Contents AR2012_FA1.pdf · Solina SAM Family Violence Program Katrina LAM Thea EMETLIS Student Volunteers Family Violence Program Vanessa MAHON Clinical Legal Education Program Professional

Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc. | Annual Report 2012 1

Contents

Director’s Report 2–3

Chair, SMLS Board 4

SMLS Evening Volunteers / APP & PP Students 5–7

Board of Directors & Staff 8

Acknowledgements 9

Statistics 10–11

Outreach Services 12

Administration 13

Legal Practice Manager 16–17

SMLS/SECASA Joint Legal Clinic 18

Family Violence Program 19

Family Law & Child Support, MRR Project 20

Civil Litigation 21

Community Development & Law Reform 22

Yikes! 23

SEMAS South Eastern Migration Advice Service 24

Volunteer Program 25

Student’s Perspective 26

Lawyers’ Practice Manual, Victoria 27

Finances 28–31

Auditor’s Report 32


SMLS services and staff

SMLS staff and volunteers are committed to offering a high quality service to clients, despite the fact that numbers seem to increase and increase.

We have seen staff members, Carolyn Stuart, Bec Smith, Jason Saultry, Nadia Di Battista and Alicia de Pedro leave SMLS during this period. They all made a significant contribution to the legal service and we wish them well in their new roles. We have welcomed Mitra Pirouzgar, Nita Nagendran, Kei Judd, Cheryline O’Brien, Kristen Wallwork , Phillip Xie and Sam Mason-Smith to the staff team.

I would like to thank all Board members, led by Sonia Parisi as Chairperson, volunteers and staff for the work they have done, the time and the commitment they have shown to the clients of the legal service. It is a privilege to work with such a committed group of people. I would also like to thank the students who have been with us either as a clinical students or volunteers. The work can seem daunting and overpowering at first but they rise to the challenge and become very proficient at what they do, developing working relationships with clients and interacting with community groups and services.

Director’s Report

Helen Yandell, Director

Celebrations

In June 2012, the Law Faculty organised a Memorial Dinner in honour of Susan Campbell’s contribution to the Clinical Legal Education program over many years. The dinner was held at St Kilda Town Hall and was attended by many representatives of the legal profession and students of the clinical program past and present. In addition to having a wonderful celebration in honour of a wonderful woman, The Susan Campbell Legal Education Visiting Fellowship and Future Fund was launched by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Marilyn Warren. This fund will enable the clinical program to invite distinguished practitioners, academics and clinicians from around the world to Monash and to spend time at SMLS, as part of the clinical program and to contribute their expertise to the program. The ‘Visiting Fellow’ program will be able to expose students at SMLS to different perspectives and innovative practices from around the world.

The dinner was a very successful evening with more than 300 people in attendance. It provided a great forum to launch a sculpture that SMLS had commissioned in Sue’s honour. The sculptor, Norian Paicu, a graduate of the Monash University Faculty of Art and Design met with SMLS staff and with Sue’s family members before designing an abstract piece which now sits in the student work area at SMLS. This provides a constant reminder of Sue’s contribution to SMLS.

New initiatives

Even before the Visiting Fellowship Fund was established, SMLS hosted a visit from a Visiting Academic from the Faculty of Law and Political Science in the National University of Laos (FLP). Mr Khampha spent 3 months with us, to get an idea of how the clinical program runs at SMLS. The visit was funded by the Luxemburg Agency for Cooperation and Development. In conjunction with Bridges Across Borders in South East Asia (BABSEA CLE), the University had set up a clinic on the grounds of the university in 2009.

Mr Khampha was able to evaluate the processes used at SMLS for working with disadvantaged members of the community and consider their relevance for the clinic in Laos. I was fortunate to visit the clinic in 2010 when I was in Vientiane and meet some of the university staff and students. A recent workshop in Laos, attended by clinicians from around the world has further strengthened that program.

This relationship with BABSEA CLE and newly established clinical programs in South East Asia will continue, with staff from two universities in Vietnam, visiting in November 2012.


Chair, SMLS Board

By Sonia ParisiBy international standards, Australia is in a fortunate position economically. Compared to our European and North American counterparts, our unemployment figures, interest rates and levels of indebtedness are low. Yet disadvantage is still with us, and SMLS has never before had so many clients seek our services or ask our advice. The important and sometimes difficult work that SMLS undertakes on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people in Victoria is only possible because of our dedicated staff and volunteers, ably led by Helen and the committed Board of Directors we have. I extend my thanks to you, and to our association members, community partners and Springvale Community Aid & Advice Bureau Inc. (SCAAB) colleagues, for your continued support.

To meet the challenges of such unceasing demand, SMLS staff and Board members attended and actively participated in a Strategic Planning Day held on 5 November 2011. The outcomes of that day, which was a great success, form the basis of our triennial plan for the future of SMLS, and laid the foundations for other strategic planning being undertaken by the Board to position SMLS to respond well and quickly to emerging issues and pressures.

One recent initiative has been the development of the ‘Osborne Avenue Case Watch’ blog, which will soon appear on the SMLS website. The blog, written and managed by our Professional Practice students, aims to generate more informed debate and discussion on sentencing issues. The blog also extends our advocacy role online to an audience which may not have access to other sources of impartial commentary on the outcomes of criminal cases. I invite you to take a look for yourself.

2013 will present an opportunity to look back nostalgically as well as look forward optimistically after four decades of operation. Please keep an eye out for an invitation to the celebrations we are planning in late February / early March 2013 to mark SMLS’s 40th anniversary. Birthday plans are underway to recognise this very special milestone in our organisation’s history, and I hope that you will be able to join us.

Of course, SMLS could not have achieved such an age without the advocacy of champions for our worthy cause. On 20 June 2012, it was a pleasure to see the life and work of Susan Campbell AM recognised by a capacity crowd of legal luminaries, SMLS stalwarts, friends, university colleagues and students. The Memorial Dinner held in Sue’s honour paid tribute to both her extraordinary leadership of the Clinical Legal Education programme and the wider legal service at Springvale, with the unveiling of a commemorative bronze sculpture created by Monash artist Norian Paicu. The Chief Justice of Victoria, the Honourable Marilyn Warren AC QC, also launched the Susan Campbell Clinical Legal Education Visiting Fellowship and Future Fund. The biennial fellowship will enable leading international clinical practitioners to travel to Melbourne and enhance our clinical education knowledge and offerings. I ask you to consider joining me in making a pledge or donation to the fellowship and future fund, which will endow its inaugural fellow in 2013.

Once again, thank you for your continued support to SMLS and the people it assists.

SMLS Evening Volunteers

Annette MURRAY (S)

Belinda SHEN (S)

Chandra KHAM (S)

Chris TWIDALE (S)

Grace KELLY (S)

Jacqui CAUST (S)

Jared HEATH (S)

John LONGO (S)

John O’SULLIVAN (S)

Michelle NGUYEN (S)

Natasha BOOTH (S)

Simon VARSZEGHY (S)

Elizabeth HO (DS)

Frankey CHUNG (DS)

Stephanie GLOVER (DS)

Tiffany DOUGLAS (DS)

Vivek ANAND (DS)

Winnie TSANG (DS)

Aileen DUKE

Alice KIM

Anika BASET

August BARDA

Bei LI

Biao CHEN

Carina MOORE

Chat THOMAS

Cora HODGES

Daniel OPARE

Daphne FOONG

Diksha INDERJEETH

Dzung NGUYEN

Eamon MCERVALE

Elise CALDWELL

Emily STUBBS

Erol CINAR

Hari SUNDARESAN

Hilary HARRISON-SMITH

Holly MULLANEY

Ivan MILUTINOVIC

Janerose O’KELLO

Jarrod LICHTBLAU

Jessica ZARKOVICH

John VAROS

Kasia STRUS

Kirk BERENGER

Lachlan SALT

Luciana RAMOS

Mark LIN

Matthew DALY

Mervynn LOW

Mukesh SHARMA

Ngan HO

Nicholas KONG

Philip XIE

Sally TYERS

Sam HALL

Samuel MASON-SMITH

Sarah BENNETT

Shaan BAJWA

Sharon HUMPHRIES

Simon FULLER

Stephanie MU

Tara PRIVITELLI

Thaca RAMANAIDU

Victor ISLAM

Yvette HAIKAL

Alyce PHAM

Anuja KRISHNAMURTHY

Bree TEH

Bryan LIM

Claudia GHERMAN-BUZAS

Irena PRZULJ

May HILL

Mike COOPER

Roberta HOSKIAN

Rupert LOGO

Sasha SRKULJ

Scott DAVIDSON

Shane KHONG

Subashini RANJANAN

Tessa SETIADI

Zoe PAPAGEORGIOU

Vacated 2011–12

Nia DAVES (S)

