Annual Report 2013-2014 Northern

Suburbs

Community

Legal Centre

Inc.

Family law

Tenancy Law

Criminal Law

Road Traffic Law

Elder Abuse

Civil law

Community Legal Education

Community Development

Law Reform and Policy

NORTHERN SUBURBS COMMUNITY LEGAL CENTRE INC

www.nsclegal.org.au

Find us on:

Mirrabooka Community Legal Centre Joondalup Community Legal Centre

10 Cobbler Place Building 1 Edith Cowan University

MIRRABOOKA WA 6061 270 Joondalup Drive

JOONDALUP WA 6027

Telephone:08 9440 1663 Telephone:08 9301 4413

Fax: 08 9440 1669 Fax: 08 9301 4426

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 1

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT 2

INCOME 3

PARTNERSHIPS 4

PRO BONO PARTNERSHIPS 4

STAFF 5

ACCOUNTABILITY 6

COMMITTEE AND NETWORKS 8

REPORT FROM THE CHAIR 9

WHOLE OF ORGANISATION: CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS 11

COMMONWEALTH CLSP FUNDING 13

LEGAL AID WA/NSCLC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM 16

LEGAL CONTRIBUTION TRUST FUND 17

DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT & COMMUNITIES 20

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 21

EDUCATION UNIT 22

HUMAN RIGHTS ARE AUSSIE RULES (HRAR) 26

CASE STUDIES IN LAW 28

AUDITORS REPORT 39

1

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

2

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

Shane Edmonds Department of Housing Chairperson

Rupert Johnson School of Law and Justice

Edith Cowan University

Deputy Chairperson

Diana Mactiernan Community member Secretary/Treasurer

Professor Mark Stoney School of Law and Justice

Edith Cowan University

Member

Jennifer Hannan AnglicareWA Member

Richard Klimek Klimek Family Lawyers Member

Jan Bayman Community Member Member

Christina Ward Edmond Rice Centre Member

Human Rights are Aussie Rules (HRAR) ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Christina Ward Edmond Rice Centre Chairperson

Alana Bernstein Jackson and McDonald Member

Colleen Brown Legal Aid WA Member

Sharon Wilson West Australian Football

Commission

Member

Jessica England NSCLC Member

Scott Johnson NSCLC Member

Karen Merrin NSCLC Member

Elizabeth Moran DLA Piper Member

Sarah Webley NSCLC Member

3

INCOME 2013-2014

Commonwealth Attorney General– Community Legal Service Program

Generalist Program $249,109.00

Elder Law $ 73,558.00

CLC & Family Relationship Centre $ 26,271.00

Family and Family Violence funding $120,000;00

Legal Contributions Trust Fund– Attorney General of Western Australia

Joondalup Community Legal Centre $300,000.00

Department of Commerce– Western Australia- Tenancy Program

Local Service Units – Joondalup and Mirrabooka $326.895.00

Central Resource Unit – Interim Funding $ 38,889.00

Department of Local Government and Communities– Western Australia

Older People’s Rights Service $245,551.00

Grant for education and service delivery $ 50,000.00

Legal Aid WA

Partnership Family Law Program $ 63,333.00

Human Rights are Aussie Rules $ 5,000;00

Hepatitis WA

DVD Project $ 1400.00

McCusker Charitable Foundation

Human Rights are Aussie Rules $ 25,000.00

Mercy Care

Rental Ready Program $ 10,000;00

WA Police Family Violence Project $ 85,400.00

.

The Board extends thanks to government and non government agencies for providing us with

the resources that allow us to continue working in our communities

We especially acknowledge and thank Program Manager’s for their assistance and guidance

to staff during the year.

4

PARTNERSHIPS

Edith Cowan University – School of Law and Justice

Joondalup Community Legal Centre Inc.

AnglicareWA

Joondalup Family Relationship Centre

Advocare Inc.

Older People’s Rights Service

MercyCare

Rental Ready Program

Edmond Rice Centre

CaLD Education Project

Legal Aid WA

Human Rights are Aussie Rules

Eastern Community Legal Centre Inc.

Human Rights are Aussie Rules

West Australian Police

Family Violence DVD Project

__________________________________________________________

PRO BONO PARTNERSHIPS

Klimek and Co Family Lawyers

Cleveland and Co Lawyers

______________________________________

5

STAFF

Management Team Karen Merrin Manager

Ian McLeod Principal Lawyer

Louellyn Gane Senior Family Lawyer

Legal Team Callum Hair Lawyer

Chimpo Bulawayo Lawyer

Kathryn Heslop Lawyer

Franca Ottolini Lawyer

Laura Post Lawyer

Tim Safe Lawyer

Fleur Leishman Lawyer

Ben Hill Lawyer -contract end October 2013

Kate Cranley Tenant Advocate -resigned end April 2014

Mary Martin Tenant Advocate

Barbara Day Tenant Advocate

Albhe Graham Tenant Advocate/Graduate - resigned February 2014

Annie Huggett OPRS Advocate

Development and Education Team Scott Johnson Lawyer/Educator

Jessica England HRAR Coordinator - resigned March 2014

Sarah Dennis HRAR Coordinator

Alekseeva Ekaterina Educator

Administration Team June Singh Finance Officer

Rachel Orr Administration/Reception

Anne Kendall Administration/Reception

Sarah Webley Administration/Reception

Law Graduates Caris Tysoe Graduate and volunteer Sarah Dennis Graduate and employee Kate Pearson Graduate and volunteer Vicki Edwards Graduate and employee

Edith Cowan University Law Students

Semester Two 2013 8 Students

Semester One 2014 7 Students

Current 5 Students

6

ACCOUNTABILITY

Board of Management

As required by the Constitution six scheduled meetings were held during the reporting

period.

Opening Hours

Mirrabooka CLC Joondalup CLC

9.00am to 5.00pm 9.00am to 5.00pm

Monday to Friday Monday to Friday

Regulatory and Best Practice Requirement

Aim To maintain best practices in required Commonwealth of Australia and State of Western

Australia Laws and regulations.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

The organisation maintained membership of the National Association of Community Legal

Centre’s (NACLC) Professional Indemnity Insurance and participated in all professional

requirements including the annual cross check of community legal centres practices.

Legal Practice Board of Western Australia

The organisation abides by the rules and regulations of the Legal Practice Board WA and all

instructions issued by the Legal Practice Board including but not limited to:

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for lawyers and Graduates

Conflict of interest rules as set down in the Legal Practices Act of WA

Renewal of Practicing Certificates

Disability Access and Planning

The organisation is compliant with the requirements of the State Government of Western

Australia Disability Access Plan by:

Providing disability access to all its buildings and ensuring that all facilities hired to conduct

education and information sessions are compliant with disability access requirements.

All materials produced by the organisation are user friendly and able to be accessed by

people with disabilities.

People with disabilities are provided with the opportunity to have the assistance of support

people in matters relating to their particular legal or social problem.

7

People with disabilities are able to access feedback mechanisms by either directly contacting

the centre for information via a pamphlet or by accessing the NSCLC webpage

www.nsclegal.org.au where an easily accessible feedback forms is available.

Employees are trained in working with people with disabilities and are encouraged to engage

with agencies that may assist in the provision of service excellence.

Equal Opportunity Act WA 1984

The organisation abides by the Act in all areas of business including but not limited to direct

or indirect discrimination through:

Employment

Client services

Interpreter Services

Telephone and onsite interpreter services are available for clients with English as a second

language. People with hearing impairments are offered the services of hearing impaired

interpreters.

Complaints

The organisation has a complaints management system including a readily available brochure

setting out the steps to make a complaint.

Service Standards

The organisation is compliant with Service Standard requirements as set down by the

Commonwealth Attorney General’s Departments

Industrial Relations

The organisation maintains a Staff Agreement that abides by the provisions of the Western

Australian and Commonwealth Workplace laws and allows for review from time to time.

Risk Management

In accordance with its commitment to best practice, the organisation has in place risk

management strategies for all funded programs including a calendar of due dates compliance

and reporting requirements.

Occupational Health and Safety

The organisation complies with OHS standards. No claims have been made during the year

for on site or offsite accidents or incidents.

