission of NSW Senior directors

11

CEO ExecutiveSupport

DirectorGrants

StrategicPlanning &

Policy Division

Deputy CEOLegal

Deputy CEOBusiness &

Client Services

Review &Reform

DirectorCriminal Law(1)

ManagerHuman

Resources

ManagerInformationTechnology

DirectorFinancialServices

ManagerOperational

Support

Director Family Law(2)

Director Civil Law(3)

ClientAssessment &

ReferralsLibrary

Planning &Evaluation

•Operations•Professional Practices•Records Management•E-Lodgement

• LAC Policy• Review • Law Reform• Legal Aid Review

Committee• Commission Solicitor

• Service Delivery Planning• Business performance,

planning evaluation• Communication, Publications• Community Legal Education• CLCs, WDVCAP

• Advocates• Appeals• Commitals• Drug Court• Indictable• Inner City Local Courts• Prisoners Legal Service• Children's Legal Service

(Criminal)

• Alternate DisputeResolution

• Child Support• Family Litigation• Care and Protection• Advocates

• Civil Litigation• Mental Health

Advocacy Service• Veterans’ Advocacy

Service

• Training and Development• Payroll Services• HRM Consulting• Industrial Relations

and Organisational Development• ATSI Employment• OH&S support

•Infrastructure•Web Development•IT Business Systems•IT Training

• Accounting Systems• Debt Recovery• Management Accounting• Financial Accounting

• Contract Management• Records Management• Facilities Management• Client Enquiries and

Intake

Organisation Chart The Commission finalised a majororganisational restructure during theyear.The establishment of statewidepractices in civil, family and criminallaw under the control of the DeputyCEO, Legal, has improved theconsistency and coordination ofservice provision across both headoffice and regional offices.

The Deputy CEO Business and ClientServices assumes responsibility forcoordinating the Commission'scorporate service functions, while thenewly established Strategic Planningand Policy Division undertakes policydevelopment, strategic planning andbusiness reporting across theCommission.

1

4

2

5 6 7

3

(1) Head Office and 19 Regional Offices(2) Head Office and 20 Regional Offices(3) Head Office and 10 Regional Offices

Annual Report 2003–2004ov e r v i e w


Performance goalTo facilitate a statewide legal aid service, encompassing communityeducation, information, advice and representation to meet communityneeds and high professional standards.

Key results 2003–2004We are a client-focused organisation. Customer service is the highestpriority in our Corporate Plan. This year, all our divisions concentratedon introducing new programs and initiatives that help ensure real equityof access to the law, particularly for the disadvantaged people of NewSouth Wales.

Performance highlightDuring the year, the Commission developed a framework for a Co-operative Legal Service Delivery Model (CLSD). The model has beenguided by a Steering Committee comprising representatives from theLegal Aid Commission, Community Legal Centres, Aboriginal LegalServices, LawAccess NSW, Local Courts and pro bono legal services.

The aim of the model is to establish Co-operative sustainable regionalservices that meet the legal needs of disadvantaged people in NewSouth Wales. Pilots of the model in the Central/Far West and NorthernRivers regions commenced in March 2004. The Attorney Generalofficially launched the Central/Far West Pilot Program in Dubbo in June2004.

To support the program, the Commission has developed a proceduralmanual and community information sheets as well as web-basedresources, including a service delivery matrix. The matrixcomprehensively maps the services provided by key agencies in aparticular region.

Feedback from participating legal service providers in both regions sofar has been encouraging. The pilot will run for a 12-month period. Itwill then be evaluated to determine whether, and how well, the modelhas increased access to legal services in rural and regional areas.

Clients

Launching the Co-operative Legal Service Delivery Model in Dubbo are from left:Russell Ryan, local Wiradjuri Elder (Uncle Russ); Eric Wilson, Public Defender;Ros Barker, Circle Sentencing Project Officer Dubbo Court House; Beth Curran,Coordinator of Dubbo Women's Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme; andDeborah Sharpe, Director Community Justice Centres.

We coordinated an

inter-agency partnership

that will improve

legal services in

regional areas

12

ou

r cli

en

tsAnnual Report 2003–2004

Civ i l Law Div is ionThis division includes CivilLitigation, the Veterans’ AdvocacyService and Mental HealthAdvocacy Service.In 2003–2004, staff in this division:• Provided 18,692 face-to-face advice

and minor assistance services.• Represented 23,254 people in case

and duty matters in priority areas ofmental health, veterans’entitlements, social security andmigration law, consumer law,housing law and human rights law.

• Responded to 57,584 requests forinformation.

• Commenced a new civil law practiceat our Dubbo office, which servicesa large area of western New SouthWales. Lawyers have travelledextensively to towns in the region topromote the service and enhanceaccess, particularly for Aboriginalcommunities.

• Acted for large numbers oftemporary protection visa holders

from Iraq and Afghanistan who areseeking permanent residence.Wealso commenced an important casein the Federal Court in relation tothe correct interpretation of thecessation clause in the RefugeesConvention (Article 1C(5) ).

• Acted for a number of elderlyclients of Assyrian background whoface eviction from their homes as aresult of guaranteeing loans by theirrelatives for investments in an illegal

investment scheme.These mattersare currently being litigated in theSupreme Court.

• Conducted 36 visits to regional areasacross New South Wales to provideadvice clinics and seminars toveterans.

• Provided a regular civil law outreachadvice service in 11 locationsoutside Commission offices,including at Aboriginal Legal Serviceoffices.

• Conducted 19 community legaleducation sessions in the area ofmental health law.

0 20 40 60 80 100

FemaleNon-English Speaking Background

Interpreter req'dWith dependantsOn C’th benefits

ATSIUnder 18

19-5960 plus

Rural & regional*

*(including Newcastle and Wollongong)

26.7%

14.1%

2.5%

11.0%

60.9%

4.7%

11.9%85.4%

2.5%38.1%

% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100



ATSIUnder 18

19-5960 plus

Rural & regional*


64.0%

9.2%

3.3%

32.3%

70.5%

5.5%

20.8%

78.1%

1.0%

52.7%

% 0 20 40 60 80 100



ATSIUnder 18

19-5960 plus

Rural & regional*


12.5%

14.0%

2.1%

8.5%

55.7%

4.9%

12.1%

86.5%

1.3%35.2%

% 0 20 40 60 80 100



ATSIUnder 18

19-5960 plus

Rural & regional*


43.5%

19.9%

4.4%

6.4%

83%

2.1%

3.0%85.7%

11%

41.8%

Legal Aid assisted over 100 East Timoreseclients to apply for refugee status.After 12long years of negotiation, Jong Kim Koe(pictured left) was one of the first to collect hisnew humanitarian certificate that officiallygives him a home in Australia.

Annual Report 2003–2004c l i e n t s

This division assists people with a range of civil lawproblems as diverse as seeking permanent residenceto preparing for a tribunal hearing.

Civil Law Division Family Law Division

Criminal Law DivisionCommission-wide

Client Profiles**

**Total case and inhouse duty services

13

Civil Law Division highlightsthis year included:

Civil law program reviewA comprehensive review of theCommission’s Civil Law Program wascompleted in December 2003.Recommendations made in the reviewwill help determine the future direction ofthe program and ensure that this directionis aligned with the Commission’sCorporate Plan.The review has a numberof recommendations for improvementsboth to the civil law program and tothe overall business of the Commission.The Board has approved one of thekey recommendations in thereview–to establish a client-specificcivil law service to meet the needs ofAboriginal communities.

Taking the lead in law reformCivil lawyers made a large number ofpolicy submissions in specialised areaswhere they have particular expertisesuch as consumer law, mental healthlaw and migration law.This contribution to legislative reformcan provide substantial benefits tolarge numbers of disadvantaged peoplein the community. (See page 78 fordetails).

New advice service for people attribunal hearingsA pilot duty advice service waslaunched this year at theAdministrative Appeals Tribunal forapplicants in social security and somemigration matters. By providingtelephone advice and interpreters, wehave ensured that people who live inrural and regional areas or have

difficulty with English are able toaccess free and independent advicebefore appearing at the tribunal.

Civil lawyer, Bill Gerogiannis outsidethe Administrative Appeals Tribunal:“In a jurisdiction where 80% of peopleare unrepresented at hearing, thispilot is making a real difference.”


Civil law cases2003–2004: goodoutcomes for clients

W v InsurerAn insurance company refused to paya motor mechanic after he suffered aserious injury at work.This action bythe insurer placed our client injeopardy of bankruptcy and putconsiderable strain on his family life.The insurer fought the claim all theway through various disputeresolution processes to the DistrictCourt before finally agreeing to settlethe matter on favourable terms afterour client had given evidence.

Discrimination against carersOur client is the sole parent of ayoung child. She worked as anintelligence analyst on a contract basisfor the Australian Crime Commissionfor many years. She took sick leaveand carers leave within herentitlements to care for her childwhen he became ill. Her employer didnot support this leave and her workwas downgraded. Our clientsuccessfully claimed that the employerunlawfully discriminated against heron the ground of carersresponsibilities.The matter wascontested in the Federal MagistratesCourt, the Federal Court and onappeal to the Full Federal Court.The

case was the first case to be litigatedunder new protection for carers inFederal discrimination laws.