Raj BHATTACHARYA (S)

Jeannie CLARIDGE (DS)

Anthony HONG (DS)

Nancy NGUYEN (DS)

Caitlin JAMES

Thasha WARSHAPPERU

Jane LEONG

Monica DOMAGALA

Kate LIGHTFOOT

Cathy LI

Hannah LINOSSIER

Maria Grace WONG

Marta KOWALCZYK

Xinni LIM

Emma NEWNHAM

Nadav PRAWER

Sam SAMARAKOON

Amy YEAP

Thi Mong Thuy LE

Michelle FINEBERG

Emily JOHNSTONE

Astrid ZECENA

Priyanka ALURI

Lynn SALDANHA

Olga PENEVA-PRAKASH

Sophia VLAMIS

Stephanie CLANCY

Andreanna MOSCHOYIANNI

Chrissie DEMOS

Eliza LOCKHART

Jeremy APPEL

Monireh TABAN

Romina WOLL

Stefanie LIM

Augustine STEPHAN

Ilika VASHISHTHA

Diane NGUYEN

Charlie MORSHEAD

Raman BAWA

(S) – Supervisor

(DS) – Deputy Supervisor


Advanced Professional Practice StudentsSMLS/SECASA Joint Legal ClinicVolunteersPhilippa BRIGLIA

Jonathan DOWNEY

Stephanie KOMESAROFF

Kate LIGHTFOOT

Romaine ABRAHAM

Olivia PELS

Fiona MARTIN

Laura CHIPP

Jessica MALIN

Lachlan SMITH

Sharon HUMPHRIES

Dan NYGUEN

Amy LEWIS

Emma BURCHELL

Margaret AUSTIN

Sharynn MOORS

Hollie JOHNSTON

Ellen MURPHY

Sarah-Jane BENNETT

Simon ACCOTT

Vacated 2011–2012:

Patricia ATHANASIADIS

Ali BESIROGLU

Ebony BOOTH

Katie MCGORIAN

Eyal GRENENDE

Nida SAJJADI-EMAMI

Cameron MYERS

James BROWN

SMLS/SECASA Joint Legal Clinic

Laura GAFFEY

Dilsha JAYASEKARA

James BEDOGNI

Migration Program

Solina SAM

Family Violence Program

Katrina LAM

Thea EMETLIS

Student VolunteersFamily Violence Program

Vanessa MAHON

Clinical Legal Education ProgramProfessional Practice StudentsStudents including:Clinical Period 3 2011; Clinical Period 1 2011–2012; Clinical Period 2 2012

Cathryn ANDREWS

Marcel Tan MARQUARDT

Mary-Anne PHILIP

Ellen MURPHY

Simon ACOTT

Frankie-Rae ALEXANDER

James BRYCE

Sarah Jane BENNETT

Samuel BARING

Stephanie MU

Daniel NGUYEN

Ashley GALVIN

Helen COKER

Jarrod LICHTBAU

Shaoxiong LIN

Stefanie MICHIELI

George WANES

Evan HENLEY

Nicholas John RETTY

Jonathan DOWNEY

Hao Ran XU

Biao CHEN

Daniel ERNA

Travis JACKSON

Akiva SZENTAL

Daphne FOONG

Rachael BOURKE

Miki KATO

Josiah KOLOAMANTANGI

Joyce HUI

Yianni KORDOS

Ronald ONG

Elizabeth MORRIS

Joel DOUTCH

Laura GAFFEY

Kiralee MIDDLETON

Linh PHAM

Brett TABAK

Jenna AMOS

Keren BENJAMIN

Lee KONSTABTINIDIS

Emma PALMER

Tom DIXON

Mervyn LOW

Sam MASON-SMITH

Charlotte TRAN

Michelle JEFFREY

Tamsin KHOR

Jen MCGARVIE Anna MEULMAN

Isobel FEBEN

Rachel FITZPATRICK

Dilsha JAYASEKARA

Keryn MIDWOOD

Jackie BISAS

Oliver SMITH

Rachael JONES

Thacayaini RAMANAIDU

Joel BENJAMIN

Ben MCNAIR

Lauren JOHN

Eshali SAMARASINGHE

Ilika VASHISHTHA

Lydia BADOER

Anna-Lisa CHOW

Michael DORN

Sagorika PLATEL

Jordon LEE

Cathryn LEE

Rob SHAFAR

Catherine TAN

Law Reform Community Development:Semester 2 2011, Semester 1 2012

Camille DAVIS

Clare HUGHES

Matthew KAPLAN

Mavis LAW

Talia LEVY

Katie MCGORIAN

Nicolette MURATTI

Annie SANTAMARIA

Sam BARING

Briget O’CALLAGHAN


Board of Directors & Staff

Board Of Directors Sonia Parisi (Chair)

Jared Heath (Vice Chair)

John O’Sullivan (Treasurer)

Simon Varszeghy (Secretary)

David Starvaggi

Anna Hall

Jasmina Kevric

Christine Keys

Adrian Evans (Consultant)

Monash Law Faculty Advisors

Bronwyn Naylor

Azadeh Dastyari

Kathryn James

Ross Hyams

Non Voting Members

Helen Yandell (ED)

Graham Wells (Staff Rep)

David Yarrow* (Consultant)

Marianne Rose*

Margaret Austin* (Staff Rep)

StaffDirector Helen Yandell

Legal Practice Manager Kristen Wallwork Carolyn Stuart**

Administration Manager Joan Thong

Network Administrator (IT) Geerish Joyram

IT Volunteer Ritesh Foolchand

Community Development Worker Viviana Cohn

Civil Litigation Advocate Graham Wells

Family Violence Lawyer Janine Hill-Buxton

SMLS/SECASA Joint Legal Clinic Acting Supervisor Meghan Butterfield Janine Hill-Buxton**

Community Development Workers – Visioning Justice Project Bec Smith** Temar John** Daniel Haile-Michael**

Family Law & Child Support Lawyers Malvina Predecki Jaya Nita Nagendran Alicia de Pedro**

South Eastern Migration Advice Services (SEMAS) Renuka Senanayake Mitra Pirouzgar

SEMAS Volunteers Jeannette Shopland Eric Brunet Shirley Excell Trang Nguyen**

Professional Practice Supervisors Margaret Austin Sally Merrie Natasha Booth

Locum Professional Practice Supervisor David Starvaggi

Coordinator of Volunteers Kei Judd Jason Saultry**

Senior Administration Officer Diane Roberts

Administration Workers Tom Austin Trang Nguyen Cheryline O’Brien Jason Saultry** Nadia Di Battista**

Administration Volunteer Sabrina Lim

Finance Worker Annette Di Battista**

Contractor Annette Di Battista

*Retired

**Vacated 2011–12

Acknowledgements

SMLS wishes to acknowledge the following organisations and people for their ongoing support of our Clinical Programs and service delivery:– Commonwealth and State governments for our operational

funding.

– Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), Roy Reekie and Karina Bourke.

– The Dean and Staff of Law Faculty Monash University for ongoing commitment to the Clinical Program and the exposure of law students to the practise of law within a community legal centre.

– Staff and Committees of Management of our partner organisations at 5 Osborne Avenue, Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau (SCAAB), Springvale Neighbourhood House, and Springvale Learning and Activities Centre.

– Management and Staff of the City of Greater Dandenong for their support, advice and service in attending to SMLS’ requests.

– Peter Power, Magistrate Children’s Court for his services to the student seminar program.

– Loy Kop, Chris Moore, Michelle Middleton for their services to the seminar program and Sheriff’s Appointment Program.

– Magistrate Lesley Fleming, Magistrate Pauline Spencer, Magistrate Gerard Bryant, Magistrate Brian Barrow, Mark McCutcheon, Senior Registrar and all Magistrates and Staff at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court for their continued support of the student seminar program.