8

COMMITTEE AND NETWORKS

Community Legal Centres Association of Western Australia

Community Legal Centres and Family Relationship Centre’s Network

Tenancy Advice and Education Services- Operational/Policy

Committee

Tenancy Advice and Education Services- Advocates Network

Tenancy WA – Partner in development of service and Board member

The Housing Crisis Committee for CaLD Communities

National Association of Community Legal Centre’s– Elder Abuse

Edith Cowan University– Law Program Consultative Committee

Family Law Practitioners Association

Domestic Violence Worker’s Network

West Australian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

Alliance for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

Young Lawyers Human Rights and Social Justice Committee

Northern Suburbs Multicultural Reference Group (City of Joondalup)

Human Rights are Aussie Rules (HRAR)

Prisoner’s Network

Human Rights Report Card Sub Committee

Community Legal Centres Association of WA

9

CHAIRPERSON REPORT - 2014

I was extremely pleased and humbled to be elected to the position of Chair by my Board

peers in 2013 and to once again work with the people who have made such a positive

difference to the legal needs of disadvantaged people in the northern corridor of Perth.

The past year has presented many challenges to not only NSCLC but also to the broader legal

services sector, with funding restraints and funding cuts impacting services across the board.

NSCLC was not exempt with the loss of one program and advice that the legal services

sector, including the Commonwealth Community Legal Centre program (CLSP), would be

reviewed at the close of the financial year 2015. Although we fully understand the need to

review public money expenditure it nevertheless can, if allowed, become a disruptive

influence on business. Staff unsure of their futures would be forgiven if they decided that it

was time to move on and seek more secure employment.

Unsurprisingly the opposite has happened at NSCLC with the staff responding to the

challenge with a quiet determination to secure services for their communities and to be

innovative in filling the gaps and building a solid future for our organisation.

Networks, partnerships and community education have influenced the organisation moving

forward as we develop our role by building alliances and partnerships in delivering services.

We have moved beyond the traditional service delivery model where each person in an

organisation, and each organisation in a community, had a role to play. We now understand

that we are all cogs in a wheel and both within the organisation and more broadly within our

community, as equals and as partners, we can deliver quality and effective services.

As an example, our most recent initiative is with the WA Police and the Department of Child

Protection and Family Support. We are working together to address the issues around family

violence in CaLD communities. The partnership extends beyond the alliance between the

three organisations, with the community also involved in this very important initiative with

the sole aim of producing a valuable product for our communities.

In August 2013 the Joondalup office, in consultation with the Joondalup Magistrates Court,

initiated a pilot program providing support for respondents at restraining order mentions,

(Restraining Order Respondent Duty Lawyer Service). It was proposed that the service would

work in a similar fashion to the Legal Aid (LAWA) duty lawyer for VRO applicants, with

advice and representation being provided at initial mention hearings. At a recent meeting

between Court staff, the Department of Justice, Legal Aid and NSCLC all parties agreed that

the RDLS was a valuable service and we are now seeking resources to continue the program.

During the year we also completed the first stage of accreditation with the National

Association of Community Legal Centres.

The national based accreditation will recognise good practice in the delivery of community

legal services and, although the process has been time and resource demanding, we have no

doubt it will assist the organisation moving forward.

10

Unfortunately this year we saw the end of our valuable family law partnership with Legal Aid

WA. Due to circumstances beyond both agencies’ control, Legal Aid was no longer able to

fund NSCLC to deliver family law advice for clients conflicted out of Legal Aid.

Our Principal Solicitor, Ian McLeod also moved on this year after giving us 4 years of

valuable service. Ian made a number of changes to improve our service delivery and legal

practice during his time with us and he will be missed by staff, graduates, students and the

Board.

Fortunately we were in a position to promote from in-house and appointed Callum Hair as the

new Principal Solicitor. Callum started with us as a Graduate, before being admitted and

practising as a Solicitor with the organisation.

Our partnership with the Edith Cowan University School of Law and Justice is thriving with

up to 8 students per semester undertaking a workplace practicum at the Joondalup office of

NSCLC. Many students remain as volunteers and have also gone on to accept placements as

graduates.

On reflection it has been a very busy year and a year of uncertainty but also one full of

confidence for the future. It remains for me to congratulate everyone who has been involved

in the year’s development and activities.

I thank fellow Board members for their support of the organisation and of the staff and I look

forward to working with you next year.

To our indefatigable Manager Karen, on behalf of you all, I thank you for your persistence,

resilience and excellent stewardship of our organisation.

On behalf of the Board and the community I extend thanks to the pro bono firms who give

their time each week to offer legal advice to clients in family law.

To graduates, students, volunteers and supporters I thank you on behalf of NSCLC.

In particular I offer special thanks to the staff. They are a great team of people who are

dedicated and professional and work hard to deliver quality services to our community.

Well done team!

Shane Edmonds

Chairperson

11

WHOLE OF ORGANISATION: CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS

Data for Client activities and Number of Case Work Projects- All Programs

Statistics for the financial period 2013-2014 are consistent with the previous financial year

During the previous period the number of clients reached 4253 and during this period the

number of clients is recorded at 4219. New clients registered lower in this period, whilst

repeat clients increased 847, 150 more than in the same period last year.

536 Cases were opened during the year with an

increase in the number of major cases. 63 clients

were represented in the Family Court of Western

Australia, the Magistrates Courts (Perth and

Joondalup) and the State Administrative Tribunal.

The statistics are consistent considering that one

program closed in February 2014 due to cessation

of funding.

The gap between females and males seeking

legal services shortened slightly with a 0.86%

difference during the 2013-2014 period.

The age breakdown of clients revealed a similar pattern as 2012-2013 with a 3% decrease in

those aged 18-24 and a three % increase in the age bracket of 25-34.

Sixty five and over increased by 1% whilst those over 85 years of age seeking advice and

advocacy numbered 37. The oldest client was aged 99 years.

People born in Australia/Oceania including New Zealand appear as the highest number

seeking advice. 116 registered as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and 157 were born in

New Zealand. The data base revealed that in excess of 60 birth countries were not recorded.

CLIENT ACTIVITIES

No. of Clients 4219

New 3265

Repeat 847

Existing 107

Information and Advice 8542

Case Open during period 536

Minor 0-5 hrs. 365

Medium 6-20 hrs. 134

Major 20+ 37

Court Representation 63

Primary Dispute Resolution 279

Test Case 3

Public Interest 5

Male

49.57%

Female

50.43%

GENDER

12

The highest percentages of people seeking advice were recorded as low income including

Centrelink recipients. Medium income registered as the second highest and is slightly lower

than last years statistics. Low and medium income are perhaps misleading as many people

who register as being on medium income could be classed as being on low income in the

current WA economy.

1954

441 285 255

158 103 48

Birth Place by Region - New Clients

Australia/Oceania United Kingdom Africa Asia Europe Middle East The Americas

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Low Income

Medium Income

Not stated

High Income

No Income

Not stated

2461

492

83

128

97

83

Income Scale

Low Income Medium Income Not stated

High Income No Income Not stated

13

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160 143

57

12 12 12 7 6 3 2 2

Top 10 Problem types: Family Relationship

Partnership

Child Contact

Child Residency

Parenting Plan

violence r/orders

take child o/oseas

Divorce

Pro/marriage

Specific issues 3

change name

Other

COMMONWEALTH CLSP FUNDING

Generalist Community Legal Centre Funding: $229,109.00

Family Relationship Centre and Community Legal Centre Program: $ 26,271.00

Elder Law: $ 73,558.00

Family and Family Violence Funding $120,000.00

Generalist Centre - Mirrabooka Total number of clients: 1005 Total number of advice activities: 2346

Open Cases during period: 155 Number of education activities: 81

________________________________________________________________________

Northern Suburbs is the only generalist legal service located in the northern suburbs of Perth.

We are responsible for delivering legal services to resident’s who reside in the corridor from

Perth to Yanchep and from the coast inland to parts of the City of Swan. The service area

encompasses 8 local government areas and has one of the fastest growing corridors of urban

development in Australia.

The organisation has two offices, one in Mirrabooka and one in Joondalup where lawyers and

paralegals provide legal services to the community in family law, civil law, tenancy law,

elder law and criminal law. Although the Joondalup CLC is funded primarily from Legal

Contribution Trust fund monies and Department of Commerce monies, all programs are

delivered out of both offices. For instance family law is delivered by a team of family

lawyers who work from time to time out of both offices and likewise tenancy is delivered

from both offices.