Insurer v CWe applied successfully to interveneas amicus curiae (friend of the court)in a disability discrimination case inthe Full Federal Court.We acted for apeak disability group and succeeded inhaving our submissions on the correctinterpretation of the legislationadopted in the judgment.Thedisability group’s client, who hadbreast cancer, had won a short holidayto Japan. She applied for travelinsurance expecting that her pre-existing condition would be excluded.The insurer refused to provide anyinsurance cover at all. She claimed thatthe insurer had discriminatedunlawfully against her on the basis ofher disability. She was successful at theFederal Magistrates Court and onappeal to the Full Federal Court.

Kosovar Safe Visa holdersWe acted for several Kosovar familieswho held Safe Haven visas that weredue to expire in June 2003. All thefamilies were receiving treatment forpsychiatric conditions related to theirtraumatic experiences in Kosovo. Acondition of the Safe Haven visa wasthat they could not apply for any othertype of visa unless the Immigration

Minister gave permission.We assistedthe families with representations tothe Minister to allow them to lodgerefugee applications. Four familieswere eventually recognized as refugeesand granted permanent visas.Theother two families were grantedfurther safe haven visas for 12 months.

Inquest brings about productrecallOur client was the father of seven-week-old baby. He was bathing thebaby in a plastic bath with a bathingcradle for support. He momentarilyleft the baby to fetch warm clotheswhen the baby slipped off the cradleand became submerged in the water.The baby died in hospital a few dayslater.We represented the father in theinquest.We obtained expert advice tothe effect that the bathing cradle wasunsuitable for the purpose for which itwas used and that the warning on theitem was inadequate.The Coroneragreed and recommended that the FairTrading Minister urgently reviewwhether the product should beremoved from sale.The Ministerresponded by quickly removing theproduct from sale in NSW.TheFederal Government has sinceannounced that it will introducenational safety standards for baby bathseats.

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Family Law DivisionThis division includes FamilyLitigation, Child Support Service,Children’s Legal Service (carematters) and Alternate DisputeResolution.In 2003–2004, staff in this division:• Provided over 24,000 advice and

minor assistance sessions to thepublic.

• Assisted over 5,000 people on aduty basis at the Family Court,Local Courts and Children’sCourts.

• Provided legal representation tomore than 2,700 adults andchildren involved in Children’sCourt care matters around theState through the Care andProtection Legal Service.

• Provided legal representation tomore than 9,000 clients in familylaw matters in the Family Court ofAustralia, Federal MagistratesService and Local Court.

• Conducted 56 free divorce classesin head office and regional offices.

• Established the pilot duty scheme atthe Family Court and FederalMagistrates Service at Newcastleand established the Parramatta dutyscheme on a permanent basis.

• Provided a Child Support outreachadvice and community legaleducation program in the UpperHunter and launched a joint familylaw/child support outreach serviceat Taree.

• Held 1,732 family law conferences– a 23% increase on last year’sfigure of 1,410. A full or partialsettlement was achieved in 87% ofconferences.

• Enhanced advice services atParramatta increasing access todrop in advice for people in thewestern Sydney area.

• Increased services to clients byproviding regular outreach servicesto Taree from our Newcastle office,to Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah,Ballina and Ocean Shores from ourLismore office and to Katoomba,Lithgow and Windsor from ourPenrith office.

• Established the Nowra regionaloffice to provide family law servicesalong the south coast to theVictorian border.

• Conducted 25 communityeducation sessions across NSW,including the Sydney fringe,Dubbo,Wagga,Wyong andTumbarumba.

• Participated in the Women onWheels project providing legalinformation and advice tocommunities in south eastern NewSouth Wales, particularlydisadvantaged Aboriginalcommunities.

Annual Report 2003–2004c l i e n t sIncreasing services to clients through outreach programs,and settling disputes arising from family relationships incourt and through mediation.

Family law casesChild support windfallWe acted for a motherseeking lump sum child

support for her seven-year-old son. Sheapproached us after finding out that thechild’s father was selling a recentlyinherited house. Until then, the fatherhad been paying minimum childsupport based on low job prospects.We began proceedings and afterlengthy negotiations, the partiesentered consent orders giving themother a lump sum payment of$75,000 in child support.This sum wasdeposited into an interest bearing

account with direct debit facilities toprovide the mother with regularpayments of child support.

Long-running case resolvedthrough mediationSince mid-2002, we had acted as thechild’s representative in a matter beforethe Family Court.The proceedingswere complicated and acrimonious.The father, who lived in New Zealand,alleged that the mother had wrongfullybrought the child to Australia.Therewere numerous interim hearings inrelation to the child’s holiday contactwith the father. Our Alternate Dispute

Resolution Section arranged an urgentconference for a day the father wasscheduled to visit Australia to attendthe third interim hearing.Theconference commenced in the morningand lasted a marathon nine hours,ending at 7.30pm.In the end, a court hearing was notrequired because the child’s parentswere able to agree on all holidaycontact and final consent orders wereaccordingly drawn up.The FamilyCourt made the orders the nextmorning and a long-running saga wasfinally put to rest.

…Continued next page

Women on Wheels participants at Brungle Memorial Hall where they discussedissues facing Aboriginal women.

Criminal law cases2003–2004: decisionshave wider impact

Lifer challenges existing legislationWe conducted an appeal before theFull Bench of the High Court in thematter of B. B and a co-accused, C,had been convicted of murder in the1970s and received life sentences.Their papers were marked “never tobe released”. People sentenced before1990 who had their papers markedlike this could make an application tohave their sentences re-determinedafter serving eight years.

Amendments were made to therelevant legislation in 1997 (madedays after C’s application forredetermination of his sentence wasgranted) and in 2001.Theseamendments meant that people givenlife sentences marked “never to bereleased” could only apply for asentence re-determination in certaincircumstances, such as they must haveserved 30 years of their sentence andthey must establish special reasons tojustify their application.These amendments raised importantconstitutional issues, including thatthey have a retrospective effect, andwere discriminatory as they targeted a

small group of people given lifesentences.This was a major constitutional case,for which the Commission instructedSenior Counsel.The Attorneys-General of all the other Australianstates intervened.A decision is expected later this year.It will be important because it willclarify the scope of the judicial powerin the Constitution, and the power ofthe legislature to set and redetereminesentences.The decision will also besignificant because of its considerationof the power to impose the mostserious of all sentences,that is, lifeimprisonment.


16

Cr iminal LawDiv is ion

This division includes Inner CityLocal Courts, Children’s LegalService (criminal matters),Advocacy Unit, Indictable andIndictable Appeals Sections,Committals Unit, Prisoners LegalService,Youth Drug and AlcoholCourt and Adult Drug Court.TheDivision also provides criminallaw services at our 19 regionaloffices throughout the State.

In 2003–2004, staff in this division:• Provided representation for 41,132

new case grants.• Provided 86,537 duty services.• Provided 25,730 information

services.• Provided 22,492 advice and minor

assistance services.• Advised 2,854 prisoners.• Represented 208 people in the

Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA)and seven people in the High Court.

• Appeals lawyers won 55% ofsentence appeals, 55% ofconviction appeals and 64% ofCrown appeals in the Court ofCriminal Appeal.

• Answered 10,174 calls on theUnder 18s Hotline and advised5,882 young people, the majorityof whom were in police custody.

• Represented 49 young peoplereferred to the Youth Drug andAlcohol Court Program.

Family law highlightcase

Abducted child isrecovered after seven monthsThe father of our client’s child advisedher that he was not returning thethree-year-old child after a contactvisit. Earlier, the father had broken intoour client’s home and taken the child’spassport. Our client believed that thefather was in Australia under a falsename and that he intended to take thechild out of the country. In anemergency sitting of the Family Courtthat night, the court made orders thatthe child be returned to her motherand the child’s name placed on theairport watch list.The father returnedthe child to the mother late that night.

Less than four weeks later he abductedthe child whilst the mother waswalking along the street with her, andthen went into hiding.We obtained arecovery order, a location order and apublication order from the FamilyCourt permitting us to approach themedia for help in recovering the child.A week after Women’s Day ran an articleabout the child’s abduction, a readercontacted the Federal Police to say thata man and child fitting the magazinedescription were renting a room fromher.The child was re-united with hermother after being missing for sevenmonths and told her mother was dead.During this time the father createdfalse identities for himself and thechild.Without the publication order

from the Family Court the child wouldstill be missing.

Lawyer (left)Jane Corcoran with clientand daughter.

Providing legal aid services in all courts exercising acriminal jurisdiction, from the Local and Children’s Courtlevel to the High Court.

17

Grants Div is ionWe worked in close partnershipwith private lawyers whoprovided representation to 43.3%of all legally aided clients in NewSouth Wales in 2003–2004.This division makes decisions on thegranting of legal aid and allocatesmatters to inhouse staff and privatepractitioners.This year the division received 25,146applications for legal aid, comprising:• 8,749 applications for legal aid in

criminal law • 15,368 applications for legal aid in

family law • 1,029 applications for legal aid in

civil law.Grants Division staff also administered29,636 duty appearances conductedby private practitioners at courts inNSW.