– Peter Schumpeter, David Starvaggi, Chris Povey HPLC Principal Lawyer and Lucy Adams HPLC Senior Lawyer for their services to the seminar program.

– Staff of the Federation of Community Legal Centres for support and assistance.

– Private Law firms including Wisewould Mahony, Russell Kennedy, Harris Wake, Baker & McKenzie for their Probono support.

– Refugee & Immigration Legal Centre (RILC), VLA, Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) and Vicbar for their Pro bono Counsel assistance.

– The Professional Practice, Advanced Professional Practice and LRCD students for their commitment, passion, and vitality they bring to the legal service.

– All SMLS volunteers for their ongoing enthusiasm and support in assisting with the Volunteer Program and casework.


SMLS Statistics 2011–2012

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Family, Divorce, Child Support, and Domestic

Violence

Motor vehicle accident &

others

Wills & Power of Attorney

Civil Credit and Debt

Indication of frequent legal matters in 2011–2012

4581 3554 2705

TOTAL NUMBER OF

CLIENTSADVICES CASES

21 24

COMMUNITY LEGAL

EDUCATION

LAW REFORM

Core Service Activities 2011–2012

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Over 80 65–79 50–64 35–49 18–34 Under 18

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Vietnam Sudan Malaysia India China Cambodia Australia Afganistan

Clients by Age Group

Clients Ethnic Backgrounds


Outreach Services

Youthlinks Outreach SMLS continues to provide a service to Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau’s (SCAAB) youth service, Youthlinks. Staff and students of SMLS attend weekly to assist young people with advice on legal problems as well as informally discussing legal issues with young people and Youthlinks staff.

Hampton Park Outreach BusIn February 2012, SMLS partnered with Southern Health to attend the Outreach Bus service in Hampton Park, adjacent to the Community Centre. SMLS attends fortnightly, assisting community members with individual legal advice or providing legal education to groups meeting at the Community Centre.

Dandenong Magistrates CourtSMLS continues to provide legal advice and assistance to applicants (and in cases of conflict of interest, to respondents) in family violence matters. The lawyer attends one day a week as Duty Lawyer. In addition, we actively participate in Court Users meetings, involving representatives of the Court, Magistrates, Victoria Police, Victoria Legal Aid, Case Cardinia Community Legal Centre, WAYSS. Relationships Australia and Court Network.

Overview of Cooperative/Collaborative ActivitiesSCAAB and SMLS continue to work collaboratively to support joint clients, provide legal education and community development activities. Specifically we jointly manage the SEMAS program (refer to SEMAS report). This has also been a year of finalising building plans with the City of Greater Dandenong agreeing to fund the placement of a portable on site. We are planning renovations to make the best use of the space the portable will provide. This has been a year of celebration for SCAAB, seeing 40 years of operation on this site. Birthday celebrations were extensive, and well supported by community members and past staff and supporters. SMLS has worked with its Corner Partners at 5 Osborne Avenue, SCAAB, Springvale Neighbourhood House and Springvale Learning and Activity Centre. We participated in the Harmony Day celebrations held at the Springvale Town Hall.

The Clinical Legal Education Program, in partnership with the Law Faculty Monash University and Monash Oakleigh Legal Service continues to thrive. A highlight for 2012 was the Susan Campbell AM Memorial Dinner, where clinical students,

past and present came together to celebrate the contribution Sue Campbell made to the clinical program and celebrate its success over nearly 40 years.

SMLS and the South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (SECASA) have further strengthened partnerships activities by adding the Making Rights a Reality project (refer to report) to its very successful Joint Legal Clinic for victims of sexual assault.

The City of Greater Dandenong continues to provide support with maintenance of the building at 5 Osborne Avenue. In addition, funds allocated to the purchase of a portable to be placed on the site have been realised this financial year.

Staff at SMLS have ongoing involvement with working groups within the Federation of Community Legal Services, through membership of the Civil Law, Community Legal Education Workers, Infringement and Child Protection working groups. We have also worked collaboratively on the monitoring of Protective Services Officers who have been employed on local railway stations.

The Consortium of services formed to assist unaccompanied humanitarian minors saw success for the client group as a result of this collaboration (refer to SEMAS report). The collaboration continues as policy and practices in this area change.

SMLS staff have been involved in the Victorian Legal Assistance Forum working groups focusing on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities and on Legal Policy.

This past year has seen new partnerships develop.

SMLS has been working with Pacific Island and Maori communities to help them form a peak body called the United Pasifika Council of Victoria (UPCOV), including members of the Cook Island, Tongan,Samoan, Niue Maori and Kiribati communities. The groups has been supported by the City of Casey.

SMLS has also worked with the Consumer and Carer Relations Division of the Mental Health Program at Southern Health and Program Managers at the Dandenong Psychiatric Hospital to develop a proposal for offering generalist legal support to inpatients and outpatients of the hospital. This is due to commence in Mental Health Week, October 2012.

Administration

StaffingThere have been a number of staff changes in the Admin area over the past 12 months. We had farewelled Admin Workers Jason Saultry and Nadia Di Battista. We thank Jason and Nadia for their work and efforts during their time with SMLS and wish them well. At the same time, we welcomed Cheryline O’Brien to the Admin team. Cheryline came to SMLS with a wealth of admin skills and experience which have enhanced our administration processes and add to the invaluable contribution of our team including Tom Austin and Trang Nguyen as well as our Volunteer Admin Worker Sabrina Lim.

In February 2012, the position of Senior Administration Officer was offered to Diane Roberts. This is a new position at SMLS. In addition to the provision of administrative support to the Management Team, it requires the incumbent to undertake a variety of other tasks including finance, drafting and preparation of funding submissions, planning and coordination of meetings and functions, to name just a few.

Work SpaceThere have been many discussions over the past couple of years about optimising the work space in the administration area. These came to fruition in September 2011, when our work area was given a facelift and the walls between offices were knocked down to create an open plan office environment. Consequently, we were able to accommodate an extra work station in the area.

Extra workspace means extra furniture. To furnish the rejuvenated area and in anticipation of future office revamps Helen Yandell secured a quantity of pre-loved office furniture from Monash Law Chambers. Temporary storage of the furniture was initially required and Helen obtained permission from the City of Greater Dandenong to use one of its vacant properties to that end. We thank Monash Law Chambers and the City of Greater Dandenong for their generosity and support at that time.

AdministrationThe Admin staff were always kept busy with providing administrative support to all clients, staff, students and volunteers of the Legal Service. Furthermore, they continue to train, mentor and assist students and volunteers with queries

regarding administrative processes, application of correct office procedures and Community Legal Services Information System (CLSIS) operations.

Moreover, in the last financial year, our service saw a rise in client intake. In correlation, this means an increase in productivity in Admin responsibilities, duties and tasks, as staff enthusiastically rose to and met the challenge. We thank the Admin ‘A’ Team for their hard work, diligence and synergy throughout the year.

In November 2011, our Admin workers also participated in SMLS’ Strategic Planning Day. We thank Diane for organising the venue and all the necessities.

ProjectOn 27th February 2013, this legal service will celebrate its 40th anniversary. We hope to see you there!

Work Experience Students & VisitorsWe have had students from various local schools who have gained an exposure to community legal services.

Students from Monash University Law Faculty Introduction to Legal Reasoning Unit visited during their first few weeks of their law degree and participated in all aspects of the service. Students from the Non-Adversarial Justice Unit participated at SMLS as part of their placement.


Legal Practice Manager Report

From Carolyn StuartSMLS continued to assist a steady stream of clients over the past year. Our day and evening drop- in sessions were always well attended. The numbers confirm the service is well known and has a reputation in the community as a place that offers genuine assistance, particularly to non English speaking clients in our community. SMLS is always looking at ways to develop programs that are responsive to the changing needs of our clients, in how, why and where we provide advice, casework, law reform, community development and legal education.

I decided to leave SMLS in March 2012, so I have tried to leave the student program as organized as I could. While much of this work goes unnoticed, it is always worth streamlining the procedures and processes to avoid the same mistakes being made which ensures a consistent service to our clients. Changes to our National Risk Management Guidelines and the introduction of Accreditation also provided the impetus for us to review how things were done and how to improve. SMLS is taking part in a formal Accreditation process. Once completed and assessed, complying centres will be able to use the National Association of Community Legal Centres Accredited Service logo, indicating that we have a high level of service delivery and governance standards.