Commonwealth CLSP funding primarily assist with advising clients in family law and family

violence matters and in civil law matters including motor vehicle accidents and motor vehicle

property and debts owed by and debts owed to.

The Family Relationship Centre’s and Community Legal Centre Program

Northern Suburbs CLC provides legal advice to clients who are seeking advice prior to or

during mediation at the Joondalup and Perth Family Relationship. We also provide support

and advice to staff at the Joondalup Family Relationship Centre.

.

14

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Credit & debt owed to client

Taking child o/seas

Specific Issues

Motor vehicle property damage

Property de facto

Divorce

Other civil violence/restraining orders

Child residency

Child contact

Property in marriage

62

97

97

109

161

186

208

376

632

655

Top 10 problem type- CLSP Funding

Elder Law

Funding from this program supports the Older People’s Rights Service by providing

assistance to people over 60 years of age who are at risk of or who are experiencing elder

abuse. Assistance may be in the form of education and/or advice and advocacy.

Family Violence

Requests for advice and advocacy for Violence Restraining Orders increased this year in all

programs. In the CLSP program 50 more clients received intake and advice. The

A

total of 1005 clients were provided with 2346 advices during the period

Civil Law

Advice on motor vehicle property damage and disputes over small contracts made up the

highest percentage of advice in the civil law area apart from Violence Restraining Orders.

15

Pro Bono Law Service – Family Law Property

Once a week in Mirrabooka Pro Bono lawyers Cleveland and Co and Klimek and Co provide

advice on Property in Marriage and Property in de facto. Klimek and Co hold appointments

at both offices whilst Cleveland and Co provide advice at Joondalup. Clients are afforded one

advice appointment only and no further assistance can be provided.

The Pro Bono appointments are an important aspect of our services particularly for low

income people and those that are disadvantaged due to family violence or power imbalances.

In the next reporting period we will be increasing this service to the community.

NSCLC lawyers also provide some assistance in property matters where there is a power

imbalance between parties and there is family violence and children involved.

Who the child lives with and who the child spends time with remains constant in advice

appointments

This year there has been a significant increase in the number of advices for risk of removal of

children and taking children overseas. This increase is more than likely due to the number of

people born overseas who reside within the catchment areas (106 countries).

Community Legal Education

2013/2014 saw an increase in the number of education forums and activities to communities

and community groups. A full report can be found on page 21.

16

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Deception & related offences

Illicit drug offences minor

Theft & related offences

Other Civil VROs

Child Residency

Acts Intended to Cause Injury

Offences- Justice Procedure Gov't Security

Other Misc. Offences

Child Contact

Road Traffic & Vehicle Regulatory Offences

58

66

95

166

170

187

233

275

392

636

Top 10 Problem: Legal Aid Partnership

LEGAL AID WA/NSCLC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

Legal Aid WA (LAWA) /NSCLC Partnership Program $63,333.00

Total number of clients: 727 Total number of advice activities: 1274

Open Cases during period: 68 Court Representation: 8

The program was established in July 2007 to provide advice and assistance to family law

clients who were conflicted out of LAWA services. This was later extended to include

criminal matters. In 2013 the program was reviewed and finally ended in February 2014 due

to the decline in referrals for the programs original purpose.

During its lifetime the partnership proved to be very successful and gave the opportunity for

clients conflicted out of Legal Aid WA to receive at least the same level of legal services as

Legal Aid WA could have offered had there not been a conflict. Warm referrals were one

particular aspect of the program that was beneficial to the client and to both LAWA and

NSCLC. The client was able to access legal advice without having to continually come up

against conflict issues and no appointments available.

Unfortunately the loss of this program also meant that NSCLC has had to reduce its criminal

and traffic intake at the Joondalup office.

36 advices were provided for road traffic and vehicle regulatory offences with Child Contract

392 and miscellaneous offences totaling 275.

17

0 200 400 600 800

694

614

394

393

363

193

151

146

134

123

Top 10 problem type: Legal Contribution

Trust Fund Child Contact

Property in Marriage

Road traffic & motor vehicles offences

Civil/ VRO

Child Residency

Other & misc offences inc weapons

Specific Issues

Other Civil

Property de Facto

Offences: Justice procedure gov't

LEGAL CONTRIBUTION TRUST FUND

Joondalup CLC Core Funding $300,000.00

Total number of clients: 1641 Total number of advice activities: 3201

Open Cases during period: 127 Court Representation: 20

The Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre (Inc) Joondalup office, referred to as the

Joondalup Community Legal Centre (JCLC) is located on Edith Cowan Universities

Joondalup Campus.

The JCLC provide legal services to the community in the areas of family law, tenancy law,

criminal law, domestic violence and some areas of civil law including elder abuse.

An integral part of the partnership between the Centre and ECU’s School of Law and Justice

is the law student workplace practicum.

Studied as an elective unit, Community Legal Practice students undertake a workplace

practicum at the Centre, learning first hand many of the skills necessary for the responsible

and successful practice of the law.

A number of students continue an association with the centre beyond their workplace

practicum and a number of students have gone on to complete their Law Graduate placement

at the Joondalup office. During this year two graduates were employed as Restricted

Practitioners

18

Legal Services

The Joondalup office assists in a broad range of areas of law.

• Criminal & traffic law;

• Quasi criminal & traffic law; ie. Police complaints, unpaid fines, extraordinary

driver’s licence applications ,applications for the removal of lifetime driver’s licence

disqualifications, applications to have serious old convictions made spent, criminal

property confiscation matters, criminal and found property disposal matters, barring

notices and prohibition notices from licensed venues;

• Family law- children and property;

• Restraining orders;

• Criminal injuries compensation;

• Motor vehicle accident disputes (property damage);

• Consumer disputes; and

• Administrative law (merits review) ie. applications to review negative decisions

relating to the issuing of driver’s licences, taxi licences, security licences, firearms

licences and working with children checks.

Family Law

Children’s issues recorded the highest statistics in Joondalup. Taking children overseas and

taking children interstate also recorded an increase in advices sought during the year.

Two private law firms provided Family law property and de facto property advice on a

weekly basis in Joondalup during the year and statistically the numbers increased by around

100 advices during the period.

Criminal and Motor Vehicle Regulatory Offences

394 advices were provided to clients on road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences

during the period. Acts intended to cause injury, miscellaneous offences including weapons

and family and domestic violence recorded the highest problem types in criminal law.

Violence Restraining Orders

NSCLC provides advice on both applicant and respondent restraining order matters. This

financial year 485 advices were provided on restraining orders and/or family and domestic

violence.

19

Respondent Duty Lawyer Service (RDLS) – Joondalup Court

In August 2013 NSCLC in consultation with the Joondalup Magistrates Court began a pilot

program providing support for respondents at restraining order mentions, (Restraining Order

Respondent Duty Lawyer Service - RDSL). It was proposed that the service would work in a

similar fashion to the Legal Aid (LAWA) duty lawyer for VRO applicants, with advice and

representation being provided at initial mention hearings.

The objectives of the RDSL were

:

1. To allow respondents to go into court fully informed about restraining order

procedure and what to expect in the mention;

2. Where appropriate, to allow for negotiations to take place between the parties where

the applicant is being represented by the duty lawyer or a private lawyer.

3. To minimise conflict and streamline procedure in VRO matters, especially in

domestic violence cases so as to reduce stress on both parties.

The trial period ran from early August 2013 to December 2013. The purpose of the trial was

to measure the effectiveness of the service, to identify any difficulties in the provision of the

service, and to assess NSCLC concerns that the RDLS might cause disadvantage to VRO

applicants or hinder the provision of existing NSCLC services for victims of domestic

violence.

An evaluation of the program was undertaken at a meeting between Court staff, the

Department of Justice, Legal Aid and NSCLC. All parties agreed that the RDLS was a

valuable service and that it eased the burden on the Court staff, reduced stress for both the

Respondent and the Applicant with the levels and anxiety and anger not being carried on into

trials.

It was also noted that that the RDLS service provided assistance to both family and domestic

VRO matters and non family and domestic VRO matters.