We achieved faster resultsthrough online practices.This division has made it considerablyeasier for private practitioners to dobusiness with the Commission.Since 2002, when we pioneeredonline applications in family law,

greater numbers of practitioners havebeen submitting legal aid applicationsand invoices over the internet underguarantee of a fast turnaround.Continued online developments thisyear included:• a 68% increase over last year in the

electronic lodgement (E-lodgement)of family law applications;

• faster determination of applicationswith an average processing time of4.2 days;

• introducion of E-lodgement forcriminal law and veterans’ law;and

• new web application forms,including modifing the LA Officesystem to include a specificdisability question, allowing us tocollect more comprehensive dataon clients.

Communicating clearly with clients isa priority.This year, plain languageinformation sheets were provided tocriminal law and veterans’ law clientsto help ensure they are betterinformed about their grants of legal aid.

The Professional Practices Branchcompleted the selection process forthe Commission’s Care and Protectionpanel.The panel is expected to beoperational by September 2004.Action to recruit practitioners for theChild Representation and Court ofCriminal Appeal panels is close tocompletion, with recruitment for theveterans’ law panel opening in July 2004.

c l i e n t sCriminal law cases2003–2004: decisionshave wider impact

Prescribed Concentration ofAlcohol (PCA) guidelinejudgement

There has been concern for some timeover the growing disparity insentences imposed in Local Courts forhigh range PCA offences, and inparticular the extent to whichmagistrates determine that noconviction will be recorded for suchoffences.We therefore beganproceedings (instructing the PublicDefender’s Office) to seek a guidelinejudgement for this kind of offence.The court’s decision distinguishedbetween ordinary high range PCAoffences and ones involving moralculpability.The likelihood of a gaolsentence now increases if the charge is

a second or subsequent high rangePCA offence, or where moralculpability is involved.Abalone fisheries prosecution

We represented a number ofAboriginal men who have beencharged with offences under the NSWFisheries Management Act 1994.Thecharges relate to harvesting abaloneand eastern rock lobster.Thedefendants, from an extended familyon the south coast, argued that theharvesting of the abalone, although inbreach of the fisheries legislation, isconsistent with their cultural andreligious practices.This raises apotential constitutional issue inrelation to the guarantee under s116of the Australian Constitution whichprovides that the Commonwealth shallnot make any law prohibiting the freeexercise of any religion.The case isstill part heard at Bateman’s Bay LocalCourt.

Extradition proceedingsIt was alleged that Mr G was part ofan organised group of internet userswho breached copyright laws in theUSA. Others in the group came fromseveral countries, including Englandand were prosecuted for breach ofcopyright law in England. Mr G hasnever left Australia. Nevertheless, theUSA sought his extradition to faceprosecution for breaches of theircopyright laws.The application forextradition was opposed in the LocalCourt and extradition was denied.TheUSA appealed to the Federal Courtwhich allowed the appeal. An appealto the Full Court of the Federal Courthas been lodged and is still pending. Inthe meantime Mr G is still remandedin custody.The case has significantimplications for people whose use ofthe internet may constitute an offencein another country.


0

5

10

15

20

2003–042002–032001–02

000s

E-Lodgement requests received 2001–2004

Working with private practitioners to assist a greaternumbers of clients

18

Together, lawyers and social workers achievedgood results for clients

Legal Aid clients obtained improved access to services andentitlements with the assistance of our expert social workersin the Client Assessment and Referral Unit.A new position was established this year to respond tolawyers’ requests for information and referrals, assistingspecifically with clients’ non-legal needs.The CommunityLiaison and Referral Officer developed a referral databasethat covers community and welfare services across theState. As a result, any legal aid lawyer can accessinformation for their clients’ non-legal needs.This is ofcrucial importance as legal solutions can often beundermined by unmet social needs.


229

216

92

212

195

187

Referral Service

Criminal Law

Family LawCivil Law

Care–Penrith

Mental HealthAdvocacy Service

Client assessment and referrals 2003–2004Number of clients

This division is responsible forService Delivery Planning andEvaluation, Community Partnerships,Review and Reform and Legal AidReview Committees.We launched a Co-operative LegalService Delivery Model that will helpaddress unmet legal needs in rural andregional areas (See page 12).Through our Access and Equity Plan,we provided improved access to justicefor people with special disadvantages.For details, see pages 67–68.People who are refused legal aid areable to appeal to independentcommittees for a review of theirmatter.This year the committeesallowed appeals in 155 (17.6%) ofsubmitted matters.The table on page79 shows further details of committeecaseload and successful appeals byprogram areas.

Assisting clients to access andassert their rights througheducation programs and freepublications.The Commission has continued to buildrelationships with target client groupsand has made particular progress indelivering Community Legal Education(CLE) to Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander people, young people fromculturally and linguistically diversebackgrounds, women, people withdisabilities, and other members ofculturally and linguistically diversecommunities. Family law, child supportand veterans’ entitlements have been thefocus of a significant number of theCommission’s CLE services to client

groups and relevant community andgovernment workers during 2003–2004.Particularly well received were sessionspresented by family lawyers on domesticviolence.These were delivered incollaboration with NSW Police to morethan 230 community workers andleaders from Arabic and Pacific Islandercommunities in metropolitan andwestern Sydney.The division’s Publications Unit disseminates information about people’slegal rights.As well as maintaining online resources,the unit distributed a total of 320,993printed publications on a range of topics(see page 89 for details).This compareswith 250,000 in 2001–2002 and336,868 in 2002–2003. Informationabout our family law conferencingprogram was translated into sevencommunity languages and widelydistributed.

Areas for improvementThe Criminal Law Division will be

evaluating the merits ofextending the Under 18sHotLine to a 24 hour service,seven days per week.The divisionwill also be investigating ways

of improving the level of service forstatewide weekend bail courts.Bringing legal services within reach ofpeople who live in isolated parts of thestate is another identified area of need.One priority will be to expand inhousefamily law services to Walgett andBroken Hill as part of the Co-operativeLegal Service Delivery Model.

Strategic Planning and Pol icy Div is ionTargeting the most disadvantaged people

Case study: Goodteamwork – a strikefor social justice

A long awaited decision in a childprotection matter was handed downin September 2003 after two wholeyears before the courts.Teamworkbetween a lawyer and social workerresulted in a victory for our clientdespite the case being described as“impossible and hopeless”.We represented the father who has anintellectual disability.The Departmentof Community Services argued thathis children should be in the care ofthe Minister until they are 18 despiteevidence from numerous experts thatthe children had developed a strongattachment to their father and wantedto live with him. On the issue of childprotection concerns, we argued thatthe father would manage hishousehold and be able to parent hischildren sufficiently given the rightsupport.The argument was supported by thesocial work report’s detailedevaluation, highlighting strongevidence of a man and his extendedfamily with a very high commitmentto his children.The court decided the children shouldlive with the birth father underdepartmental supervision for twoyears.This outcome reflects thecritical contribution of inhousecollaboration between ClientAssessment and Referral and lawyersto achieve the best results forparticularly disadvantaged families.

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The yearaheadDuring the next 12

months, the main focus for all divisions

will be on improving service delivery to

clients. Special attention will be given

to strategies for improving access to

legal aid by Aboriginal communities,

particularly in rural and regional areas.

The Commission will revise its draft

Aboriginal Justice Plan to make it

consistent with, and complementary to,

the NSW Government’s NSW Aboriginal

Justice Plan 2003-2012. We will develop

a model of dispute resolution for

resolving community disputes, provide

increased access to family and civil law

services, and develop competency

standards for legal practitioners

representing Aboriginal people.

Over the next 12 months the Civil Law

Division will also undertake a project

aimed at improving outcomes for

forensic patients.

In 2004-2005, the Family Law Division

will expand its mediation program and

revise its strategies for Aboriginal

mediation.

In addition, it will review and

consolidate its outreach programs to

ensure that clients living in isolated

areas have access to regular services,

particularly in the far west of New

South Wales. The outreach programs

will complement the increasingly

effective community legal education

programs run in all areas of the State.

The division will work with the Family

Court in the Children’s Cases Program

to develop less adversarial procedures

in parenting matters. In 2004-2005, this

will include monitoring cases under the

program in terms of both cost

effectiveness and practitioner/client

satisfaction.

The Criminal Law Division will improve

service delivery to its clients by

implementing more key recommendations

of the Criminal Law Review.

The division will improve outcomes for

clients by providing strategic data and

information to the Criminal Case

Processing Committee, originally

established by the Attorney General in

April 2004, to monitor the various

factors influencing criminal case

processing for indictable matters.

In 2004-2005, this will include close

cooperation with other criminal justice

agencies sitting on the committee, to

examine the benefits of more

centralised committals centres, new

court time standards, and creating an

environment at the committal stage

which provides every opportunity for a

plea of guilty.

Working with Legal Aid will become

even easier for the private profession

as a result of greater online efficiencies.

In 2004-2005, the Grants Division will

complete the E-Lodgement criminal law

pilot. E-Lodgement of duty solicitors’

invoices will also be introduced.

A key priority for the Commission next

year will be to establish protocols with

LawAccess NSW for the provision of

information and advice services to

clients and train Commission staff in

the referral protocols so that the

Commission’s advice services are

targeted at those who most need them.

LawAccess NSW provides legal

information, referral or advice by phone

and is often the first port of call for

legal aid clients.