Nita Nagendran joined the family law and child support team in September 2011. She came to us from Victoria Legal Aid and has experience in child support. This area is often difficult and quite technical, so we were very pleased to have Nita’s expertise to assist clients with their child support issues.

During the year we started the specialist Wills and Powers of Attorney session. There are very limited services for people on low incomes hoping to get some legal assistance in drafting Wills and Powers of Attorney. SMLS believes that the ability to pay should not be the determinant in accessing a full range of legal services and that low income and CALD clients should be able to have access to the provision of these important documents.

The clinical students continued to surprise us with their enthusiasm and improvement over their time at SMLS. To see their confidence in their own ability grow over the four months is what keeps the supervisors satisfied with their work. It is a pleasure to be part of this development. Thanks to all the supervisors for another successful year.

Thanks to all the staff, volunteers and students for making my years at SMLS both interesting and challenging.

From Kristen WallworkThis is more an introduction report given my role as Legal Practice Manager was for just 1 month prior to the end of the year! Firstly, I would like to acknowledge my predecessor, Carolyn Stuart who has left big shoes to fill. It is clear that Carol put a lot of energy into SMLS ensuring that there were sound practices and procedures in place. A large part of our work towards accreditation (as per NACLC direction) has also been put in order.

I started at SMLS in late May 2012. It was evident immediately that the service has a high volume of clients that come through our doors. It has been my initial focus, acknowledging the volume of work undertaken at the service, to ensure sound risk management practises are employed in all practise areas.

Cheryline (an administration staff member) and I have undertaken to manage our participation in the National Legal Needs and Strategic Planning Project. This is a rollout of a project first piloted in NSW that facilitates the use of internal and external data to profile needs, met and unmet, in our community. This will assist in evidence based strategic planning and ultimately reporting requirements.

There has been a very supportive and open welcome to my commencement at the service. I look forward to reporting back next year!

Here is a selection of work undertaken on behalf of clients of SMLS.

Kristen Wallwork Carolyn Stuart**

**Vacated 2011-2012

Case study 1 – divorce application seeking dispensation of service

Our client lived in India and her marriage to her husband was arranged by family. A couple of years later the wife and husband came to Melbourne to live. The client lived with the husband in a rental home under his control, having no access to money or friends and only going to uni to study when he said she could. The client came home one day to discover her husband had left. She was not overly surprised due to the nature of their relationship, but she was left without any resources. A year after the husband left, the client came to a drop-in legal advice session seeking a divorce. A student engaged in the subject Professional Practice at SMLS handled the file and assisted the client with a divorce application. Unable to find her husband, the client had to dispense with service. The student successfully represented the client at her hearing before the Federal Magistrates’ Court at Dandenong, pursuant to the Student Appearance Program arrangement between the Court and SMLS. The client obtained her divorce and the student was elated to have had the opportunity to appear before the Court.

Case Study 2 – infringements

Our client had sold her car in July 2010 and all transfer documents had been lodged with Vic Roads. After the date of transfer she started to receive Infringement Notices for this car. The period of accumulation was October 2010 to November 2011. Our client contacted the company to whom she had sold the car and was told to send the Infringement Notices to them. However, no action was taken and our client continued to receive Infringements and the process escalated.

The client tried to revoke the infringements herself but her application was rejected. She came to SMLS for help. Our client had 56 Infringements worth several thousand dollars and had lost her driver’s licence as a result.

We contacted the company and it was discovered that a former employee had been driving the car incurring these infringements. They sent through a copy of the transfer and registration details in order for us to apply once again to revoke the Infringements. They were happy to send the infringements onto the former employee and were very cooperative. Despite all logic the Infringements Court rejected the revocation applications citing our client’s inaction in not sending in a nomination earlier! If they had checked their records they would have seen that she had already done this.

We were able to contact the Manager of the Infringements Court who investigated the matter and all Infringement were revoked with no further action being taken against our client.


SMLS/SECASA Joint Legal Clinic

Meghan ButterfieldAnother year down and another clinical period has just started. Our staff numbers are now in the order of 24 which make for very busy Monday afternoons and evenings. We welcomed three new APP students – Laura Gaffey, James Bedogni and Dilsha Jayasekara.

Both outgoing APP students from last trimester; Philippa Briglia and Jonathan Downey are staying with the Sexual Assault Joint Legal Clinic as volunteers. They were exceptional students and we are grateful for their ongoing commitment to the clinic.

Over summer, only one APP student was enrolled – Stephanie Komesaroff. She was not frightened off by the hard work, as she also remained as a volunteer when her course was completed and she is still with the clinic.

At one stage during the year, I received so many new referrals from SECASA that I was short of volunteers needed to do the work. The word passed around SMLS that the clinic needed some help and some wonderful, altruistic souls (former SMLS prof prac students) put up their hands. Enter – Simon Accott, Sarah Jane Bennet, Dan Nguyen and Ellen Murphy. These kind folks have slotted in beautifully to our SMLS/ SECASA family and I am grateful to you all for helping out in my hour of need!

We have also been lucky to secure a volunteer commitment from Sharon Humphries. Sharon was a former clerk of courts at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court and clerked in many VOCAT matters. She is au fait with the Tribunal staff and procedures and is a very handy asset to the clinic.

The clinic seems to continue to grow with 130 activities, the vast majority of which involve applications before the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT). We receive new referrals from the counsellors at SECASA most months as the counsellors are well educated regarding the manner in which we can assist their clients. SECASA has also gone through massive growth under the exceptional leadership of Carolyn Worth so that its catchment area now extends from St. Kilda down to Portsea.

We continue to work closely with the SECASA counsellors. Carolyn Worth attends SMLS to speak to each new group of students about the services offered by SECASA.

Dr. Vivian Waller attended SMLS to talk to the students and volunteers about the possibilities and pitfalls of bringing common law claims for damages for victims of sexual abuse. Dr. Waller has done her PHD on extending the time limits under the Limitations of Actions Act (Vic) to enable victims to bring common law proceedings and she has brought hundreds of such cases in her 20 odd years of practice. Dr. Waller is known as a staunch advocate of victims’ rights and loves nothing more than to take on church groups, government departments – you name it, when the suffering of childhood sexual assault victims is being swept under the carpet. Dr. Waller is a colourful speaker and I hope that the crew got as much out of the talk as I did.

We continue to get wonderful VOCAT results for our clients. We are known for having the most serious sexual assault cases and hence, I feel the Tribunals look at our matters with sympathy and compassion.

I’m nearly done but I can’t sign off without mentioning an extraordinary achievement of one of our volunteers. Fiona Martin started with our clinic as an APP student and then volunteer over four years ago. Fiona resolved that she wanted to make her life work in the law to be prosecuting sex offenders. She wanted to go to the Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) but it was so competitive that she missed out on getting a traineeship there. She got a job where she could and did her articles with a sole practitioner in the city who did no VOCAT work. After completing articles, Fiona made the risky decision of applying for a clerking role with the Victoria Police. Fiona saw it as a backward step that would get her on the right track. She worked hard and within months of starting at Vic Pol, Fiona was asked to take part on the newly funded Solicitors’ program. Within months of commencing that job, a position was advertised in the Appeals Department of the OPP. Fiona nailed the interview and got the job. Within months of taking up that role, a position came up in the Sexual Offences Department of the OPP. She applied and the powers that be at the OPP were so impressed by her hard work, passion and determination that she got the job. I am so proud of this girl. Through sheer tenacity and hard work she has achieved her dream in little over 18 months. A meteoric rise for a genuine star!

(A partnership between SMLS and the South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault)

Family Violence Program

Janine Hill-BuxtonThis year as with last year the statistics for Family Violence illustrate that this is a huge growth area in law. The court lists have been split between Thursday and Monday as the Thursday list was proving to be too large for the staff of the day to manage. At one stage our lists were up to 84 matters which, although we did manage to get through them, pushed all the services to their limits.

With the matters from the Family Violence list on Thursday we are now finding that many of them require much more l egal advice and assistance. The area of Family Violence encompasses Contested Hearings, Family Law, Criminal Law Property Law and of course Victims of Crime Assistance. This year we have been able to further assist our client after their initial hearing at the court in an effort to streamline many of the problems which arise at the court. By assisting the client through the various steps, our Contested Hearings are minimal with an average of two (2) of the matters listed on the day going to Contest. Issues are often sorted at the Directions Hearing stage, making Contested Hearings rare on the Thursday list.