It was agreed that NSCLC would continue the service to the court in a limited fashion until

funding could be sourced to continue a more comprehensive service.

20

DEPARTMENT of LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES

Older Peoples Rights Service (OPRS) $245,550.00

Total number of clients: 140 Total number of advice activities: 382

Open Cases during period: 75 Number of education activities: 49

OPRS is a specialist program funded by the Department of Local Government and

Communities and hosted by NSCLC. The service provides legal advice, advocacy, education

and social support to those over 60years who are at risk of or who are experiencing elder

abuse. Elder abuse is defined as – “Any act which causes harm to an older person occurring

within an informal relationship of trust, such as a family member, friend or carer.”

OPRS staff worked with 140 clients this financial

year. 98 were new clients and 31 were repeat

clients. Repeat clients are normally those who

sought advice previously but were unable to accept

that a trusted member of the family had financially

abused them.

The unit has 1 fulltime lawyer, 1 part time lawyer

and a part time advocate. A graduate also works in

the program.

Education is conducted through our education unit

and the information can be found further in this

report. 49 education projects were delivered during

the reporting period.

During this period the number of people seeking advice on Guardianship and Enduring

Powers of Attorney and financial agreements increased significantly. The other area of great

concern is the number of family violence incidents reported by clients.

The increase in advice on Enduring Powers of Attorney, Guardianship and Financial

Agreements are directly connected to the education program where people are advised to

seek legal advice prior to entering into any agreement that my put them at risk of abuse.

Staff in the unit believe that the greater incidences of reported family violence is due mainly

to the increase of children remaining or returning to the family home (“Boomerang Kids”)

OPRS is an extremely busy unit with lawyers managing a difficult area of law often requiring

very sensitive negotiations to avoid costly court proceedings.

CLIENT ACTIVITIES- OPRS

No. of Clients 140

New 98

Repeat 31

Existing 11

Advice 382

Case Open 75

Minor 0-5 hours 22

Medium 6-20 hours 24

Major 20+ 9

Cases remaining open 10

Primary Dispute Resolution 7

21

050

100150200250300350400450

56 100 112 133

169 183 208 279

390 441

Top 10 Problem type: Tenancy

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Tenancy Advice and Education Program $326,895.00

Central Resource Unit – Education Services Interim $ 38,889.00

NSCLC manages two tenancy Local Service Units, the Central North Unit and the Upper

North Unit. The area of responsibility ranges from Scarborough on the coast, areas

surrounding Mirrabooka, as far north as Yanchep and into areas of the Middle Swan.

As reported last year, the requirement for tenancy advice and advocacy services is one of the

highest demand areas in NSCLC.

High demand areas include information on general rights and responsibilities in tenancies,

disposal of bonds and tenancy other (Disruptive behaviors in Department of Housing

properties, cleaning and breaches of agreement fall under this category).

Homelessness both primary and secondary is a big issue in NSCLCs area of responsibility.

Disadvantaged people of low incomes are unable to afford the private rental market and are

unable to secure Department of Housing properties due to the length of the wait list.

The Disruptive Behavior policies of the Department of Housing have impacted on our

services. Advocates are attending court more often to try and defend client’s rights in public

housing and to avoid families becoming homeless. During the period we have also noticed

that clients who are receiving notices to evict under the “three strikes policy” of the

Department of Housing more often than not have learning or mental disabilities.

This year advocates are attending the Joondalup Court on alternative Thursdays to offer

advice and advocacy to tenant’s attending court. Often advocates will be asked to assist the

tenant in matters before the Registrar.

22

EDUCATION UNIT

The Education Unit is funded from a number of programs including Commonwealth CLSP

Program, Department of Local Government and Communities (OPRS), Department of

Commerce (Tenancy Program) McCusker Foundation and the Legal Contribution Trust

Fund.

Some specialist education projects and services are funded by our partners MercyCare for the

Rental Ready Program and WA Police for the upcoming DVD project on family violence.

Community Education Program

Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre has continued in the delivery and expansion of

its community legal education program. This program includes a target audience across a

broad spectrum of the community, namely; seniors/older people, CaLD community members

(new migrants) and our innovative primary school program called “Human Rights are Aussie

Rules or HRAR”. (More details of the HRAR program are in the adjoining section). In total

we delivered education to over 2000 clients in the CaLD program and had contact with over

2,500 seniors in the OPRS program (including education, expos and info booths). A more

detailed description about our community education program is as follows.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) Program

The basis of our approach to conducting legal education to the CaLD community involves

partnerships and close collaboration with Settlement Grant Providers, government agencies

and NGOs who specifically work with newly arrived migrants, humanitarian entrants and

ethnic community members. The range of education we deliver includes Department of

Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) funded programs to community NGOs, ethnic women

groups, ethnic communities and high schools such as the Department of Education’s

“Intensive English Centre” (IEC). One of our long term partnerships is the Commonwealth

‘Adult Migrant Education Program’ (AMEP) operating in higher education facilities such as

the Central Institute of Technology and Polytechnic West. In partnership with MercyCare we

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also deliver the classroom study section of their four day Department of Immigration and

Citizenship funded “Rental Ready Program” (this program is further discussed in this report).

Essentially our CaLD program builds on our previous experience in delivery of key areas of

concern facing the CaLD community namely these are categorized in four topics;

Finance and Consumer Issues

Residential Tenancy

Driving Laws and Licensing

Family Relationships and the Law (family violence)

These four topics are identified as key issues for the CaLD community in that the lack of

knowledge of these laws impacts upon their successful transition to Australian society. Our

education sessions are delivered with a focus on role play and client interaction. Our

experience indicates that verbal lecture, followed by interactive role play - followed again by

a reinforced explanation works extremely well in teaching people from CaLD backgrounds.

Many of our client students have spent decades in refugee camps without access to formal

education and the feedback on our teaching is highly positive and many teachers request we

return to provide more sessions to their students.

Accordingly we developed ongoing partnerships and collaborative arrangements with local

NGOs, government departments and community organizations who deal with CaLD clientele

to bring legal education directly to these groups. These partnerships and client organisations

are listed below:

Adult Migrant Education Program

- Central Institute of Technology, Perth Campus

- Polytechnic West, Belmont Campus

Cyril Jackson Senior Campus, Intensive English Programme

West Metropolitan Crime Prevention Office, Western Australian Police

Centacare Inc.

MercyCare (includes the DIAC funded “Rental Ready Programme”)

Edmund Rice Centre, Mirrabooka

The Law Society, Francis Burt Law Education Programme

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Life Without Barriers

PVS Workfind

Save the Children Inc

Lockridge Senior High School

City of Stirling

Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre

The Law Society, Francis Burt Education Program

In addition to these above mentioned topics we have also continued on an initiative with “The

Law Society, in particular, the Francis Burt Education Law Education Program. This program

enables CaLD clients to understand the law through participation in Court tours involving

legal role play and visits to actual courts in session. These education sessions involves

accompanying CaLD groups on these tours in partnership with MercyCare and the

Commonwealth AMEP program. In total we facilitated 7 Magistrate Court sessions/tours to

over 100 clients.

Rental Ready Program: MercyCare

The Rental Ready Program is a four day course designed by MercyCare and funded by the

Department of Immigration and Citizenship. In partnership with MercyCare our centre

delivers the two day classroom legal education component of this program while MercyCare

delivers two days of practical cleaning and maintenance classes. The program has produced

excellent results with 162 clients completing the course. MercyCare reports that feedback

about the program indicates that clients find it easier to find accommodation and that the

completion certificates assist the clients in finding employment.