The Conflict of Interest Committee will

continue its work in dealing more

effectively with the difficulties which the

legal concept of Conflict of Interest, real

or perceived, causes to the Commission’s

advice, duty and case work.

c l i e n t s Annual Report 2003–2004

20


People

Performance goalTo have a professional culture and a positive and productive workenvironment.

Key results 2003–2004Improved level of staff skills and knowledge, focusing on uniformity ofservice delivery and managerial skills.

Performance highlightInhouse training attendance increased by 273% this year, which hashelped to establish the Commission as a “learning organisation”. Aspart of this trend, 14 graduates completed an intensive training courseequipping them to be managers in a modern, progressive workenvironment.

The nationally recognised Diploma of Business (Frontline Management)is provided in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney’sTraining and Development Services. It proved a huge success with staff,who found it gave them greater confidence to suggest new ideas aswell as increasing their skills base.

A total of 61 managers and supervisors have been accepted into theprogram since it began in June 2003.

We ensure our staffhave all the support

they need to do theirwork more effectively

Another training landmark–the first Legal Aid graduates to complete the UTSDiploma of Business, proudly received their diplomas on Tuesday 15 June 2004.Theyare pictured here with CEO Bill Grant and the Dean of the Faculty of Education,UTS, Professor Andrew Gonzi.

21

Learning and developmenthighlights For the second year in a row therehave been significant increases intraining and developmentopportunities for our staff, with theintroduction of many new andinnovative programs (See page 76 fordetails). Inhouse training attendanceincreased by 273% as Training andDevelopment played a lead role inestablishing the Commission as a“learning organisation”.

Key achievements for 2003–2004included:• Providing greater management

development opportunities (Seefacing page);

• Conducting team developmentsessions focussing on the results ofthe Without Prejudice Survey andinvolving staff in analysis andimprovement of their workplace;

• Establishing a range of programs inthe Client Services area which canattract Mandatory ContinuingLegal Education points (Detailedlist on page 76);

• Establishing a number of programsto improve staff skills on the job.(Detailed list on page 76); and

• Delivering 31 corporate and ITtraining sessions at regionalcentres.

The Commission also maintainedvarious other training anddevelopment services. Ongoingprograms included:• Mandatory Continuing Legal

Education;• Delivering conferences and

seminars attended by over 1,000

Commission, community legalcentres and private lawyers;

• Approving 72 applications forStudy Leave and granting feeassistance through the FurtherEducation Financial AssistanceProgram to 34 of these; and

• Specialist Accreditation Program –The commission has 70 lawyerswith specialist accreditation: 38 incriminal law; 23 in family law;four in children’s law; three inadvocacy and two in personalinjury.

Equal employmentopportunity achievementsThe Commission continued topromote equal opportunity inemployment. Key initiatives this yearincluded:• Appointing an ATSI Employment

Officer in the Human ResourceManagement Branch;

• Appointing five Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander (ATSI)trainees to Clerical Officerpositions at Bankstown, Gosford,Parramatta,Tamworth and HeadOffice.These appointmentsoccurred after trainees successfullycompleted their clericaltraineeships which consisted of on-the-job clerical training combinedwith a formal TAFE component oftraining in a certificate inBusiness/Administration;

• Developing initiatives under anATSI Justice Plan to provideemployment and careeropportunities for ATSI people andensure service delivery to ATSIclients is culturally sensitive;

• Implementing Flexible WorkPractices Policy to improve

equitable access to flexible workoptions for the Commission’s staffmembers. Amongst other things,the policy introduces formalworking from home arrangementsfor a number of staff members;

• Regular Aboriginal Awarenesstraining sessions for staff memberswho interact with Aboriginalpeople;

• Introducing regular DemystifyingMental Illness courses to providestaff members with improvedunderstanding and communicationskills which will help them dealwith clients who have mentalillnesses;

• Developing a new course, Workingwith Muslim Clients, which will beavailable in the next financial year.The course will include anoverview of Islam, interactionwith Australian society, culturaland family issues and Islam and theAustralian legal system.

• Regular induction programs fornew staff members to ensure thatall new starters are aware of theCommission’s polices andprocedures;

• Ongoing Selection Techniques andSelection Techniques Refresher coursesto ensure that all selection panelconvenors are able to undertakemerit selection processes;

• developing a Harassment FreeWorkplace Policy; and

• Finalising a Reasonable Adjustmentpolicy which was incorporatedinto a broader policy document.

Occupational health andsafety and workers’compensationThe Occupational Health and Safety(OH&S) Committee met regularly toreview OH&S issues in the

Over 900 peopleattended ourconferences this yearcompared with 377last year.


Years FTE✝ figures* Actual staff numbers financial year end financial year end

2004 669 7212003 634 6832002 565 6122001 566 6112000 586 643

*(see page 76 for more details) ✝ Full Time Equivalent

Staff numbers over last five years


Commission. A major achievement wasto improve communication with all staffabout OH&S matters.The OH&SCommittee reviewed and endorsed thefollowing policies:• Client Services Strategy – Managing

Aggressive Clients and DifficultSituations

• First Aid Policy• Managing and Reporting Unsafe

Incidents• Draft Workers Compensation and

Injury Management policy andprocedures

• Standards for staff safety in externalwork environments.

An OH&S Corporate InductionProgram is conducted on a regularbasis to provide information aboutOH&S to new employees. Regulartraining was delivered to staff onOH&S, stress management,ergonomics, visiting gaols safely,

managing aggressive behaviour, dealingwith difficult clients and conflictmanagement (See page 76 for details).

Worker’s CompensationThere has been an increase in thenumber of reports relating toworkplace incidents in the last financialyear. This has arisen as a result ofincreased awareness on therequirement to report on incidents thatoccur in the workplace to assist theCommission to undertake riskassessments and implementpreventative strategies to minimise theOH&S risks in the workplace.Awareness of the need to reportworkplace incidents has been increasedthis financial year through:• continued OH&S induction for all

new staff members;• issuing all induction material to

existing managers and staffmembers; and

• ongoing work of the OH&SCommittee and OH&Srepresentatives in regions.

The cost incurred to 30 June 2004 ofnew claims reported in 2003–2004 was$34,138 compared to $116,931 in2002–2003, a decrease of $82,793.The number of accepted claimsdecreased from 20 in 2002–2003 to 18in 2003–2004.The number of full-time equivalent(FTE) staff (on average) for thisfinancial year was 664, an increase of30 from 634 in 2002–2003.Thisequates to an average claim cost of$51.41 per staff member compared to$184.43 per staff member in2002–2003.

Employee RelationsWe continually reviewed ouroperations to ensure we are deliveringservices of the highest standards andwith the utmost professional integrity.This included:• Reviewing, updating and

disseminating our recruitmentpolicy and procedures; and

• Developing a Performance Planningand Development system forpiloting in 2004–2005.

Code of ConductAs the previous Code of Conduct wasdeveloped in September 1993, theCommission was committed toupdating the Code to reflect its currentvalues, vision and mission. The newCode of Conduct was released inJanuary 2004 with significant changesincorporating the principles andrequirements which now apply to allNSW Public Service agencies. It alsoincludes a new Guide to EthicalDecision Making, more comprehensiveConflict of Interest guidelines, and newinformation on reporting corruptconduct, maladministration and wastein accordance with the ProtectedDisclosures Act 1994. (See pages 83–86for our new Code of Conduct).

Other staff achievementsCivil Law DivisionAside from casework, staff made othercontributions:• Updated the chapters on veterans’

entitlements, refugee law, debt andcredit in the 9th edition of the LawHandbook;

Aboriginal trainees celebrate the successful completion of their traineeship beforegoing on to accept permanent clerical positions.

22

Workers’ Compensation Claims

Type of Claims 2002–2003 2003–2004No. of Claims No. of Claims

Workplace 9 8On Duty not at Office 5 3Journey 4 6Lunchtime 2 1Property Claim Only - -Total Claims Accepted 20 18Claims Declined 3 2

Work Related Injury/Incidents

Type of Injury/Incident No. of Reports No. of ReportsWorkplace 13 30On Duty not at Office 6 6Journey 16 15Lunchtime 4 3Total Injuries/Incidents 41 54

23

• Updated the chapters on credit andveterans’ entitlements in the LawyersPractice Manual;

• Presented a paper at a LawyersReform Association forum on thetreatment and detention ofmentally ill offenders; and

• Presented a paper to the AsianWomen’s Fund on women inimmigration detention.

Criminal Law Division• At the invitation of the Human

Rights and Equal OpportunityCommission (HREOC,) WillHutchins from the Prisoners LegalService presented a paper in Xian(China) on “Human Rights Protection forDetainees and Prisoners”.Theconference was organised byHREOC and the Supreme PeoplesProcuratorate (SPP) in China.

• Approved a Training Officer positionas identified in the Criminal LawReview.

• Finalised recruitment in relation tothe restructure for senior positionsof Director Criminal Law, andRegional Program CoordinatorCrime.

• Four staff members attained theDiploma of Business (FrontlineManagement) and eight more arecurrently undertaking this course.

• Bryan Robinson from the Penrith LegalAid office, delivered five guest lecturesto 270 trainee police detectives, on therespective roles of police and Legal Aidlawyers in the judicial system.

