M3 - Learner Manual

The Commonwealth government through the Attorney-General’s Department provides funding for Aboriginal legal services throughout Australia through its Indigenous Law and Justice branch.

Indigenous Legal Aid and Policy Law Reform[1]

The Department contracts the following Indigenous organisations to deliver legal aid services to Indigenous Australians in their state or zones:

The state and territory bodies include:

·      NSW: Aboriginal Legal Service ACT/NSW http://www.alsnswact.org.au/;

·      VIC: Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service http://vals.org.au/;

·      Central Australia Aboriginal Legal Service http://www.caalas.com.au/;

·      NT : North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency http://www.naaja.org.au/;

·      QLD : Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service http://www.atsils.org.au/;

·      SA : Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement http://www.alrm.org.au/;

·      WA: Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia http://www.als.org.au/; and

·      TAS: Aboriginal Legal Service http://tacinc.com.au/.

 

These are not-for-profit organisations that are community controlled with a community Board responsible for governance. They provide legal advice and representation in criminal, family, civil, and care and protection matters. They also provide other services including prisoner support, community legal education, advocacy and law reform. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSIL) (http://www.natsils.org.au/Home.aspx) is the over-arching, co-ordinating body for all these organisations (except Tasmania).

These organisations are generally funded to employ lawyers and administrative staff. Generally lawyers need to conduct their own research as there is not enough funding for research staff or legal clerks/paralegals. Some ALS’s have volunteer staff who assist them with their legal research. 

 

 

Family Violence Prevention Legal Services[2]

The Australian Government, through the Attorney-General’s Department, provides funding for the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS) program. The program provides culturally sensitive assistance to Indigenous victim-survivors of family violence and sexual assault through the provision of legal assistance, court support, casework and counselling.

The FVPLS complements State and Territory initiatives. Funding from the Australian Government should be regarded as complementary and the Department encourages applicants to seek funding from other sources. All applicants will be required to provide information to the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department relating to funding received, and/or applied for, from other sources.

FVPLS delivers the following services:

• legal advice and casework assistance
• court support
• counselling to victims of sexual assault
• assistance and support to victims of sexual assault
• child protection and support
• information, support and referral services
• community engagement
• referrals
• law reform and advocacy
• early intervention and prevention, and
• community legal education.

 

NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

The NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is an independent prosecutorial body created in 1987. It is a government agency responsible for prosecuting criminal matters throughout NSW. All prosecutions must be conducted in accordance with the ODPP Prosecution Guidelines.[3]

ODPP staff includes lawyers and administrative support. The office deals with a range of criminal matters in including committal proceedings, appeals, and trial matters. Lawyers from this office appear in Local, Appeals, District, Appeal and Supreme Courts in NSW. The office also has a specialised Research Unit dedicated to legal research.

 

Private Practice

There are different types of private legal practices in our community. Lawyers (solicitors and barristers) who work in private practice effectively run a private business and are not dependent on government funding. They will employ lawyers and administrative staff. Private practices vary in size. There are sole practitioners, small, medium and large sized law firms. These lawyers may conduct their own research or they may employ legal clerks to assist them with their legal research.