A more specific breakdown of our community education program is outlined below:

Community Legal Education Topics (CaLD Program)

Finance and Consumer Issues 11 sessions 168 persons

Family Relationships and the Law 12 sessions 522 persons

Residential Tenancy 33 sessions 909 persons

Driving in Western Australia 4 sessions 82 persons

Introduction to NSCLCs 6 sessions 78 persons

Court Tours/Law Society 7 sessions 116 persons

Rental Ready Programme 20 sessions (20 days) 162 persons

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TOTAL 93 Session 2037 persons

Older Peoples Rights Service (OPRS)

Our OPRS community education program specifically targets “elder abuse” namely the

prevention of such abuse and involved 49 events (workshops/expos and info booths). The

education workshops included services to 474 seniors/older people across the metropolitan

region. Our community legal education is detailed in the graph below:

Elder Abuse Community Education 22 sessions TOTAL: 474 persons

Calendars 2013/2014: Older Peoples Rights Service (5000 elder abuse prevention

calendars)

In addition to our community legal education we produced an 18 month ‘elder abuse

prevention calendar’ for seniors. We designed, printed and distributed 5000 copies of this

specialized topical calendar. The key feature of this calendar involves the inclusion of 18

legal related topics without the mention of the term “elder abuse”. This was conducted

specifically in response to local government focus groups which identified that the term

“elder abuse” or negative pictures portraying elder abuse is not particularly welcomed by

seniors. Accordingly we included positive and happy photographs (families, grandchildren

etc.) with accompanying commentary that highlights the risks of elder abuse. Each topic

included general information and contact numbers for government and non government

agencies where seniors can further obtain more information. The calendars were distributed

metro wide to dozens of seniors groups and organisations including distribution through

various Expos. Furthermore we organized information booths at shopping centres across the

metro region (from Armadale to Joondalup) and distributed the calendars directly to members

(seniors) of the public. These info booths also involved talking to the public about elder

abuse. Details of the calendar distribution are as follows:

Elder Abuse Info Booths 6 sessions 500 persons (estimate)

Elder Abuse Expos 8 sessions 2000 persons (estimate)

TOTAL 14 sessions 2,500 + (expos & info

booths)

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Tenancy Training to Professionals

In addition to community education we also conducted 3 tenancy training events to

professional groups (community workers). Details of these tenancy training forums are as

follows:

Tenancy Training (New Laws) 1 session 17 persons

Tenancy Training (to Red Cross) 1 session 13 persons

Tenancy Training

(Settlement Grant Staff)

1 session 9 persons

TOTAL 3 sessions 39 persons

HUMAN RIGHTS ARE AUSSIE RULES (HRAR)

Legal Aid WA $ 5,000.00

The McCusker Charitable Foundation $ 25,000.00

The Human Rights are Aussie Rules program teaches kids from years 4 to 7 about Human

Rights through sports games and metaphors. The four aspects of Human Rights we focus

on are Freedom, Respect, Equality and Dignity. We use quizzes, tunnel ball, handball and

a chanting game to highlight these rights. The activities assist

children to understand human rights in way they can relate

to.

In the 2013/2014 financial year the Human Rights are Aussie

Rules program reached over 1400 children through school

visits and involvement in community events. We also

extended the scope of the program by attending various

sporting clubs during their training times to deliver the

program. The Law Society of Western Australia also invited

us to attend their Youth Civics Leadership Day, where the

program was delivered to approximately 30 Year 10 students

from different schools throughout Perth. The program was changed slightly and included

a question and answer time with a lawyer from the centre.

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The total for 2014 to date is over 800 students, with over another 400 scheduled before

the end of the year. We hope to reach a target of 1500 for the entire year.

The post workshop evaluations give us constant feedback from both teachers and students

about the effectiveness of the workshop and how much both teachers and students learnt

from the program.

A teacher responding to the question “What do you think your students learnt from the

HRAR workshop?” stated;

“They had no idea what ‘Human Rights’ meant! FRED was a great idea, even I

remember!”

When asked about the effectiveness of the workshop, one teacher responded that it was;

“Absolutely effective. We wrote a recount of the workshop and the children grasped all

aspects”

The students were asked what they learnt from the workshop;

“I learnt that some people don’t have the freedom and we are lucky to live in Australia”

“You should be who ever you want to be. Respect others like you would want to be

respected and everything should be equal and give everyone a fair go”

“I’ve learnt that all humans have the rights to be free, happy and to do what they want

to”

“I learnt that you should never be ashamed of who you are and to always respect

everyone.”

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CASE STUDIES IN LAW – HELPING THE COMMUNITY

All cases presented here are based on real cases though some details are changed to protect

confidentiality.

Criminal/Quasi Criminal-Case Study

Mr. A contacted NSCLC after being charged with common assault. The alleged incident

occurred while Mr. A was employed as a security officer at a licensed venue. While the

alleged assault was not serious, the repercussions of a conviction of common assault were

significant for Mr. A. This is because common assault is a ‘disqualifying offence’ under the

Security and Related Activities (Control) Act 1996 (WA). The Act provides that if a person is

charged with a ‘disqualifying offence’, their security licence will be suspended pending the

outcome of the charge unless ‘extenuating circumstances’ exist. It also provides that once a

person is convicted of common assault, they will be disqualified from holding or obtaining a

security and crowd controller licence for a period of 5 years. Working in security had to this

point in time been Mr. A’s livelihood.

The circumstances surrounding the offence were that the complainant was passing by the

licensed venue as it was closing. He then disposed of his rubbish in an area that had moments

earlier been cleaned by a member of staff. Mr. A requested that the complainant put the

rubbish in the bin. The complainant refused to do so and made a racist remark to Mr. A which

was the catalyst to the physical confrontation, during which further racist remarks were made

to Mr. A.

When Mr. A attended NSCLC, he had received correspondence from WA Police Licensing

Services informing him that his security and crowd controller licence would be suspended

unless he could satisfy them that ‘extenuating circumstances’ existed. NSCLC assisted Mr. A

by making submissions to the WA Police as to the fact that ‘extenuating circumstances’

existed that meant his licence should not be suspended pending the outcome his common

assault charge. The ‘extenuating circumstances’ being the fact there was a considerable

degree of provocation by the complainant, the minor nature of the assault and the fact Mr. A

had no prior convictions. Fortunately, the WA Police decided not to proceed with the

suspension of Mr. A’s licence while the charge was pending.

NSCLC then assisted Mr. A with negotiations with the WA Police following Mr. a having

pleaded not guilty to the charge on the basis of provocation. On the day of Mr. A’s trial, WA

Police agreed to downgrade Mr. A’s charge to disorderly behavior in public. Mr. A decided

to plead guilty to the offence and was sentenced to a small fine and received a spent

conviction order. Disorderly behavior in public is not a disqualifying offence. Due to our

assistance Mr. A was able to retain his security and crowd controller licence and therefore

maintain his livelihood.

Criminal- Case Study

Ms. D sought assistance from NSCLC in relation to a Commonwealth charge of engaging in

conduct to obtain a financial advantage from a third party that she either knew or believed the

third party was not entitled to receive. The charge related to Ms. D’s employment for a

company that had a government contract and operated on an award based scheme. The

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allegation was that the company had obtained a financial advantage of approximately

$15,000 that it was not entitled to receive, as a result of the conduct of Ms. D.

Ms. D was a 50 years of age and had no prior convictions. Needless to say she was very

distressed when she sought the assistance of NSCLC. This was due to the fact she instructed

that she had not committed the offence, the charge was of a serious nature and the fact that a

conviction for the offence would likely result in her being unable to work in the field that she

had been employed since she was 20 years of age. In addition Ms. D had been out of work for

a period of 2 years prior to her being charged as she had a physical disability that required

surgery. Due to her financial constraints she was unable to afford a private lawyer. She was

also was not eligible for a grant of Legal Aid as the charge was proceeding in the Magistrates

Court. In the absence of NSCLC assisting at trial, Ms. D would have been required to self

represent which would have been very difficult for her given the quantity of disclosure, the

complexity of the financial transactions in question and the fact there was a lawyer

representing the Commonwealth.

Through our analysis of the disclosure material it came to light that Ms. D was not in fact

responsible for some of the transactions alleged and that the Commonwealth DPP had made

errors in the quantum they were alleging Ms. D obtained for the company. Accordingly,

NSCLC negotiated with the Commonwealth DPP and the facts were amended to allege that

Ms. D obtained a financial advantage for the company of around $4,500 rather than $15,000.

Ms. D maintained her plea of not guilty after the amendment as she instructed she thought

she was permitted to claim money for the company from the Commonwealth in the

circumstances alleged. Following a two day trial, the presiding Magistrate acquitted Ms. D of

the charge on the basis that she did not know or believe the company was not permitted to

obtain the financial advantage. This was due to the poor quality of training provided to Ms. D

by her employer.