Family Law Division• Lawyer Debra de Fina assisted in

the third update of the Children’sCourt Care Matters Practice Manual.

• Lawyers Alex Wearne, Jane Costigan,

Norman O’Dowd and FrancesNeilson presented papers at ourstatewide family law conferences.

• Conducted training programs forfamily conference organisers andchairpersons.

• Conducted a care and protectiontraining conference for privatepractitioners practising in this area.

Atoa Aiolupotea (photo, above) fromManly Legal Aid office has greatlyexpanded the Commission’s deliveryof legal education to the PacificIslander community, developingpartnerships with community leadersand delivering radio interviews,information sessions, and aninformation stand at the Pacific UnityDay festival in Waterloo.

Grants Division• Recruited a senior criminal lawyer

to manage the implementation ofelectronic lodgement for criminallaw matters.

• Staff improved their skills throughtraining in family, civil, criminaland veterans’ law and in E-lodgement processes.

• All Team Leaders completed theNew Managers and Supervisorscourse.Two staff membersgraduated in the Diploma ofBusiness (Frontline Management)and three others are currentlyenrolled in this course.

Law WeekCommission staff showed outstandingdedication to Opening the Door to theLaw during Law Week 2004 (16-22 May), organising andparticipating in educational events

across NSW, including Sydney, Dubbo,Taree,Wollongong, Nowra, Bega,Lismore, Newcastle and Kyogle.Events included seminars, Law Fairs,competitions, and performing andcreative arts events.A new brochure promoting theWomen’s Domestic Violence CourtAssistance Program to Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people waslaunched in Taree (see page 33), alongwith the official launch of theCommission’s Family Law AdviceOutreach Service to Taree.Wollongong staff and veterans’advocates conducted a three-dayprogram of seminars in Wollongong,Nowra and Bega focusing on legalissues for older people.

Area for improvement The Commission will continue to

review and improve itsadministrative operations inline with good corporategovernance and cost-effectiveprinciples.

Atoa Aiolupotea made an importantcontribution to spreading the word aboutLegal Aid amongst the Pacific Islandercommunity.

p e o p l e

Below: Newcastle lawyer Margaret Woodand Lisa Greenwood from Greater TareeCity Library celebrate Law Week in Taree.


The yearahead The CEO and all directors

will ensure that the needs of staff areconsidered in plans for the year ahead,particularly their ongoing developmentand job satisfaction.

Human Resources will focus on:

• Implementing a pilot of thePerformance and Developmentsystem.

• Developing and implementing aMentoring Program.

• Developing and implementing acomprehensive Risk ManagementSystem to ensure we haveeffective Hazard Management andRisk Assessment processes.

• Implementing the Commission’snew Recruitment Strategy.

24


Organisation

A major restructure was completed and a

framework for a statewide

practice model wasestablished

Performance goalTo use modern systems and processes which maximise the efficient andeffective use of Commission resources.

Key results 2003–2004We improved our business systems and processes to provide easieraccess to information and services and more timely and accurateresponses for our partners, clients and staff.

Performance highlightThis year legal practice areas worked collaboratively towards achievingconsistent statewide practices. To facilitate this, three Regional ProgramCoordinators (RPCs) were appointed in the areas of civil, family andcriminal law. The RPCs will ensure there is effective communicationbetween the Solicitors-in-Charge of regional offices and ProgramDirectors, in order to achieve the Commission’s service delivery goals.They will also act as a resource for regional staff, assisting them toperform in their various roles. Since their appointment in February 2004,the RPCs have contributed to defining business and service deliveryplans and assisted the directors to settle practice standards andachieve various practical improvements to service delivery.

A Regional Administrative Coordinator was also appointed to work withOffice Managers in regional offices and to assist the Deputy CEO Legalto establish consistent statewide practices.

Regional Administrative Co-ordinator Christine Johnson, and Regional ProgramCo-ordinators Paul Hayes (Crime),Alex Colquhoun (Family), and Tim Smith(Civil) played a critical role in the new organisational structure.

25


This year, each division assumedgreater responsibility forestablishing more efficient workpractices and improving businessplanning decisions.

Civ i l Law Div is ion• Developed guidelines to ensure

consistent file review standardsacross the civil law program.

• Developed an intranet facility toenable civil lawyers to moreeffectively collate and distributecase reports, case precedents, lawreform submission and legaleducation resources.This facility isnow in the testing phase.

• Set up a committee to work ondeveloping proposals forimplementing the recommendationsof the Civil Law Review, which wasconducted in 2003.

Fami ly LawDiv is ion• Set more rigorous practice

standards for the statewide familylaw program for application inregional offices, with the assistanceof the new Regional ProgramCoordinator.

• Launched a more flexible means testpilot in family law conferencing.Thisresulted in more clients being ableto benefit from our mediationservices.

• Established a permanent dutyscheme in the Family Court andFederal Magistrates Court atParramatta.

• Commenced a pilot duty service inthe Family Court and FederalMagistrate’s Court at Newcastle.

• Established the Nowra regionaloffice to provide family lawservices along the south coast tothe Victorian border.

• Consolidated the outreach servicefrom Lismore to the Tweed andsurrounding areas as a permanentservice.

• Developed practice standards andservice agreements for familyconferencing chairpersons.

• Implemented, through the Lawdocsprecedent system, a range ofprecedents specially developed forthe work of the statewide inhousefamily law practice.

• Assisted the Grants Division in theimplementation of panels for thecare and protection jurisdiction.

Cr iminal LawDiv is ion• Identified priorities for

implementation from the CriminalLaw Review.These included areview of clerical support gradings,an expanded relief unit, rotationpolicy, restructure at head office,and additional solicitor advocatepositions.

• Developed a means of calculatingaverage duty and case Local Courtworkloads so that more accurateassessments and comparisons cannow be made.

• Further expanded access to andusage of audio-visual (AVL)conferencing of prisoners in NewSouth Wales Correctional Centresand other locations.

• Seconded senior criminal staff tothe Grants Division to enhance theCommission’s capacity to managecomplex assigned criminal lawmatters.

• Conducted planning days forChildren’s Legal Service, CriminalRelief, Advocacy and CommittalsUnits to identify priorities for legalservice delivery and the means ofachieving those priorities.

• Participated in the Grants CrimeCoordination Committee (GCCC)to introduce business rules for theconduct of criminal law casesacross the Criminal Law Division,highlighting the procedures thatshould be attended to whengranting or refusing legal aid andwhen assigning matters to privatepractitioners.

Grants Div is ion• Fully implemented E-lodgement

for family law matters inCommonwealth and Statejurisdictions. All inhousepractitioners and nearly 55% ofprivate practitioners now lodgefamily law applicationselectronically.

• Approved 3,138 payments of the$80 E-lodgement Fee (ELF) forCommonwealth family lawmatters, and conducted anevaluation of the ELF incentive.

• Changed the Grants Online and LA Office systems to improveservices in family law and make E-lodgement available in Children’sCourt criminal law, Local Courtcriminal law and veterans’advocacy matters.

• Commenced a pilot of E-lodgementfor Children’s Court criminal law,Local Court criminal law andveterans’ advocacy matters.

The Pilot Audit Team members begin the review process.

Clearly defined practice standards and better casemanagement were just some of the ways our legalpractice areas successfully met their organisationalchallenges.

o rg a n i s a t i o n

26


• A survey of inhouse grants practicesfor criminal law applicationsallowed the Grants CrimeCoordination Committee todevelop Business Rules for theCriminal Law Program.TheBusiness Rules set a consistentapproach in the granting ofapplications to the inhouse practiceand private practitioners.TheBusiness Rules include an‘Assignment Protocol’ and will bereproduced in a Procedures Manualfor staff.

• An audit of private practitionerswho use E-lodgement facility,to assess compliance with the E-lodgement guidelines and invoicecertification procedures.

The StrategicPlanning andPol icy Div is ion The division established a CommunityLegal Education (CLE) ReferenceGroup to undertake strategic planningof the Commission’s CLE services.The Community Legal EducationManagement System (CLEMS), aweb-based database system designedto facilitate the coordination,evaluation and reporting of theCommission’s CLE services, hasprogressed into its second phase ofdevelopment. CLEMS will beaccessible to all staff via theCommission’s Intranet and will alsoallow the general public to register forCLE events via the Commission’swebsite.Section and regional managers arebetter able to plan their servicesthanks to the development of anumber of service delivery toolsincluding:• Ethnic Demographic Profiles for Regional

Offices, an electronic snapshot ofpopulation growth data and theethnic make-up in regional areas.

• Electronically availabledemographic information on theextent of disadvantage incommunities, showing the locationof Commission offices, courts,community legal centres and otherlegal service providers relevant toour potential client groups.

Business andCl ient Ser v icesDiv is ion

Implementing systemsthat improve overallefficiencyOur Business and Client ServicesDivision worked to improve ourbusiness analysis and reportingsystems and to connect financial,human resources and operationalinformation.The Commission has selected theWebFOCUS product to provideinformation electronically across theorganisation.The reporting format for financialinformation has been prepared and iscurrently being developed withinWebFOCUS.The revised reportingformat varies significantly fromcurrent reporting formats, andintroduces new associated financialaccountabilities and responsibilities formanagement. New training programsfor staff are being developed tosupport the introduction of the newreports.The new reports will beavailable for use by 31 December 2004.As an initial step to improve reportingboth the SAP financial system and theCHRIS payroll system have beensuccessfully upgraded during the year.Draft indicative performanceindicators have also been prepared.The final set of indicators will beavailable in 2004-2005.