We had two Advanced Professional Practice students in the final clinical period of 2011 Katrina Lam and Thea Emetlis, and although initially they were shocked at the amount of work and the degree of violence that we had to deal with, both students seemed to gain a wealth of experience from the subject. Both students attended court, meetings and gave presentations at both SECASA and WAYSS allowing them to experience the program from the frontline as well as from managing the Victims of Crime Applications. In addition, we thank our Leo Cussen Placement student, Vanessa Mahon who had volunteered her time in this area of law.

SECASA are still our primary referral but this year we have managed to assist a few clients from the court. We are always mindful of the number of files that we can manage with a ceiling of about 30 files given that if we do not have students we still need to be able to assist our clients to the best possible standard. The Victims of Crime Tribunal has been a little slow is finalizing many of our files this year, but we have found that being patient usually amounts to a better outcome for our clients. Interim awards are still available for security with very little delay, so we can ensure that whilst our clients are waiting for the outcome they are still relatively safe.

The program is currently running at capacity which is what we would expect given the statistics. The referral program is working well, with many of the services now being utilized although there are still some gaps which we are currently working on. We will endeavour this year to ensure that respondents that are referred to Relationships Australia attend the program by initiating a follow up procedure. This has been discussed at Court Users’ Meetings resulting in as working with Victoria Police, Relationship Australia and the Magistrates Court to draft a best practice document for such follow ups.

As with last year the Family Violence Program can look forward to further expansion with a link now being available to our Family Law Specialist and Child Support Lawyers. Thanks go to the staff at the Magistrates’ Court Dandenong with a special thanks to Alan Wilkinson who takes the time to ensure clients get the necessary legal advice, Frank Halabi Relationships Australia who has allowed us to assist families in becoming part of the Men’s Behaviour Change Program, a special thanks to Glen Horman, Family Violence Liaison Officer and Phil Ross, Family Violence Liaison Officer from Victoria Police. These people and their programs have made it possible for us to ensure that our clients receive the best legal advice, referrals and follow up that we can provide.

1 www.RobertMcLelland.com.au “A Strong Response to Family Violence Bill Consultation”


Family Law and Child Support

Malvina Predecki Jaya Nita Nagendran

This year at SMLS has been an eventful and productive year. We have welcomed Jaya Nita Nagendran to our team. We have achieved many of our goals this year by continuing on with our casework, law reform and community legal education activities. Paternity matters, Parenting matters, Arrears and Change of Assessment continue to be our main areas of practice.

The parent child bond is the building block of child development and the family is the fundamental unit of society. Relationships are closely linked with good health and general wellbeing and families play a central role in shaping the future of society.

There is a constant search for services that can give sensible, common sense advice for people who have separated and are considering what care arrangements are best for their children and for their own future needs. At SMLS we encourage clients to resolve disputes through negotiation and mediation without going to court.

We support the recent developments to the Family Law Act which came into effect on June 2012 which continued to encourage shared parental responsibility and shared care, where this is safe for children.

We have seen a steady increase in non-English speaking clients who have child support arrears. In one particular case we have been successful through negotiations with the Child Support Agency to have the client’s child support arrears reduced from $5, 253.51 to $371.32 without formally submitting a Change of Assessment application. Here the Child Support Agency retrospectively changed the client’s child support assessments by making income corrections for a period of more than 18 months.

We have continued our partnerships with community groups and organisations that set standards in our areas of practice.

We regularly attend meetings at the Child Support Stakeholder group, now under the umbrella of the Department of Human Services.

– Child Support Network meetings, Victoria Legal Aid.

– Family Law Section, Law Institute of Victoria.

– Community Issues Committee, Law Institute of Victoria.

We have noted that there is a trend in the practice of the Child Support Agency to discourage parents from making an Application for a change of assessments. We will address this issue at the next Child Support Stakeholder meeting.

Malvina Predecki Jaya Nita Nagendran

“Making Rights a Reality” Project – Natasha Booth is a collaborative pilot project with Federation of Community Legal Centres (Victoria) and South Eastern Centre against Sexual Assault (SECASA) and SMLS to assist people with cognitive impairment who are the victims of sexual assault. The project was launched on 24 February 2012.

SMLS is involved in this project by providing legal assistance to victims with applications for compensation from the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal or other compensation avenues. While our current file load is relatively small it is anticipated that it will grow as the type of assistance we can provide is made known throughout the south eastern community. Extra services such as a lawyer visiting a client at his/her home or other venue in circumstances where the client may rely on carers to transport them to appointments; and, the lawyer taking the time to assist the client in understanding the legal process will hopefully make this pilot project a success.

Natasha Booth

Civil Litigation

Graham WellsIt has been another busy year as civil litigation advocate.

Whilst we continue to see various forms of motor vehicle accidents, we are called upon to assist clients with discrimination, unfair and constructive dismissals, association matters, professional practice matters, issues of debt, contractual matters and other civil issues.

Given the nature of civil litigation as a contest, we have had reasonable levels of success in obtaining good outcomes with what are often highly problematic files.

Some of this success is reflected in the following case studies:

Case study 1

Val didn’t speak much English. She needed a car to drive her mother and kids around. Her brother Tony put up most of the money for the car using a finance company. Val then went to the car dealer, paid the balance and the car was given to her. Three months later Val started getting letters and phone calls from the car dealer alleging that she had not paid all the money that was owed.

The dealer referred to a clause in the contract that upon detailed examination had enough ambiguity to cast doubt on the dealers’ version of the facts, and by their conduct in granting possession of the car to our client, the matter settled prior to Arbitration.

Case study 2

Peter was elderly and had been evicted. The landlord was seeking further payment of rent at VCAT. Upon examining the facts, it appeared that there was no tenancy anyway, and that Peter had an equitable interest in the landlord’s property.

Some years earlier, Peter had given his son and daughter in law some money to buy a house. Peter lived with them and helped renovate the house. Peter also contributed to the household using some of his pension and cooked, cleaned and minded the children.

The son and the daughter in law had a falling out, and life for Peter was increasingly uncomfortable to the point that he needed to leave.

At VCAT, the member stated there was no tenancy, and that Peter had an equitable interest. By that stage another organisation had found Peter alternative housing, and he then began measurers to recover his interest.

Case study 3

Mary found herself dismissed from her work. Arguably the dismissal had been constructive, but due to a 14 day limitation period, she was out of time. However she was within the 60 day limitation period available for a general protections dispute.

General protections means that a workplace right has been affected, and in this instance the work place right, was her right to feel safe and respected during the conduct of her work.

At Fair Work Australia, we were able to secure a good outcome for our client, where she received a favourable settlement from her past employer.

All of our clients experience some level of disadvantage, and often there are also issues of mental health. While we are able to address many of the legal problems our clients bring to us, there still seems to be significant unmet legal needs across the community.

Law Reform

Over the last 12 months I have continued my involvement with the Federation of Community Legal Services’ civil law group. One of our ongoing efforts has been to seek reform within the taxi industry. In the recent report by Alan Fels, the SMLS submission was quoted calling for regulatory change.

We have also contributed to the Federation justice policy, and with Social Security Rights Victoria (formerly the Victorian Welfare Rights Unit), sought social security law reform. We maintain links with the Discrimination Law Providers Group.

I enjoy working within the team in response to civil legal needs.


Community Development and Law ReformViviana CohnThis year has seen us continue our engagement with communities with which we have an established relationships as well as forging new ties. Some of the key projects undertaken this year include the following:

Community consultation and relationship building:

Subsequent to joint SMLS Board and Staff planning discussions we have commenced a strategic program to engage various communities with the view of establishing ongoing consultations relating to SMLS Community Development and Law Reform priorities. In collaboration with the SCAAB we have been involved in various community leadership forums particular with the South Sudanese and Burmese Leader communities. We have also been actively involved with the Pacific Island Communities in this region.

Consumers at the Dandenong Psychiatric Hospital have worked with us in relation to legal education activities as well as the establishment of a very exciting outreach legal clinic at Dandenong Psychiatric Hospital due to be piloted in the second half of 2012.