The result was a great outcome for the client as she would not have been able to return to the

same field of work after having the surgery if she had been convicted.

Civil- Case Study No. 1

Ms. A attended NSCLC following a dispute with Ms. B to whom she had lent her motor

vehicle. Ms. A was a refugee from Liberia with very little command for English. She was

also unemployed at the time.

One weekend while Ms. B was borrowing Ms. A’s vehicle, Ms. B was involved in an

accident with another motor vehicle. Following the accident, Ms. B informed Ms. A that she

would arrange for the vehicle to be repaired as soon as a panel beating business opened on

the Monday morning. Due to the damage to the vehicle, it was not roadworthy so Ms. B

parked the vehicle in a public car park in close proximity to a panel beating business.

Unfortunately, Ms. B did not keep her word and failed to arrange for the vehicle to be

repaired by a panel beater on the Monday morning. As a consequence, the vehicle was

damaged further by unknown passersby while it was parked in the public car park. Due to

Ms. B’s inaction, the vehicle was eventually towed and impounded by the local government

due to it having been parked in contravention of the local government parking laws. Upon

being informed of the impoundment, Ms. A arranged for the vehicle to be released. In doing

so she was required to pay for the costs associated with the towing and impoundment of the

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vehicle. She was also erroneously advised that she was required to pay the infringement for

the vehicle being illegally parked before the vehicle would be released from impoundment.

When Ms. A attended NSCLC for advice, she had sustained a significant financial loss as a

result of the above incident. Ms. B had refused to pay Ms. A any compensation. NSCLC

assisted Ms. A by firstly successfully negotiating with the relevant local government for Ms.

A to be reimbursed the sum she paid for the infringement and by nominating Ms. B as the

responsible driver. We then assisted Ms. A by writing a letter of demand to Ms. B seeking

that she compensate Ms. A for the total financial loss that resulted from the motor vehicle

accident. Ms. B responded by contacting NSCLC and denying that she had ever even used

Ms. A’s motor vehicle. We then assisted Ms. A with the completion of initiating Magistrates

Court documents. Upon being notified of the imminent filing of the claim in the Magistrates

Court, Ms. B agreed to pay Ms. A the total sum she was seeking.

In the absence of assistance from NSCLC, it is highly unlikely Ms. A would have been in a

position to recover the loss she had suffered as a result of Ms. B’s conduct. This is in light of

her being unable to afford a private lawyer and the practical difficulties that the justice

system presents to people with a limited command for the English language.

Civil- Case Study No. 2

Mr. P sought the assistance of NSCLC in relation to the refusal of his insurer to indemnify

him following his motor vehicle being driven through the wall of a neighboring villa. The

damage caused to Mr. P’s motor vehicle, towing costs and the neighboring property totaled

approximately $50,000. The refusal of the insurer to indemnify Mr. P would therefore have

had a crippling financial impact upon Mr. P who was only employed on a part-time basis.

The insurer’s refusal was based on their view that Mr. P was not being truthful in his account

of the incident and that he was in actual fact doing ‘burnouts’ in his driveway at the time his

vehicle drove through his neighbors wall. However, Mr. P denied this and maintained that his

vehicle either suffered a mechanical failure (and surged forward when his foot was on the

brake) or that he had placed his foot on the accelerator mistakenly believing that it was the

brake.

Mr. P decided to file a claim in the Magistrates Court against his insurer for their refusal to

indemnify him. NSCLC engaged a Barrister to act on a pro bono basis while NSCLC acted as

the instructing solicitors. An expert witness was also engaged to support Mr. P’s case.

Following a complicated trial, the presiding Magistrate decided in Mr. P’s favour. To

appreciate the significance of the outcome for Mr. P, one must imagine what would have

resulted had he been unsuccessful. If this occurred Mr. P would have been out of pocket

around $50,000 as a result of the accident, he would have been further ordered to pay the

legal costs of the insurer and the costs associated with seeking the expert report. This would

have meant that he would have likely been out of pocket between $80,000 and $100.000.

Such a case highlights the importance of the work of CLCs and pro bono work, as it can be

very difficult for people to access justice in relation to civil disputes due to the costs

associated with engaging private lawyers for civil litigation.

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OPRS- Case Study

Ms. M sought the assistance of the OPRS following the breakdown in her relationship with

her daughter and son in law. Ms. M lived in a granny flat at the rear of her daughter and son

in laws home. Her daughter and son in law encouraged Ms. M to build and move into a

granny flat at the rear of their premises following the death of Ms. M’s husband. Ms. M was

told by her daughter and son in law that this arrangement would make it easier for them to

visit her.

Ms. M sold her property and used the funds from the sale to pay for the demolition and

removal of a shed at the rear of the her daughter and son in laws premises, the building of the

granny flat and adjoining patio and the extension and widening of the carport. In total Ms. M

spent between $160,000 and $170,000 on improvements to the property. Unfortunately, of

course, she did not have her name on the title of the property. There was also no family

agreement concerning Ms. M’s move to the property. Over time Ms. M’s relationship with

her daughter and son in law deteriorated due to persistent emotional abuse by her daughter.

For example, Ms. M’s daughter would verbally abuse her and threaten to damage her

property over trivial matters, such as Ms. M’s friends parking on the driveway or Ms. M

placing her pot plants in certain locations. Ms. M believed that her daughter and son in law

were attempting to make it so unbearable for her to live in the granny flat that she would

leave the property.

Ms. M sought the assistance of the OPRS because she was at the end of her tether and felt she

could no longer reside at the property due to her daughter’s persistent emotional abuse. Ms.

M wanted to move elsewhere, but she could not afford to do so without being compensated

for her expenditure on her daughter and son in laws property. Despite Ms. M’s significant

expenditure on the property, which increased its value considerably, Ms. M was in a weak

position legally due to the fact she did not have her name on the title of the property and

because there was no written family agreement. OPRS assisted the Ms. M in arguing that her

daughter and son in law had breached an implied term of the oral agreement that she be

entitled to the quiet enjoyment of the granny flat. Following extensive negotiations over a

period of 12 months between OPRS and the lawyer for Ms. M’s daughter and son in law, we

successfully negotiated for Ms. M to be paid a sum of $65,000 in return for her agreeing to

vacate the granny flat. Despite this sum being considerably less than the amount Ms. M had

spent on the property, it was a great outcome given her weak legal position.

This case highlights the importance of older persons seeking legal advice prior to moving into

granny flats at the rear of family members properties. Had Ms. M sought the advice of OPRS

prior to her decision to build and move into the granny flat at the rear of her son and daughter

in laws property, we would have advised her to have a family agreement drafted and signed

first.

Administrative Law (Merits Review) - Case Study

Mr. C was referred to NSCLC through the State Administrative Tribunal (‘SAT’) Pro Bono

Scheme. He was referred in relation to his application before the SAT for a review of the

decision of the Director General of Transport to cancel his driver’s licence on medical

grounds.

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Mr. C was 82 years of age, was a migrant from Eastern Europe and could speak only limited

English. He was living in a remote country town around 350km north east of Perth and 25 km

from the nearest country town. He is the only resident in the area in which he lives. Due to

his remoteness, his only mode of transport to the local town for the purpose of shopping,

collecting mail, attending medical appointment and other business was by driving himself.

His driver’s licence was therefore required for him to live a productive life.

The Director General of Transport had requested Mr. C complete a medical assessment as

part of the annual review of his ability to drive due to his advanced age. He was referred to

his General Practitioner for an assessment, who in turn referred Mr. C to an occupational

therapist (OT) that specialised in determining a person’s fitness to drive. When Mr. C

travelled to Perth for his OT assessment, it was the first time he had been to Perth since

arriving in Australia in the 1950’s. He arrived in Perth a day early and as a result he slept

overnight in his car. He was also extremely anxious about this assessment. In addition to

being nervous, he also had difficulty understanding some of the directions that were given to

him during the assessment due to his limited English. The result was that an adverse finding

was made and this resulted in the Department of Transport’s refusal to issue him with a new

driver’s licence. The OT did not give any consideration to the fact Mr. C had never driven in

Perth, had not been to Perth since the 1950’s and had never encountered heavy or even

medium traffic.