The Operational Support Unit:• Established a new permanent office

in Nowra and refurbished ourNewcastle office to provideadditional facilities for AlternateDispute Resolution and VideoConferencing.

• Reviewed our RecordsManagement System to identifyrequirements for an updated systemto be introduced Commission-wide.

• Extended the current purchasingrelationship with the AttorneyGeneral’s Department to achievemaximum aggregation benefitsthrough a shared tendering systemfor stores and stationery.

• In accordance with the WasteReduction and Purchasing Policy(WRAPP), ordered file covers fromrecycled cardboard only andensured that only recycled tonercartridges were used.

Human Resource ManagementBranch’s achievements this yearincluded:• Updating the Code of Conduct.• Developing a set of new

policies/procedures, including theUse of Email and Internet Policyand Procedures, and updating theCommission’s Induction Manualand Procedures for ReasonableAdjustment and Health Assessment.

• Gaining accreditation in JobEvaluation to enable us to classifyand grade positions inhouse.

• Developing a generic positiondescription for legal supportofficers to facilitate recruitment andprovide more staff developmentopportunities, including jobrotation and more flexible staffmovements.

• Providing increased learning anddevelopment opportunities to staffacross the Commission.

The Information Management andTechnology Branch upgraded severalof our corporate systems anddeveloped an IT Strategic Plan.Achievements this year included:• Introducing a website for

registering and managing privatepractitioners on Legal Aid panels.

• Bringing the internet site inhouse (It was previously hosted at theAttorney General’s Department)and implementing a new contentmanagement system.

• Replacing printers throughout theCommission.

• Piloting implementation of a newIntranet, with many new features.

27


A Corporate Reporting project hasbeen underway, with the goal ofimproving the information available topeople in the Commission. Someimprovements are already in place, andmore are planned with the developmentof a data warehouse.When implemented,this will give ‘point and click’ access toinformation within all of the corporatesystems.Electronic services to our partnerswere increased during the year.Highlights included:• The Panels Expressions of Interest

website has 549 registered users,and during 2003–2004 received 462completed panels applications.

• Intoducing an enhanced CommunityLegal Education System tocoordinate the training programsprovided to the general community.

• An online referrals system providinginformation to partner organisationson both legal and non-legal serviceproviders on a geographic basis.

The Financial Services Branch hasimproved the financial informationavailable to the Commission about itsbusiness processes during 2003–2004.The Branch upgraded its financialsystem (SAP) to the latest version(Version 4.7 Enterprise), making theCommission the first governmentagency to do so.

During the year, NSW Treasury madesignificant changes to the budgetprocess.The Branch adapted to thesenew requirements, and advocatedstrongly on the Commission’s behalfduring the process.

Areas for ImprovementThe Commission will beworking to develop a model forcosting our inhouse practicesand finalising a set ofperformance indicators to

better measure and explain ourperformance.The Grants Division will explore thefeasibility of introducing proposals forchange related to indictable crime costissues, including the introduction oflump sum fees.

The yearahead

As part of the Corporate Services

Reform Strategy, a statewide initiative

to share corporate services, the

Commission will investigate sharing

resources in Asset Management, Fleet

Management, Records Management

and Procurement, in our ongoing

quest to reduce overall costs and

achieve greater efficiencies.

The Commission will be working with

other legal aid commissions across the

country to develop a national IT case

management system. The new system,

which is expected to be ready for

delivery in 2005-2006, will improve

the Commission's ability to manage its

caseload and service provision as well

as providing improved information to

support business decisions.

We will finalise development of key

performance indicators to allow us to

better measure and explain our

performance.

By adopting government-wide policies,

consistent throughout the Justice

Portfolio, we will streamline

procedures. This will also improve our

capacity to measure business

performance.

Our Records Management Program will

be updated to the newest release, and

comprehensive staff training will be

provided to meet corporate needs.

Over the next year the purchasing

policy will be reviewed to ensure that

suppliers accept returns of their

packaging and any re-usable

containers.

In particular, our Criminal Law Division

will:

• Access improved business data to

evaluate the importance of early

preparation and plea negotiation in

committal matters.

• Provide strategic data and

information to the Criminal Case

Processing Committee to enhance

efficiencies in the processing of

matters in the criminal justice

system, in a way which does not

adversely impact on the

Commission’s costs.

• Identify issues concerning criminal

indictable cases to enable more

effective interaction with the

prosecution, and to further improve

case management of matters in the

court system.

• Further develop and implement

business rules to ensure consistency

across the Commission’s inhouse

practices.

• Implement the initiatives identified

and accepted from planning days

conducted with the Advocacy,

Committals, Relief and Children’s

Legal Service Units.

• Continue to increase the usage of

in-house video conferencing

facilities by inhouse and assigned

practitioners undertaking criminal

work.

Our Civil Law Division will implement

the agreed recommendations of the

Civil Law Review.

A new three-year Strategic Plan will

enable us to effectively deliver a

community legal education program

across all areas of the State.

o r g a n i s a t i o n


Performance goalTo work cooperatively with other legal service providers to deliver arange of effective and efficient legal aid services across the State.

To participate fully in the legal system to ensure the interests ofeconomically and socially disadvantaged people are protected andenhanced.

Key results 2003–04We developed close working relationships with other agencies andthrough law reform and inter-agency networking, were a key player inthe justice system.

Performance highlightA ceremonial sitting to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the NSWAdult Drug Court was held on 5 February 2004 at Parramatta in WesternSydney. Legal Aid lawyers attended as part of the Drug Court team.

The Drug Court was launched in 1999 as a radical legal experimenttaking a therapeutic rather than a punitive approach to the issue ofrecidivism rates amongst drug using offenders. As part of this newapproach, drug users who plead guilty to their crimes, take part inprograms to get over their addiction rather than go to gaol. Anindependent evaluation found that the program compared well tocustodial alternatives.

The team approach is one of the most innovative aspects of the DrugCourt, using a unique combination of legal and health professionals toassist participants through the program. In 2003–2004, Legal Aidlawyers working on the Drug Court team advised 437 clients.

Partners

We developed close working

relationships withother agencies to

achieve betterresults for our most

disadvantagedclients

Celebrating five year’s of Legal Aid’s involvement in the NSW Drug Court. From right:Senior solicitor Eleanor Thornton, Director, Criminal Law, Brian Sandland and lawyersScott Schaudin and Ian Rodgers.

28

Civ i l Law Div is ionWorking in partnership with keyagencies, staff in this divisionachieved high results in each oftheir performance targets, fromwins at court, to law reform andundertaking record numbers ofcommunity education programs.Achievements this year included:• Through the assigned practice,

private practitioners providedrepresentation for 375 new casegrants and conducted 8,872 dutyappearances at court.

• The Veterans’ Advocacy Service andvolunteer veterans’ advocatesconducted joint advice seminars forveterans’ advocates in regionalareas.

• Veterans’ advocates participated inthe Veterans’ PractitionerConsultative Group, a forumestablished by the Legal AidCommission to build links withprivate practitioners in the area ofveterans’ entitlements.

• The senior solicitor of the MentalHealth Advocacy Service served onthe state government referencegroup considering the review of theMental Health Act.

• Consumer lawyers worked withconsumer advocates on a range ofpolicy issues including debtcollection, mortgage brokers,consumer dispute resolutionschemes, and review of insurancelaw.

• Human rights lawyers worked withdisability advocates to address theissue of discrimination by insurersagainst people with a disability.Thisincluded acting for People withDisability Australia, in a successfulamicus intervention in the FederalCourt (See page 14).

• Housing lawyers worked withtenants’ advocates on submissionsto the state government to lessenthe adverse impact of the ResidentialTenancies Amendment (Public Housing)Bill 2004, on public housingtenants.

• Housing lawyers conducted legaltraining sessions for tenants’advocates, on housing law and legalaid policies and services.

• Civil lawyers from our Dubbo andLismore offices, participated in theregional Co-operative Legal ServiceDelivery pilot projects whichsought to bring together partners inthe justice sector in regional areas,to develop strategies to improveclient services and referrals. (Seepage 12 for details).

• Our Wollongong lawyers initiated aregular e-newsletter on activities ofthe civil law practice, for localprivate practitioners and other legalservice providers.

• Staff presented submissions on awide range of law reform issues(See page 78) and were members ina number of external cross-agencycommittees (See page 81).

Family Law DivisionFormal networkingincreased benefits toclientsAs well as conducting a busy caseload,staff in this division focused oninitiatives as wide-ranging as lawreform, inter-agency training andcollaborative online projects.Initiatives this year included:• Through the assigned practice,

private practitioners providedrepresentation for 9,054 new case

grants and conducted 3,734 dutyappearances at court.

• Participated in the working groupand steering committee to establishthe Children’s Cases Program in theFamily Court at Sydney andParramatta (See page 19).

• Worked with our partners in theChild Support Agency, Centrelinkand the Australian GovernmentSolicitor to present an interactivechild support training day for LegalAid and Community Legal Centresstaff.

