Intellectual Disability Rights Service

Intellectual Disability Rights Service (IDRS)

About

The Intellectual Disability Rights Service (IDRS) is a disability advocacy service and community legal centre for people with intellectual disability. They are a statewide service in NSW with offices in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. They work with and for people with intellectual disabilities to advance and promote their rights in practice.

IDRS primarily provides legal advice, casework and advocacy. It provides support persons to attend police stations, court and other legal processes and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities involved in criminal justice matters and for parents with intellectual disability at risk of losing their children. They also advocate for improvements to law and policies affecting people with intellectual disability.

IDRS delivers a range of education and training programs including rights and self-advocacy development with people with intellectual disability. They also produce rights resources for people with disability.

What kind of work?

The IDRS provides legal help, justice support, NDIS appeals and training, a free service for people with cognitive impairment across NSW.

The team works alongside people with cognitive impairment who need help with legal problems or support in dealing with the legal system.

Location

Sydney

Student Opportunities

The IDRS accepts Legal Student Volunteers who have studied law and are looking to complete their Practical Legal Training (PLT) placement with IDRS.

Occasionally they take on law students who are in the final two (2) years of undergraduate legal studies and who demonstrate a clear interest and likely aptitude for helping us and our clients.

Graduate Opportunities

IDRS are often looking for people to join their education, legal, business support, administration or justice support teams.

You can view the website here: https://idrs.org.au/category/jobs/

Fun Fact / Recent Project

Enabling Fairness in Care and Protection The IDRS Parents’ Program provides legal advice and representation and specialist non-legal assistance to parents with intellectual disability who are involved with the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) across NSW. The program has a strong record of family preservation when working with parents prior to care applications being made, including in cases where parents already have children in Out of Home Care. It has also increased the meaningful participation of parents with intellectual disability in their care applications.

The Parents’ Program began in response to the overrepresentation of parents with intellectual disability in care and protection matters in the Children’s Court. The Program employs a lawyer and a specialist non-legal parent advocate four days per week and combines legal and advocacy strategies to ensure parents with intellectual disability are fairly treated throughout the process and are given the best chance to raise their children.

The lawyer and parent advocate work together on some matters and separately or collaboratively with non-IDRS lawyers and advocates on others. Program staff have specialist skills and expertise in supporting people with intellectual disability in legal contexts.