This year also marked SMLS’ participation in the City of Greater Dandenong Race around the Community where teams of young people from various high schools raced each other in a treasure hunt type competition which led to visits to SMLS offices where they were required to play games aimed at providing them with basic legal education relating to the law and their rights as young people. In addition, we were active in the development of the City of Greater Dandenong Quick Flip Guide which has now being published and disseminated to agencies throughout the region with the inclusion of a chapter produced by SMLS entitled “Money and the Law”.

Another first at SMLS was the “Bring Your Bills Day” where in collaboration with SCAAB and with the assistance of the Footscray Community Legal Centre we brought a number of key agencies such as the Telecommunication Ombudsman and Department of Justice to Osborne Avenue enabling community face to face access to these agencies. The community could bring their bills for querying and to enable official complaints to be lodge where relevant. We were fortunate to have been granted a financial contribution from Councillor Roz Blades, City of Greater Dandenong Councillors Donation Fund to run this activity which we may conduct again in the near future.

Law Reform and Community Development Unit (LRCD)

This year we trialled a student presentation forum which formed part of the student assessment in the LRCD unit. The forum involved students publicly presenting their LRCD projects to audiences made up of community partner organisations and potential partners. The feedback from both the students and the community audience was that this first forum was very positive.

The LRCD projects this year included the following:

Intellectual disabilities – Students worked with Inclusion Melbourne on research plans to identify concerns relating to government service funding decisions. This work also involved our students assisting in the preparation of a submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into People with intellectual disabilities and the Criminal Justice System, on behalf of Inclusion Melbourne.

Indigenous community – We continued working with the Indigenous Advisory Council at Monash University in particular relating to lobbying the Faculty of Law at Monash University to include more indigenous law content into the Law Curriculum.

Pacific Island community – Students worked with these communities to establish funding needs leading to SMLS’s involvement in the establishment of a new legal entity representing the Pacific Island Communities in Victoria entitled “UPCOV” (United Pasifika Council of Victoria).

Youth - LRCD students worked with Youthlinks on a range of Legal Education programs including presentation to year ten students at the Noble Park Secondary School about Police Stop and Search Powers in the designated areas.

Sexual Assault and cognitive impairment – This project involved LRCD student undertaking some preliminary research necessary to ensure a smooth rollout of “Making Rights a Reality” project scheduled to begin in January 2012. “Making Rights a Reality” is a project undertaken in collaboration with a number of community partners including SECASA and the Federation of CLC’s which aims to provide support to victims of sexual assault who have a cognitive impairment in reporting sexual assaults.

Viviana Cohn

YIKES!

Bec Smith In response to the increasing numbers of young people from diverse backgrounds who are coming into contact with the criminal justice system in Melbourne, Springvale Monash Legal Service (SMLS) has recently undertaken two projects that seek to turn this reality around.

The first, conducted throughout 2011 is Visioning Justice – a vibrant collection of short radio documentaries made by young people about a range of experiences with the law. A partnership between SMLS and 3CR Community Radio and funded through the Legal Services Board Grants Program, the project succeeded in getting young people’s stories onto the air-waves. Project participants undertook an 8 week training course to support the development of their radio documentaries. Alongside developing their technical skills, participants also had 6 guest speakers to help them interrogate and understand the issues and complexities of the justice system and its impacts, including legal experts, advocates and activists, a Magistrate and a New and Emerging Communities Liaison Officer from Victoria Police.

Working on this project only emphasised for me the importance of hearing about these issues from young people themselves. The media is incredibly powerful, but only certain voices ever get heard. An important part of young people being able to call Australia home is including them in the media and policy debates around issues that deeply affect their daily lives. Questions about policing, use of public space and mandatory sentencing pose a real threat to young people in Melbourne.

The Visioning Justice documentaries provide a compelling ‘vision’ of how communities can positively engage with the criminal justice system. The budding radio journalists present a number of policy recommendations including changes to police accountability systems and changes to treatment of young people in public spaces. As one project participant describes:

‘Even with just laws, if the spirit of these laws is not reflected in the manner in which they are enforced, in my view the justice system will inevitably fail refugee communities. Not only is it the responsibility of the justice system to correct this, but it must ensure that the necessary safeguards are implemented to combat this permanently.’

The Visioning Justice project documentaries are available via podcast at http://www.3cr.org.au/visioningjustice

The second project, published in January 2012, is the Safe Spaces toolkit – designed for agencies seeking to intervene or do work around police/youth conflict. The toolkit promotes ethical, youth-focussed and rights-based approaches to dealing with young people and policing issues. It is targeted to Victorian community, local government, youth and legal sector workers.

Our 2010 research report ‘Boys you wanna give me some action?’ Interventions into Policing of Racialised Communities in Melbourne demonstrated that policing has major impacts on the lives of young people, especially those who are marginalised due to race or religion. These impacts primarily arise out of police/youth tension which, in part, occurs when police enforce notions of acceptable use of public space and young people respond.

Safe Spaces is designed to assist organisations to identify the possibilities for and potential outcomes of interventions into police/youth conflict. We offer suggestions about how to weigh up potential benefits as well as risks, so that educated and considered decisions about how to do, or not to do, this kind of work can be made.

Safe Spaces is not designed to provide a solution to complex issues. Rather we hope to stimulate conversations about how the activities of the relevant sectors contribute to the degree of freedom, safety and support that young people experience. Further we hope to provide tools for those working with young people to approach their work in a way that doesn’t accidently further criminalise, alienate or discriminate against young people, or act as a mechanism of social control by reducing their access to, or entitlement to enjoy public space, safety and liberty.

Safe Spaces seeks to provide tools for those working with young people to approach their work in a way that doesn’t accidently further criminalise, alienate or discriminate against young people, or act as a mechanism of social control by reducing their access to, or entitlement to enjoy public space, safety and liberty.

1 Smith & Reside, Boys You Wanna Give Me Some Action? Interventions into policing of racialised communities in Melbourne (2010) www.fitzroy-legal.org.au/cb_pages/files/LegalAid_RacialAdol_FA2.pdf

(Taken from an article written by Bec Smith for the Youth Affairs Council newsletter.)


SEMAS South Eastern Migration Advice ServiceDuring the past year we have had some noteworthy successes in our advocacy efforts. Notable among these is the positive outcome for our young clients, following the decision in Shahi v Minister for Immigration. Shahi, an unaccompanied minor was assisted by SEMAS to make a visa application for his mother and siblings on ‘split family grounds’. His proposal was refused following a change in DIAC’s policy that the proposer should be under the age of 18, both at the time of visa lodgement and time of decision. The High Court ruled in favour of Shahi finding that the proposer only needs to meet this test once - be under the age of 18 at the time of application. Following this decision, ten of our young clients have approached DIAC to have their family’s visa refusals vacated and applications re-considered. It has also benefitted unaccompanied minors who were affected by this policy change.

Advocacy efforts by the sector have also resulted in DIAC funding services offering immigration assistance to refugee and humanitarian visa holders, who would otherwise have had difficulty accessing such assistance. SEMAS has benefitted from this funding which has enabled the program to continue assisting our client groups with migration advice and assistance.

The broader policy response to our client group, however, has been quite negative with processing within the humanitarian program at a virtual standstill. Previously, applications for visas under the Special Humanitarian Program were decided within 9 to 12 months. In contrast, we have clients awaiting decisions for over 3 years, at present. In 2011-2012 there were only 700 visas granted under the SHP program as opposed to 3000 in the previous year. At present, there are more than 20, 000 people awaiting a decision, 16,000 of which are applications to be re-united with immediate family. The inability to re-unite with families has caused immense stress on our client groups and services assisting them.

SEMAS continues to be the main service providing immigration assistance to unaccompanied minors in Victoria. In addition, we have assisted many refugee and humanitarian entrants with visas for family re-unification under the Humanitarian program and Family visa streams.

Advocacy/Law Reform

We made submissions to the Inquiry into Multiculturalism by Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Migration and addressed the Committee, highlighting issues faced by our client groups. Furthermore, we facilitated a meeting between Federal Member for Parliament Simon Crean and a group of unaccompanied minors who were able to raise their concerns about delays in processing their visa application for family re-unification and experiences of persecution as members of the Hazara community in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Legal education

During the past year SEMAS held information sessions on current trends in Humanitarian Visa Processing, General Information and Family Stream Visas for the Burmese and Afghan Communities and unaccompanied minors.