We assisted Mr. C by negotiating with the Department of Transport on public interest

grounds for another OT assessment to be completed in light of Mr. C’s unique circumstances.

A medical assessment was undertaken and this resulted in the Department of Transport

issuing him with a new licence. Once the driver’s licence was issued, we were able to

withdraw Mr. C’s application in the SAT.

Had NSCLC not assisted Mr. C, he would have likely been unrepresented in the SAT as he

was unable to afford a private lawyer. The language barrier and his remoteness would have

made it difficult, if not impossible, for him to attain a positive outcome. Had he been

unsuccessful in the SAT the detriment would have been enormous given his age and the fact

he was living along in an extremely remote location that did not have access to public

transport or any essential services.

Case Study – Family Law

Ms. C and her ex-partner, Mr. D are the parents of a 4 year old child. Both parents were born

in New Zealand but the child was born in Perth, after the parents broke up due to domestic

violence in the relationship, and Mr. D’s drinking and gambling issues. Ms. C took the child

back to New Zealand for a holiday when the child was an infant and decided to stay there

after she realized how much better her and the child’s life were away from the abuse of Mr.

D. The child was more settled and Ms. C had the support of her family. Mr. D then initiated

Hague Convention proceedings to have the child returned to Perth. Knowing it likely that

orders would be made in his favour, Ms. C agreed to return and orders were made in the

Family Court of New Zealand for Mr. D to spend time with the child and for him to provide

them with a house, car and spousal maintenance. It also included provisions for Ms. C and

the child to return to New Zealand once the child turned 5, or immediately if Mr. D breached

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any terms of the orders, with the Family Court of Western Australia to determine if there had

been a breach.

However, almost as soon as Ms. C and the child returned to Perth, Mr. D reneged on the

agreement, stopped paying the spousal maintenance and demanded times with the child in an

erratic manner at times that suited him, usually at short notice, and often changing or

canceling plans at the last minute. He often picked the child up from day-care without notice

and the staff were powerless to stop him, since he is a parent. He continued to verbally abuse,

harass and denigrate Ms. C, including in front of the child. Ms. C found herself running in

circles trying to keep him happy, at the expense of the child’s stability. She felt she had to

give in to his every demand in order to appease him. She had to seek the police’s help in

returning the child on one occasion, and a Recovery Order on another, after Mr. D kept the

child and would not tell her where they were.

Ms. C resorted to a VRO in 2013 and resolved it by undertaking, but Mr. D almost

immediately breached it by contacting her and continuing to abuse her. She was unsuccessful

when she applied for another interim VRO on an ex parte basis, as the Magistrate considered

the matter a family law matter more appropriately dealt with in the Family Court.

New Zealand citizens living in Australia are not entitled to many Centrelink benefits in

Australia, so Ms. C relies on her income from her casual retail position and any money paid

by Mr. D. Mr. D’s income fluctuates on an almost weekly basis so she can never be sure how

much money she will be receiving that week. Child Support Agency would not administer the

New Zealand orders but took 2 years to confirm this with her. It took a year for her to find

out that she needed to register the New Zealand orders in the Family Court of Western

Australia to have them enforceable here. Just trying to understand the nature of her financial

situation was a huge headache in itself.

Ms. C came to us last year seeking help to get some kind of stability for the child and for

advice on relocating back to New Zealand. We agreed to represent her in her matter. Her case

is complicated and we considered she had various options:

1. File a contravention application (relying on the NZ order that allowed her to move

back to NZ with the child if Mr. D breached any order;

2. Move back with no order in place when the child turned 5 (relying on the NZ order

allowing this); or

3. File a fresh application seeking to relocate to NZ.

After discussions with the presiding Magistrate it was decided to go with option 3, relying on

options 1 and 2 as evidence at the hearing. The matter is due to be heard at a 3-day trial in the

next couple of months. We are fortunate that Kathryn Heslop, who took on (and won) another

relocation case in 2013 but has since moved to Aboriginal Legal Services in Albany, is able

and willing to do this trial too and in exchange we will do any short court hearings here in

Perth that she is unable to attend.

In the meantime, orders were made in late 2013 suspending Mr. D’s time with the child, due

to his escalating abusive behaviour, and in early 2014 we negotiated with him to have

34

supervised time with the child, moving onto unsupervised after he agreed to undertake family

violence counselling, seek help for his drinking, attend the Mums and Dads Forever

programme, and on the publication of a positive report from the supervision agency. Ms. C

and the child have since moved out of Mr. D’s house and she has changed her number, so all

communication is currently happening through our centre. Ms. C reports she and the child are

doing much better with the routine and stability the current situation provides.

Case Study: Private Tenancy

The tenant attended our office with for assistance with a tenancy issue concerning a room in a

shared rental property. The tenant had found the room advertised on the classifieds website

“Gumtree”. The room was advertised for $175 per week which included all bills and some

storage space in the shared living area. The tenant sent SMS messages to the lessor and a

meeting was arranged for the tenant to view the property. The tenant attended the property

but did not commit to renting the room, as he wanted to view some other properties first. The

tenant later sent an SMS to the lessor, thanking her for allowing him to view the property, but

stating he would not be renting the room. The lessor sent a message back offering to lower

the rent to $150 per week if the tenant decided to rent the room. The tenant agreed to this rate

of rent, and also to pay three weeks in advance as well as a bond of $300. This money was

paid there and then, and a receipt was provided. The move in date was set for a week later,

but the lessor agreed to allow the tenant access prior to this date in order for him to start

moving in his possessions. A couple of days later, the tenant attended the property with some

of his personal belongings. The tenant claims to have been greeted at the door by a very large

and aggressive man, who threatened him, and pinned him up against the front door. The

tenant was frightened, and so left the property, sending a SMS message to the lessor stating

that he did not feel safe to move into the property. The lessor responded, apologizing for the

male’s behavior, and claiming that the male was her partner and he suffered severe

schizophrenia. The lessor told the tenant, through a series of SMS, that the man had not been

taking his medication but once he started taking it again, he would not bother the tenant. The

lessor also requested that the tenant loan him an amount of $100 to pay for this man’s

medication. The tenant agreed to loan the lessor the money, and was given a receipt. The

tenant also agreed to continue moving into the property. A couple of days later, the lessor

sent the tenant an SMS stating that a family member had broken up with their partner and

now required the room that was promised to the tenant. Therefore the tenant was not

welcome in the property. The tenant requested return of the bond, three weeks rent and the

$100 loan, to which the lessor responded that since the tenant had given “notice” that he

would not be moving in, he was not entitled to return of any of the money. The tenant and

lessor exchanged a number of messages, many of which contained racial slurs made by the

lessor to the tenant (the tenant is originally from Afghanistan). In one SMS, the lessor refers

to the tenant as a “dirty Afghan terrorist” who does not have any rights in Australia. The

contact between the tenant and lessor ceased when the lessor threatened to have the tenant

charged with “harassment” if he contacted her again.

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We wrote to the lessor, stating the tenant’s rights to the return of the full bond and rent in

advance. We explained that those monies paid were in consideration of the tenant renting a

room in the property, and as this did not occur, the lessor has no right to hold on to the

monies. We also assisted the tenant with a Form 12 court application (the tenant cannot write

in English), and advised him to lodge this application at the Joondalup Magistrates Court

should we be unsuccessful in having the money returned. We also stated this in our letter.

The lessor phoned us, stating that she felt intimidated by the tenant and that as the tenant told

her early on that he no longer wanted the room, that she had a right to the money. We

referred the lessor to the SMS messages in which the tenant clearly stated his intention to rent

the room, and it was her who eventually broke the agreement. Eventually the lessor agreed to

return the money to the tenant via direct bank deposit. The lessor agreed to have all money

returned within 2 weeks. The tenant was happy with this arrangement. We advised the tenant

that if the lessor did not return the money within the stated time frame, the tenant should

proceed to lodge the court application. The tenant will let us know when the money is

returned. The client subsequently advised that the money had been received.

Tenant One: Bond Dispute/break lease

The tenant was in an 18 month, fixed term tenancy agreement directly with the owner of the

property (there was no real estate agent involved). 7 months into the lease the tenant was

approved finance to purchase his own property, and hence expressed to the lessor his

intention to break the lease. The tenant told the lessor that he would be vacating the property

in 2 months, but would be happy to leave earlier should a new tenant be found prior. The

tenant continually reminded the lessor of his intention to break the lease, however one month

after providing notice the lessor had still failed to list an advertisement to lease the property.