• Drafted fact sheets for children andparents involved in care andprotection matters for use on boththe Children’s Court and Legal AidCommission websites.

• In conjunction with theDepartment of CommunityServices, our Senior Solicitor forCare and Protection has written theupdate for the Children's CourtCare Matters Practice Manual.

• Staff presented submissions on awide range of law reform issues(See page 78) and were members ina number of external cross-agencycommittees (See page 82).

Below: By sharing an information stall, Maria Girdler (Macquarie Legal Centre)and Rana Sabih (Parramatta Legal Aid) attracted a large number of people atGranville Multicultural Festival in May 2004, proving that partnerships work.

Strong partnerships supported a greater client focus

partners

29



Cr iminal LawDiv is ion

Fostering partnershipsthrough a range ofinitiatives including training,conferences and law reform• Through the assigned practice,

private practitioners providedrepresentation for 9,009 new casegrants; and conduced 41,757 dutyappearances at court.

• Criminal staff participated in theorganisation and delivery of 10training sessions for practitionersacross NSW on the MagistratesEarly Referral into Treatment(MERIT) program that divertsdrug-addicted offenders from theLocal Court.The program has beena huge success, assisting clients toaddress their drug issues and seektreatment.

• Staff participated in many inter-agency committees and workingparties. Commission participation isregularly sought (See page 81).

• Made 20 independent law reformsubmissions (See page 78).

• Negotiated a new Service LevelAgreement with the PublicDefender’s Office.

• Conducted a three-day criminal lawconference attended by 306practitioners from Legal Aid,Aboriginal Legal Services,Community Legal Centres andprivate practitioners.

• Held a Children’s Legal Serviceconference in Dubbo targeting jointcriminal law enterprisesidentification issues, attended by 36practitioners from regional NSWincluding delegates from AboriginalLegal Services, Public Defenders,private practitioners and Legal Aid.

• Increased the resources available toAboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderLegal Services (ATSILS) to providecriminal law assistance toAboriginal people, including accessto advocates, specialised trainingand library resources.

Grants Div is ion

Developing better ways ofworking with the privateprofessionPrivate practitioners are our keypartners in delivering cost-effectiveand efficient legal aid services to thepublic of New South Wales.This year,we improved our online practices, anddeveloped systems and standards toensure long-term equitablepartnerships with all practitionersworking on behalf of legally assistedclients.Achievements included:• A significant increase in the number

of private practitioners lodgingfamily law applications online. ByJune 2004, 442 firms wereregistered for E-lodgement, anincrease of 67% on this time lastyear. 90% of the top 50 private lawfirms who do legal aid family lawwork are now registered for E-lodgement.

• Processed electronic applications in4.2 days on average and paidelectronic invoices on averagewithin one day.

• Ten private legal firms took part inthe pilot for E-lodgement inChildren’s Court and Local Courtcriminal law matters.

• Twenty-eight private legal firmstook part in a pilot audit of E-lodged family law and care andprotection matters.

• Implemented the privatepractitioner panel in Children’sCrime and completed the selectionprocess for the Care andProtection, Child Representationand Court of Criminal Appealpanels. Private practitionersappointed to panels enter into aservice agreement and agree toadhere to practice standards for thedelivery of quality legal services.

• Produced a new Grants Online usermanual for inhouse and privatepractitioners. Context-sensitivehelp screens were incorporatedwithin Grants Online forpractitioners to use whilecompleting online applications.

• Maintained the Duty SolicitorScheme through the suport andcooperation of the private legalprofession in the NSW Courts.

• Provided assistance to threeAboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderLegal Services (Sydney,WesternAboriginal Legal Service,Kamilaroi) to enable them toprovide increased family law adviceand representation.

Strategic Planningand Policy Division

Forging new partnershipsin co-operative servicedelivery.This division plays a key role inreviewing and evaluating existingprograms and services, identifyinggaps in service delivery andhighlighting opportunities forimprovement through its CommunityPartnerships Unit.This year, thedivision coordinated a major newpartnership that includes buildingstrong relations with the privateprofession and other legal serviceproviders in their allocated regions(see page 12).

Areas for improvementThe need for ongoingevaluation and assessment hasbeen identified as an area forimprovement. One way ofaddressing this is to develop

partnerships with other agencies whocan provide independent expertise.Tothis end, the Family Law Division willconduct a durability study of familyconferencing settlements inpartnership with the University ofWestern Sydney.The ‘For Legal Practitioners’ (FLP)subsite–part of our website at:www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au–is anexcellent resource which offers theCommission many opportunities toprovide a better service to privatepractitioners.The Grants Division willaim to enhance the FLP site tocommunicate with practitioners moreeffectively using email, resulting inreal business improvements.

30

31

Annual Report 2003–2004partners

The year aheadWe will strengthen our partnerships to

ensure disadvantaged communities have

better access to the law. A key means of achieving this

will be the Co-operative Legal Services Delivery Model

being piloted in Lismore and Dubbo.

We plan to evaluate the model with a view to further

rollout across the State.

The Commission will work co-operatively with the

Coalition of Aboriginal Legal Services, as they face the

uncertainty associated with the Federal Government’s

tendering process, to ensure that quality and accessible

criminal, family and civil legal services are delivered to

Aboriginal people in NSW.

In other initiatives the Strategic Planning and Policy

Division will:

• improve the organisation’s policy and law reform

networks to encourage more direct consultation in

relation to law and justice issues; and

• explore partnerships to enable effective delivery of

training about Legal Aid and other legal services and

issues to students studying social work and welfare

at TAFE and university.

The Family Law Division will work with the Children’s

Court and Department of Community Services to

develop policies and procedures to ensure efficient

court management and speedy resolution of care and

protection cases involving children under three years of

age. Another focus is to develop practice standards for

chairpersons engaged in Alternate Dispute Resolution.

The Criminal Law Division will work cooperatively with

the Public Defender’s Office to minimise costs and in

particular to retain high profile District and Supreme

Court trials.

So that we can improve the way we work with the

private profession, the Grants Division will conduct

reference groups of practitioners, seeking their views on

working with Legal Aid.

Significant wins:Grants Division cases2003–2004 In 2003–2004 private

practitioners achieved someoutstanding victories in theirrepresentation of legally aidedclients. Highlights included:

Residence Application for ayounger sisterLegal aid was granted to a 19-year-old woman for aResidence Application for her 14-year-old sister.The youngersister had been taken to a MiddleEastern country by the mother,and left with relatives in order tomarry their 15-year-old son.Themother is mentally ill, but thefather sanctioned the mother'sactions. Both young women wereborn in Australia and had nevervisited these relatives.The oldersister was not permitted to talkto her sister in English and theyounger sister was not allowed toreturn to Australia.The countryinvolved is not a member of theHague Convention.

After some initial difficulties, theolder sister obtained theResidence Order in the FamilyCourt. She then travelled to thecountry where her sister wasand, with the help of a friend,managed to transport her sisteracross the border and bring herhome. Now that the sisters areback in Australia, the ResidenceOrder prevents either of theparents from taking the youngersister out of the country andgives her older sisterresponsibility for her ongoingcare and welfare.

‘Accrued Jurisdiction’clarified in federal arenaA guard closed a carriage doorwithout warning as a disabledpassenger and her husband wereabout to board the train. A claimfor discrimination was madeunder the Disability DiscriminationAct (Commonwealthjurisdiction), as well as a separateclaim for damages for negligence(State jurisdiction).The matterwas heard in the FederalMagistrate’s Court.

The Federal Magistrate acceptedhe could hear both matters,which clarified the issue of"Accrued Jurisdiction" in theFederal arena.The applicant wasawarded damages and costs.

Safer road crossings forvisually impaired pedestriansA claim was made for indirectdiscrimination by a local councilin relation to the use of ‘Wombat'crossings at pedestrian crossingpoints in a country town centre.The claimant, who is blind andassisted by a seeing-eye dog,alleged that the Wombat crossingswere not safe for visuallyimpaired people as they had nofeatures alerting thesepedestrians to the crossings, andas a result he had lost confidencein doing business in the town.The matter was satisfactorilysettled with Zebra crossings withtactile ground surface indicatorsreplacing the Wombat crossings attwo locations.

32


Communi ty LegalCentres FundingProgram The Legal Aid Commissionadministers the State andCommonwealth Community LegalCentres Funding program for 32community legal centresthroughout NSW.

Community Legal Centres (CLCs) areindependent, non-profit organisationsthat provide a range of legal servicesto address the specific needs ofdisadvantaged sectors of thecommunity.Their services provide avaluable adjunct to services providedthrough the Legal Aid Commission.

Our clientsCLCs ran a number of test cases andclass actions with the aim ofimproving social justice fordisadvantaged people and assistingpeople to assert their human rights.Highlights included:• Shoalcoast Legal Centre ran a

successful victims compensationmatter for a member of the stolengeneration who had been subjectedto abuse by her foster father.

• Womens Legal Services NSW isconducting a “stolen wages” testcase for Aboriginal women whowere denied payments for workdone on rural properties in the1930s.The NSW Government isstill holding the money in trustaccounts.

• Marrickville Legal Centre filedapplication for special leave toappeal to the High Court on behalfof a protected tenant.