SEMAS took on its first Advanced Professional Practice student, Solina Sam in July. Solina had the opportunity to work on some complex immigration issues during her placement.

Partnerships

SEMAS has continued to be involved with the Consortium on Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors Law Access Project. This partnership has enabled us to ensure that our young clients have access to a broader range of legal and other community services. Following a grant by the Barr Family Foundation to Foundation House, Eric Burnet, counsellor and migration agent, works at SEMAS providing immigration assistance one day a week. Eric’s presence has enabled us to extend our services.

Appreciations

SEMAS wishes to acknowledge the support and assistance extended to the program by Priscilla Jamieson, Dana Krause and our team of volunteers Dr. Jeanette Shopland, Shirley Excell and Magda Ziadeh.

Mitra Pirouzgar Renuka Senanayake

Volunteer Program

Kei JuddSMLS is fortunate to continue to have the support of a very dedicated group of volunteers who play various roles within the organisation. In the past year, 129 volunteers provided over 10,000 hours of their time to assist clients who came to the service seeking legal advice. As an organisation that started out with volunteers, it is fantastic to see the service continue to be provided to the community with their assistance and dedication.

The past year has seen a few changes to the volunteer program. As in the past years, the end of last year saw a number of long term volunteers leave the program, giving way to a number of enthusiastic new volunteers. We have been fortunate to welcome new Supervisors into the night service as a few departed during the year. We would like to particularly thank Nia Daves for her contribution to the service through the provision of specialist Employment Law advice on a fortnightly basis.

This year, we implemented training sessions for all new casework volunteers who moved up from reception, as a gap in knowledge and training was identified by volunteers. An intensive training session is now offered to new Casework Volunteers that covers interviewing techniques, working effectively with interpreters and writing file notes. The evaluations of the training sessions have been very positive. We have also opened up the seminars that are run in-house for Professional Practice students to volunteers.

SMLS is fortunate and we continue to attract great interest for the program from prospective volunteers. This year, we moved from a paper waiting list to an electronic one, and have created an expression of interest form on our website, which allows volunteers to stay up to date with any upcoming volunteer vacancies or opportunities.

I have been lucky enough to be able to attend two Volunteer Appreciation Events in the year that I have been here. The first event was a night of bowling followed by an intimate dinner. This year, we held a trivia night (back by popular demand!) at SMLS, where our volunteers were tested on their local, legal and general knowledge.

Thank you to all of our incredible volunteers for their time and dedication to the service. Volunteers continue to remain a fundamental part of SMLS. Without volunteers, our capacity to assist community members would be significantly reduced, with huge ramifications to the greater community.


Student’s Perspective

Isobel FebenIt’s honestly quite hard to believe that it was only eighteen or so weeks ago when I began my placement at Springvale Monash Legal Service (“SMLS”) as part of the Professional Practice unit offered at Monash University. I’d always been a little shy; a little unsure of my abilities, but at this particular point in my life – gosh – I was in a real pickle. A sort of ‘quarter-life crisis’ you could call it. Just a few subjects away from completing my law degree, I started to really grapple with where I would go, and what I would do after graduating. I’d always felt a little ‘different’ from other law students: I didn’t have a perfect Grade Point Average (“GPA”), I hadn’t done a clerkship, and I hadn’t even heard of ‘Mallesons’ until earlier this year (the student telling me about her grad position there honestly looked at me like I was some sort of alien after asking her what it was). And most of all, I couldn’t silence that little voice inside my head which told me that I hadn’t yet come across anything in my law degree which had really grabbed me, or inspired me. I hadn’t found a passion - and to be honest, I felt quite apathetic about spending 40+ hours of my life every week doing something kind ‘mediocre’ or something that I didn’t feel at least a little bit passionate about.

So as the clinical period at SMLS approached, I found myself becoming increasingly anxious. Was I ‘cut out’ to perform in a ‘legal’ position? Or was I really just out of my depths? I mean, I hadn’t ever had a job that even slightly resembled a position at a law firm or community legal service - sure, I could do a professional blow wave or make a great skinny latte - but when it came to interviewing clients, communicating legal advice and managing files, I felt an overwhelming sense of self-doubt. Would I be able to speak like a professional or more rather, ‘like a lawyer?’ How would I respond to sensitive issues, such as situations of family violence? Was I assertive enough to handle intimidating or aggressive clients? Or was I just too fragile, too sensitive?

Looking back, it’s actually quite funny how quickly these initial concerns and doubts that I had just simply dissolved. What I didn’t realise before starting at SMLS, was how warm and welcoming the atmosphere at the legal service would be. We worked under the guidance of the most lovely and approachable supervisors, who throughout the eighteen week period provided us with continued support, encouragement and guidance. The patience of the supervisors and the staff at SMLS truly helped to make the experience such a rewarding one, with their expertise and approachability providing the climate for individual improvement and growth.

Over my eighteen weeks at SMLS I learnt how to speak ‘like a professional’ (realising that the communication skills I had learnt in what I thought were completely ‘unrelated’ part time jobs were actually quite transferrable), I communicated advice in relation to almost every legal issue I could have ever imagined, I effectively dealt with difficult and aggressive clients, and, I realised that aspects of myself which I once thought of as weaknesses, could actually be harnessed and used as strengths. I’ve also started developing more self confidence, and while I may not always get the best marks at uni or have the most experience in legal jobs, working at SMLS has helped me to recognise that I do in fact have some valuable skills and attributions which could actually be quite beneficial should I decide to practice as a legal practitioner: I have a strong sense of my own values, I’m by nature a very empathetic person and I feel that I am able to develop quite an astute understanding and appreciation of client’s concerns and needs.

I think, however, the most valuable thing I gained from my time at SMLS was the opportunity to see the real and practical impacts of the law. In such a competitive environment at university, we seem to spend so much of our energy and focus on perfecting our exam notes and achieving a high GPA and in doing so, we forget that the laws and policies we spend so many hours learning and studying are actually affecting real people, every single day. I think as law students we need to think critically about the law and its impacts and I think a rounded law school experience should involve not only the substantive and procedural law, but also the practical: I mean, how deep is an understanding of the law without seeing the interaction of the law with the lives of real people and real communities?

And believe it or not, seeing this ‘human’ aspect of the law has actually brought a breath of fresh air into my law studies. My eyes no longer have that tendency to glaze over in lectures: instead, I find myself relating what I’m learning to real life scenarios, and how I might advise a client in such a situation. And, during those late nights when I’m trying to wrap my head around painfully difficult concepts like indefeasibility or when reading page after page of case law, I’m no longer thinking to myself ‘why on EARTH did I chose to study law?’, As corny as it may sound, my time at SMLS has helped me to realise that they are in fact areas of the law that I feel drawn towards, or even passionate about, and I’m starting to think that a career in law might just be anything but mediocre.

Lawyers’ Practice Manual, Victoria

Ross Hyams, Editor“The more things change, the more they stay the same”

This phrase seems very apt in the context of the Lawyers’ Practice Manual. As Editors, we are dealing with constant change to the law and procedure and yet the work of the Manual continues in an unwavering fashion, as it has since 1985. We rely on a strong and cohesive group of dedicated Editors and an entire phalanx of talented and steadfast volunteer authors who give their time, intellect and skills simply because they believe in the importance of the Manual. The LPM has become a three volume behemoth which is ably coordinated and whipped into shape by Sandra McCullough, our tireless Editorial Coordinator. The LPM has been the flagship of SMLS for many years, not only bringing the Legal Service publicity but it has also been able to make a substantial and important contribution to SMLS finances.

This year, as in previous years, we have seen various changes to the law and legal processes which our authors have taken in their stride, sometimes having to completely junk a chapter and take on an entire re-write because the law has moved onwards. Because they are committed to their involvement in the Manual, this is usually done with a philosophical shrug of the shoulders – we cannot expect the law to remain static and nor should it! As Editors, sometimes we have to encourage our authors to fit an update (or indeed an entire re-write) into their busy lives, but the promise of a chocolate frog is usually enough to goad them into action.

The LPM can be found (in paper or on-line version) in a huge range of legal and professional offices around Victoria. It is an essential tool in the clinical program and has been a boon for students, new practitioners and more experienced practitioners moving into unfamiliar areas of law and legal practice. Its work continues unabated – it is an exceptionally worthy project, supported by a large assemblage of very worthy volunteers.