The tenant communicated to us that the lessor had become “unresponsive” and was making

no effort to re-lease the property. The tenant had started looking himself for new tenant, and

had successfully found 3 potential tenants who were willing to take over the lease. We

inspected the rental agreement and note that there was no clause prohibiting sub-leasing or

assignment of the lease. The tenant was concerned that he would be stuck having to pay rent

as well as his new mortgage. He also had concerns that he would not have his bond returned;

given that it had not been correctly lodged (the tenant was of the view that the bond was

being held in the lessor’s personal bank account.)

We agreed to write to the lessor on behalf of the tenant. In this letter we outlined the lessor’s

duty to mitigate the tenant’s loss (RTA s 58) and the fact that by failing to advertise the

property or consider potential tenants, the lessor was breaching this section of the Act. We

pointed out that as there is nothing in the lease agreement prohibiting assignment of the

tenancy, a lessor must not unreasonably decline potential tenants. We also raised section 29

of the RTA which covers the responsibility of the lessor to correctly lodge the bond either

with the bond administrator or in a joint trust account (the tenancy commenced prior to the

July 1 2013 amendments).

The lessor responded to our letter by phoning our office to discuss. She informed us that she

had now listed the property on “realestate.com.au” as well as “Gumtree classifieds”. She had

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also made contact with the tenant to arrange home opens at the property. The lessor advised

us that she was not aware that the bond needed to be lodged as this was the first time she had

rented out a property. We provided the phone number for the Department of Consumer

Protection so that the lessor could seek advice in relation to the bond. We then contacted the

tenant who seemed satisfied with the effort being made by the lessor to re-let the property.

The tenant instructed that he would contact us again in the future, should any further

problems arise.

Tenant Two: Maintenance, Rent Increase and Compensation by Tenant

The tenant was in a private, periodic tenancy with no real estate agent involved. She had been

in the same property for four years and claims that there have been significant issues

throughout this time. These issues include a large hole in the fence, several water leaks,

mould in the property and inspections every month. The tenant advised us that she has had

issues obtaining rental properties in the past and hence she has persisted with this tenancy

despite all the problems.

Six months ago, the lessor verbally told the tenant that the rent would be increasing by $10

per week and this increase would be effective immediately. Not knowing that this was

unlawful, the tenant began paying the increased rent immediately. The tenant was then in rent

arrears of two weeks, and had been given a Form 1B Notice of Termination. The lessor

allegedly told the tenant that he had been to court on Monday in her absence and that the

tenancy had been terminated by a Magistrate. The tenant advised that the lessor had told her

to “just move out”, and if she refused to do so she would face bailiff and change of locks

costs. The tenant advised us that she did not receive any notice of a court date and was of the

impression that the lessor was happy for her to catch up with the arrears the next week when

she got paid.

We advised the tenant that there wouldn't have been a court hearing as (a) she would have

received notice and (b) Joondalup only runs tenancy court on Wednesday mornings and not

Mondays. However, we suggested she phone the court anyway to clear her mind. If there was

in fact a court order made in her absence we explained that the tenant may make an

application to have the order varied or set aside as she was not present. We suggested that the

tenant phone us back for further advice should this be the case.

We also advised the tenant that the rent increase was invalid under s 30 of the Residential

Tenancies Act 1987 as it was not made in writing and correct notice was not given (a lessor

must give 60 days notice of any rent increase). We suggested that the tenant write to the

lessor and request that she be backdated credit of $10 per week as the increase was invalid.

Alternatively, we suggested that the tenant may choose to use the invalid rent increase to

improve her bargaining ability in relation to the two weeks rent arrears. She may request that

all or part of the arrears be waived. We explained that if the lessor is not responsive to these

requests, the tenant may consider making a court application to have the rent credit

backdated. We warned the tenant that if she does choose to take the matter to court she will

need to convince the Magistrate on the balance of probabilities that correct notice of the

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increase was not given. If an application is made she may also choose to bring up a claim for

compensation for the lack of maintenance issues.

The tenant phoned us back a couple of days following our initial advice to inform us that she

had contacted the lessor who had agreed to waive one week of the rent arrears. The tenant

had also managed to secure share house accommodation with a friend, and hence intended to

give the lessor notice of her intention to vacate the property. Given these developments, we

suggested that the tenant wait until she has moved out of the property prior to commencing

any action for compensation because otherwise the lessor may respond adversely for the

remainder of the tenancy. The tenant agreed that this was the most favourable option and

instructed that she would contact us in the future should she require assistance with her

claims for compensation.

Elder Abuse - Financial

The client (85 year old) had jointly appointed her two daughters as her enduring attorneys.

After having suffered a serious fall, the client was hospitalised and at a family meeting with

the medical staff her attorneys were advised to seek residential placement for their mother.

While in transitional care the client’s attorneys sold her house and disposed of the contents.

They also took control of her banking and financial affairs. Moreover, they refused to take

any direction from their mother.

The client instructed OPRS to revoke the Enduring Power of Attorney and investigate the

transactions undertaken by her attorneys on her behalf.

Although the client is physically incapable of managing her own financial affairs, she had not

planned a suitable substitute to undertake the role of new attorney. In addition, she did not

want the Public Trustees appointed.

Our investigations revealed that her attorneys had indeed acted outside the client’s

instructions but had not done so with malicious intent. After discussing this matter with the

client, she came to the view that she wanted to retain her daughters in the position of

enduring attorneys.

Letters were sent to the attorneys illustrating their breach of obligations under the

Guardianship and Administration Act and requesting that they explain all financial

transactions undertaken by them. To facilitate the required disclosure to the client, the

attorneys were invited to participate in a formal family mediation conference, where lawyers

were not permitted. The invitation was declined so, OPRS focused on achieving the client’s

instructions while ensuring that the relationship with her daughters improved.

The client’s attorneys produced all documents that OPRS requested. Moreover, they returned

to the client her bank books, bank cards and cheque book, and re-directed the mail to her

residential care facility. They also arranged to deliver some of her precious things and

personal papers which had been taken from the house.

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Although the attorneys remained financially liable to the client for the value of all

unrecovered goods, she waived their liability.

The client was not only empowered with control over her finances but also regained her sense

of dignity at being able to determine her own affairs within a relationship of growing trust.

CASE STUDY: Financial Abuse

Preventing Financial Elder Abuse – Deed of Family Agreement

The client (85 year old) had jointly appointed her two daughters as her enduring attorneys.

After having suffered a serious fall, the client was hospitalised and at a family meeting with

the medical staff her attorneys were advised to seek residential placement for their mother.

While in transitional care the client’s attorneys sold her house and disposed of the contents.

They also took control of her banking and financial affairs. Moreover, they refused to take

any direction from their mother.

The client instructed OPRS to revoke the Enduring Power of Attorney and investigate the

transactions undertaken by her attorneys on her behalf.

Although the client is physically incapable of managing her own financial affairs, she had not

planned a suitable substitute to undertake the role of new attorney. In addition, she did not

want the Public Trustees appointed.

Our investigations revealed that her attorneys had indeed acted outside the client’s

instructions but had not done so with malicious intent. After discussing this matter with the

client, she came to the view that she wanted to retain her daughters in the position of

enduring attorneys.

Letters were sent to the attorneys illustrating their breach of obligations under the

Guardianship and Administration Act and requesting that they explain all financial

transactions undertaken by them. To facilitate the required disclosure to the client, the

attorneys were invited to participate in a formal family mediation conference, where lawyers

were not permitted. The invitation was declined so, OPRS focused on achieving the client’s

instructions while ensuring that the relationship with her daughters improved.

The client’s attorneys produced all documents that OPRS requested. Moreover, they returned

to the client her bank books, bank cards and cheque book, and re-directed the mail to her

residential care facility. They also arranged to deliver some of her precious things and

personal papers which had been taken from the house.

Although the attorneys remained financially liable to the client for the value of all

unrecovered goods, she waived their liability.

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The client was not only empowered with control over her finances but also regained her sense

of dignity at being able to determine her own affairs within a relationship of growing trust.