• Illawarra Legal Centre lodged aclass action in the Human Rightsand Equal OpportunityCommission (HREOC) relating tothe failure of the Child SupportAgency to adequately collect childsupport and child maintenance.

• Disability Discrimination LegalCentre ran a case relating to theallocation of accessible seating atsporting events.

• The Public Interest AdvocacyCentre (PIAC), acted for AmnestyInternational in the High Court inthe refugee children’s rights matter

B v B; and acted for a number ofindefinitely detained asylum seekersin habeas corpus applications in theFederal Court.

• PIAC also appeared as amicuscuriae (friend of the court) inMinister for Industry v Mobil Oil inthe Full Federal Court arguing forthe adoption of processes whichensure public confidence in thejudicial decision-making process.

Our peopleThis year, the Community RestorativeCentre (CRC) Justice Court SupportScheme’s volunteers were awarded the2003 Law and Justice FoundationVolunteer Award for their ‘outstandingcommitment to improving access tojustice in NSW’. Forty volunteersattended 15 courts each day, andassisted more than 50,000 people withinformation on court procedure andsources of legal assistance as well asoffering emotional support in court.

Our organisationsThis year saw some notableanniversaries of service to thecommunity. Macquarie Legal Centrecelebrated 25 years, the WelfareRights Centre and Marrickville eachcelebrated 20 years of service, and theDisability Discrimination Legal Centrecelebrated 10 years of service.

Our partners

Innovative Service DeliveryCommunity Legal Centres workedclosely with their local communitiesand with other service providers todevelop new ways of assisting clients.Kingsford Legal Centre developed asubject focus for first year indigenouslaw students, on interviewing skills.Illawarra Legal Centre initiatedContact & Residency Classes inpartnership with the Family Court inthe Illawarra region, the first of itskind to be trialled in NSW.

An independent evaluation of theHawkesbury Nepean Legal Centre’sAboriginal Legal Access Project foundthe project had significantly increasedaccess of indigenous people to legalservices.Five legal centres: Redfern, InnerCity, Kingsford,Wirringa BaiyaAboriginal Women’s and Marrickville,launched a report regarding thefeasibility of establishing an indigenouscadetship program in community legalcentres.The Environmental Defender’s Officeappointed an inhouse scientific advisorto complement its legal practice.

ResourcesThe CLC Program received$5,087,764 from the CommonwealthGovernment, $3,934,753 from theState Government and $1,083,183from the Solicitors Trust Account/Public Purpose Fund. For details seepage 75.

The Combined CLC Group’s website is at www.nswclc.org.au withconnections to individual CLCweb sites.

The yearahead

• A joint State/Commonwealthreview of the CLC program in NSW will commence in2004–2005.

• We will work morecooperatively with CLCs todeliver improved services toAboriginal people.

• We will develop a 2005-2008Triennial Service Agreement.

Court Supportvolunteers assistedmore than 50,000people this year.

Macquarie Legal Centre lawyer JasmineLee was instrumental in building thecentre’s new website that was launchedin September 2003 as part of the centre’s25th birthday celebrations.

c ommun i t y

33

Women’s Domest icViolence Cour tAssistanceProgram (WDVCAP)We administer a program thatassists women with domesticviolence issues.The Women’sDomestic Violence Court AssistanceProgram (WDVCAP) helps womenwho are experiencing domesticviolence to access and navigate thelegal system.

Women are assisted with courtsupport, information on seekingApprehended Domestic ViolenceOrders (ADVOs) and appropriatereferrals to other useful services.TheProgram has 33 schemes that service55 courts around the state.Workerson these schemes also undertakecommunity education activitiesaddressing the issue of violence against women.

Our clientsIn 2003–2004 the Program assisted33,618 women, compared with30,188 last year.This year, the Program focussed ondomestic violence in Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander (ATSI)communities.The WDVCAP Annualconference, held at Sydney Universityin July 2003, adopted as its themeAchievements and Challenges: Violence inAboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderCommunities. Attended by 160 people,this two-day event featured many

outstanding speakers andcovered topics such asunderstanding andengaging indigenous menin violence prevention andgrass roots indigenous anti-violence strategies.A revised brochure –Helping you go to court to getan ApprehendedViolence Orderwas also launched at theconference. Afterconsultation with theProgram’s AboriginalSpecialist Workers, asecond brochure providingthe same information inlanguage aimed atAboriginal women, waslaunched in Taree on 18May during the Commission’s 2004Law Week celebrations.

Our organisationIn 2003–2004, the Program granted$3,166,347 to the 33 schemes,including additional funds to coverCPI and Social and CommunityServices award increases.

A year of review and refinementThis year the Program worked onreviewing its policy manual and serviceagreement, as well as compiling a BestPractice Guide.Together, they willsupport the work undertaken by the33 schemes by providing tools foreffective management and usefulresources ensuring optimum servicedelivery.They will be issued toschemes in October 2004.

Our partnersThe Program worked closely withmany other agencies. Strongpartnerships were maintained with theDepartment for Women, AttorneyGeneral’s Department’s Local Courtsand Violence Against Women Units,NSW Police and communityorganisations such as Women’s LegalResources Centre and ImmigrantWomen’s Speak-out and the state-wide network of community legalcentres.

ResourcesThe State Government allocated$3,166,347 for this Program.For details of grants to specificschemes, see page 74.

The yearaheadIn the year ahead

we will aim to improve services to

marginalised women, such as

women living in isolated rural

areas or women with special

needs.

Number of Women assisted by the WDVCAP Program

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

2003-20042002-20032001-20022000-20011999-2000


Law Week 2004:TrishPing, police domesticviolence worker, andVictoria Colebrook,ATSI Specialist launchthe Program’s newbrochure.

p r o g r am s

The Commission’s small surplus of$0.113 million reflects a successfulyear where increased demand forservices, especially in theCriminal Law and Family Lawprograms, has been managedeffectively with the support ofNSW Treasury.The surplus results from a $4 millionsupplementation of the Commission’sbudget by NSW Treasury. Of thisamount, $1.230 million represents thepartial restoration of funds that hadbeen incorrectly removed from thebudget.The supplementation by NSWTreasury addressed clearly identifiedcost pressures in the State CriminalLaw and State Family Law Programs.Excluding these items, theCommission’s result would have beena deficit, which had been budgeted forthrough the use of availableCommonwealth funds.The Commission continues toexperience increased complexity incases in both the criminal and familyjurisdictions. Coupled with anincrease in the number of partiesbeing represented in thesejurisdictions, with multiple co-accusedmatters in the criminal jurisdictionand frequent separate representationof children and adults in the familyjurisdiction, the cost of cases isincreasing.

A continuing trend is the increasinglevel of expensive criminal law casesbeing funded by the Commission.Thechart below shows the growth inexpenditure on matters where thecost of the matter (including co-defendants) exceeds $100,000.In addition, changes to legislation inthe criminal law jurisdiction, andchanges by our justice sector partnersthat flow through to the Legal AidCommission, continued to increasethe workload of the Commission.

IncomeThe main sources of funding for theCommission are the State andCommonwealth Governments, thePublic Purpose Fund andcontributions from legally aidedpersons.In 2003–2004, the State Governmentprovided $71.499 million (comparedto $62.536 million in 2002-03), theTrustees of the Public Purpose Fund$18.918 million ($15.965 million in2002–2003) and the CommonwealthGovernment $46.626 million($43.754 million in 2002–2003).Legally aided clients contributed$2.965 million ($2.618 million in2002–2003 excluding the impact of achange in accounting policy).

Included in the $71.499 million from theState Government was supplementaryfunding of $1.230 million for partialrestoration of a savings adjustment,and $2.770 million for legal assistancein state family law and state criminallaw matters.Capital funding of $0.796 million wasprovided from the State AssetAcquisition program to fundimprovements to the Commission’soffice accommodation, the expansionof electronic lodgement and theproject to replace the Commission’score business system. Commonwealthfunding of $0.709 million was alsoused for this purpose.

ExpenditureThe Commission’s major expenses areemployee related expenses associatedwith the inhouse practice ($49.919million) and payments made to privatepractitioners for services to clients forwork undertaken on behalf of theCommission ($64.883 million).

AssetsAssets have increased slightly due toan unexpected positive adjustment of$1.073 million in the Commission’ssuperannuation position, and by anincrease in the cash held by theCommission.

LiabilitiesLiabilities have increased as a result ofincreases in the value of work donebut not yet invoiced by private legalpractitioners, and entitlements owedto employees.This has been partiallyoffset by the unexpected positiveadjustment in the Commission’ssuperannuation position referred toabove.

34

Legal Aid Commission NSW Financial overview

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

03–0402–0301–0200–0199–0098–9997–98

Year

$M

Despite the trendtoward more complexand expensive cases, wemanaged our budgeteffectively.

Total cost of State criminal law assigned cases above $100,000 (including co-accused)

Offices

1000 copies of this report were printed byBeaver Press, Sydney. The estimated costper copy is $10.50. Produced by thePublications Unit. This report is alsoavailable on the Legal Aid website:www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au

Legal AidCommissionof NSW


Legal Aid Commission of NSW Annual Report 2003–2004

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If there is no office near you, callLawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529 forinformation, referral and advice.

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