The Disability Royal Commission: how SA lawyers can assist people in legal need – By Carla Martelli

The Disability Royal Commission: how SA lawyers can assist people in legal need

CARLA MARTELLI, YOUR STORY DISABILITY LEGAL SUPPORT COORDINATOR, LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSION OF SA AND CHE’ WORTLEY, LAW AND JOURNALISM STUDENT ON UNDERGRADUATE PLACEMENT, LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSION

It is a damaging and inverse relationship: if you have a disability you are more likely to need legal help but less likely to get it.

Fortunately, a new legal service is now operating in SA to assist people with disability and, in particular, empower them to participate in Australia’s Disability Royal Commission. It is vital that SA lawyers appreciate the scope of this new legal service and the opportunities that it provides for them to assist people with disabilities.

YOUR STORY DISABILITY LEGAL SUPPORT

The free service, known as Your Story Disability Legal Support, has two primary aims. Firstly, it helps people tell their story to the Royal Commission in a safe and informed manner. Secondly, it provides information, advice and assistance to help them deal with a variety of legal problems - including those that may not be directly related to the Royal Commission’s terms of reference regarding violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation.

The Your Story service is federally funded but is independent of the Royal Commission. It is a national legal assistance service delivered by Legal Aid Commissions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services. In SA, the Your Story service is provided by the Legal Services Commission and the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement.

THE POWER OF PERSONAL STORIES

In order for the Royal Commissioners to make meaningful recommendations, it will be vital they hear from people with lived experience of the issues they are examining. The Your Story service will help people to make informed choices - and better understand their legal rights and options - when telling their story to the Royal Commission.

Your Story enables the enquiry to hear the voices of individuals who otherwise may not have the means, or the ability, to tell their story. Indeed, those with the most informative stories are sometimes the people who must overcome the greatest hurdles in order to come forward to share their story.

Your Story can assist people with disability as well as their family members, carers, supporters and advocates. It provides advice on topics such as confidentiality, defamation, the capacity of individuals to give evidence or make a submission, whistle-blower and self-incrimination protections, and Freedom of Information requests. Your Story can also liaise with the Royal Commission to facilitate a client’s safe engagement with the enquiry.

People can make a submission to the Royal Commission in various ways. For example, it can be done via a community forum, a voluntary submission, or by participating in a private session with a Commissioner. There is also the option of providing evidence with the protection of a summons or a notice to produce that compels a person to produce a submission or provide information to the Royal Commission.

While the Royal Commission has a particular focus on violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, the Your Story service can also help with a range of other problems encountered by people with disability. It can provide legal advice, information, referrals and minor assistance for people with problems relating to personal injury, employment, administrative law, accommodation, social security payments, debt, discrimination, guardianship or family law matters. Importantly, Your Story also helps to connect clients to private practitioners, legal services and other organisations that can deliver specialised assistance or advocacy.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTITIONERS

The Your Story service provides opportunities for private legal firms and community legal centres to assist people with disability. Subject to strict eligibility criteria, funding is available through the Federal Government’s Legal Financial Assistance Scheme to enable approved practitioners to help individuals make a submission to the Royal Commission and/or pursue separate civil litigation.

It is expected that some clients who seek advice from Your Story will have potential claims arising from their experience of violence, neglect, abuse or exploitation. These clients will require specialist legal advice and representation (e.g. regarding personal injury matters or when appearing as witnesses at a Royal Commission hearing).

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

The Your Story service is seeking expressions of interest from practitioners who wish to be included on its referral list. The list will help Your Story to warmly refer clients to private practitioners who have demonstrable expertise in relevant areas of law. To be included on the referral list, firms and CLCs must meet certain criteria regarding their capacity to assistant clients with disabilities and individuals who have experienced trauma. For more information, contact yourstorydisability@legalaid.

nsw.gov.au.

TRAUMA-INFORMED LEGAL HELP

The assistance from Your Story is trauma-informed - delivered by lawyers with a basic knowledge of how traumatic experiences and traumatic stress can impact on the clients being assisted. Clients engaging with these lawyers can also be assisted in their legal appointments by disability advocates or support people, including a family member or friend.

Your Story lawyers work with other professionals to deliver assistance in a way that is flexible and multi-disciplinary in nature. The Your Story team includes social workers who can help clients with complex issues and refer them to specialist assistance. It also can arrange for interpreters to be present at meetings.