Finances

Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc. gratefully acknowledges the following organisations for their funding during 2011–2012:

Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc.|| ANNUAL REPORT 2011-2012 Page 41

Finances Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc. gratefully acknowledges the following organisations for their funding during 2011-2012:

Commonwealth Government Generalist Child Support Civil Litigation

$ 106,388 115,748 84,576

State government Generalist Child Support Civil Litigation Family Violence Compliance Bonus Monash University Law Faculty Clinical Legal Education Program In Kind Support City of Greater Dandenong (provided premises, including maintenance and security) Legal Services Board Safe Spaces Project Federation of Community Legal Centres Inc. Making Rights a Reality Project Springvale Community Aid & Advice Bureau Afghan Immigration Advice Project Specialist Immigration Project

164,420 6,960 5,064 23,048 2,901

348,688 175,000

32,849

6,962 30,000 73,550

Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc. Statement of Financial Performance for the year ended 30 June 2012

Jul 2011 - Jun

2012 Jul 2010 - Jun

2011 Ordinary Income/Expense Income Community Leg Serv Proj Funding 509,105.00 497,631.00 Fundraising/Donations 639.64 1,041.62 Interest Received 44,944.43 27,016.66 LPM Royalties 68,063.52 71,661.25 Other Grants 537,431.18 458,277.69 SMLS/SECASA Costs Recovered 28,920.90 37,552.34 Sundry Income 0.00 10,180.47 Total Income 1,189,104.67 1,103,361.03

Expense Capital Equip - Losses on Disposal 314.24 2,815.02 Client Disbursements 691.52 817.21 Communications 12,178.38 9,782.16 Depreciation Charge 13,926.13 14,742.87 Editorial Work 39,616.10 39,020.69 LPM Donation to S Campbell Fellowship 5,000.00 0.00 Finance and Accounting Fees 31,481.24 14,976.64 Insurance 3,271.91 2,893.94 Interpreters 60.00 180.00 Library Resources Subscriptions 15,057.59 13,328.89 Minor Equipment Purchase 1,313.95 3,272.95 Office Overheads 29,761.33 26,382.93 Other Premises Costs 45,895.88 60,914.61 Programming & Planning 2,819.21 1,202.14 Repairs and Maintenance 695.96 42,080.90 Staff Recruitment 430.00 1,178.14 Staff Training 8,973.51 8,856.95 Staffing Costs 855,016.93 809,723.94 Sundry Expenses 47,199.81 5,142.55 Travel 794.49 978.52 Total Expense 1,114,498.18 1,058,291.05

Net Income 74,606.49 45,069.98


Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc. Statement of Financial Position As of June 30, 2012 Jun 30, 2012 Jun 30, 2011

ASSETS Current Assets Chequing/Savings NAB Business Cash Maximiser A/c 370,836.13 306,557.19 NAB Term Deposit 19-294-6422 500,000.00 500,000.00 Petty Cash 186.90 104.15 Petty Cash - S McCullough 100.00 100.00 SMLS Cheque A/C 7,077.87 3,546.04 Total Chequing/Savings 878,200.90 810,307.38 Accounts Receivable 815.70 389.70 Other Current Assets - SMLS Trust A/C 0.00 165.43

Total Current Assets 879,016.60 810,862.51 Fixed Assets Office Furn. & Equip. - CLSP Accumulated Depreciation -13,029.81 -25,609.50 At Cost 14,579.00 28,038.00 Total Office Furn. & Equip. - CLSP 1,549.19 2,428.50 Office Furniture & Equip - SMLS Accumulated Depreciation -36,508.78 -25,847.72 At Cost 84,329.11 84,671.48 Total Office Furniture & Equip - SMLS 47,820.33 58,823.76

Total Fixed Assets 49,369.52 61,252.26

TOTAL ASSETS 928,386.12 872,114.77

LIABILITIES Current Liabilities Accounts Payable 16,511.39 16,589.24 Credit Cards - NAB Business Visa 2,614.89 629.16 Other Current Liabilities Grants Received In Advance Legal Services Board 0.00 77,274.54 Monash Uni 153,499.00 144,810.02 Total Grants Received In Advance 153,499.00 222,084.56 Net GST Collected 15,503.11 13,215.81 Payroll Clearing Accounts Benefits Plus Salary Packaging 3,866.61 0.00 PAYG 15,312.61 7,986.33 Superannuation 15,742.02 10,632.17 Total Payroll Clearing Accounts 34,921.24 18,618.50 Salary and Wage Accruals Provision - Annual Leave 40,339.37 40,017.34 Provision - Long Service Leave 32,358.12 24,324.74 Provision - Maternity Leave 41,668.48 41,668.48 Provision - Sick Leave 25,000.00 25,000.00 Total Salary and Wage Accruals 139,365.97 131,010.56 Sundry Creditors and Accruals Provision - 40th Birthday Celebrations 20,000.00 Provision - Outreach 20,000.00 20,000.00 Provision - SMLS Rebranding 10,000.00 Provision - Office Renovation 61,397.09 70,000.00 Total Sundry Creditors and Accruals 111,397.09 90,000.00

Total Other Current Liabilities 454,686.41 474,929.43

TOTAL LIABILITIES 473,812.69 492,147.83 NET ASSETS 454,573.43 379,966.94

EQUITY Retained Earnings 379,966.94 334,896.96 Net Income 74,606.49 45,069.98 TOTAL EQUITY 454,573.43 379,966.94

Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc. Statement of Cash Flows As of June 30, 2012 Jun 30,2012 Jun 30,2011 $ $ CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES Receipts from Customers 1,143,735 1,080,385 Payments to Suppliers and Employees -1,118,593 -874,145 Interest Received 44,944 27,017 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 70,086 233,257 CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES Payments for Property, Plant & Equipment -2,358 -38,234 Proceeds on Sale of Plant & Equipment - 5025 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities -2,358 -33,209 Net increase in cash held 67,729 200,048 Cash at beginning 810,473 610,425 Cash at end 878,202 810,473 a. Reconciliation of Cash 2012 2011 Cash at the end of the financial year as shown in the statements of cash flows is reconciled to the related items in the statement of financial position as follows: Cash on hand 878,201 810,308 Held in Trust Account - 165 Bank overdrafts — secured - - 878,201 810,473 b. Reconciliation of Cash Fow from Operations with Profit from Ordinary Activities Profit/(loss) from ordinary activities after income tax 74,606 45,070 Non-cash flows in profit from ordinary activities Amortisation - - Depreciation 13,926 14,743 Provision for doubtful debts - - Write-downs to recoverable amount - 605 Net loss on disposal of plant and equipment 314 -2,815 Changes in assets and liabilities (Increase)/Decrease in trade debtors -426 4,041 (Increase)/Decrease in other receivables - - (Increase)/Decrease in inventories - - (Increase)/Decrease in prepayments - - (Increase)/Decrease in other assets - - Increase/(Decrease) in trade creditors -78 3,556 Increase/(Decrease) in income tax payable - - Increase/(Decrease) in deferred taxes - - Increase/(Decrease) in other creditor and accrued liabilities -48,010 114,902 Increase/(Decrease) in provisions 29,754 53,155 Cash flows from operations 70,086 233,257

OFFICE FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT MOVEMENT: CLSP SMLS TOTAL

Balance at 1 July 2011 2,428.50 58,823.76 61,252.26 Additions 0 2,357.63 2,357.63 Disposals 13,459.00 2,385.76 15,844.76

Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc.|| ANNUAL REPORT 2011-2012 Page 45

Auditor’s Report

OFFICE FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT MOVEMENT: CLSP SMLS TOTAL

Balance at 1 July 2011 2,428.50 58,823.76 61,252.26 Additions 0 2,357.63 2,357.63 Disposals 13,459.00 2,385.76 15,844.76 Write down in value of assets -13,459.00 -2,700.00 -16,159.00 Depreciation expense -879.31 -13,046.82 -13,926.13 Balance at 30 June 2012 1,549.19 47,820.33 49,369.52

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Auditor’s ReportAUDITOR’S REPORT

Documents

Contents AR2012_FA1.pdf · Solina SAM Family Violence Program Katrina LAM Thea EMETLIS Student Volunteers Family Violence Program Vanessa MAHON Clinical Legal Education Program Professional