Aboriginal Legal Aid Hotline

Aboriginal Legal Aid Hotline

The Law Society of New South Wales may refer you to private lawyers in your area. They can also tell you about private lawyers who provide legal aid. Call the Law Society`s Lawyer Reference Service on 02 9926 0300. We offer free appointments of about 20 minutes to talk to a lawyer about your legal issue. If you need more help, we can hire a lawyer to help you with your case if you qualify for legal aid. This publication is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice, and we recommend that you talk to a lawyer about your situation. If you need ongoing legal assistance from a lawyer, you will need to apply for “legal aid”. The best place to start is to call the free lawaccess NSW helpline, which can help you right away. They will give you free information and, in some cases, legal advice on your legal problem. Or they can refer you to another service. You can call LawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529. You can also visit their website under www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au Granting Legal Aid means that a lawyer working for Legal Aid NSW or a private lawyer paid by us will represent you.

On 1 July 2020, South Australian Attorney General Vickie Chapman announced that the state government would introduce a formal SNC after Labour Party spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Kyam Maher wrote to Prime Minister Steven Marshall in June that he would submit a bill to Parliament to make service compulsory. [8] This would legally require SAPOL to notify the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) when an Indigenous person is taken into custody. This had been done informally for some time, but the legal requirement “would help ensure that Aboriginal people receive culturally appropriate support for their well-being and basic legal advice as soon as possible after their imprisonment.” Ordering the measure would also mean that an official who refuses or fails to comply “could be subject to disciplinary proceedings”[30] under the Police and Discipline Complaints Act 2016. [8] [31] This decision was welcomed by the ALRM, which had been advocating it for years. [9] The Summary Offence Amendments (Custody Notification Service) Regulations, 2020 were published on July 2, 2020. [32] The Best for Kids website contains legal information and resources for youth and families on a variety of legal issues: www.bestforkids.org.au WDVCAS help women and children who are victims of domestic violence obtain legal protection in court. Call 1300 WDVCAS (1300 938 227) or visit our website for your nearest service. Our phone support staff is also available to chat with you online. Simply click on the “Let`s talk!” icon on the right side of your screen to get legal help.

Our Law Talk program was funded by the Government of the Northwest Territories. In October 2016, the Attorney General of Australia appointed the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to investigate the factors behind the disproportionate number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian prisons and to look for ways to reform legislation that could mitigate this “national tragedy”. The result of this in-depth investigation was a report entitled Pathways to Justice – Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, received by the Attorney General in December 2017 and presented to Parliament on March 28, 2018. [11] The report contained 13 recommendations covering many aspects of the legal framework, police and judicial procedures, including:[12][13] Legal aid is not free. Most people have to pay a contribution to the legal costs of their case. Consult our resources or order them from: www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/publications If you have applied for legal aid and would like to check the status of your application, you can contact the Grants Department on 02 9219 5880. Our staff can help you fill out the form and let you know if you are eligible for legal aid. It is best to speak to one of our lawyers before applying for legal aid. You may be able to get help with your legal problem without having to go to court.

Out-of-hours notices about an incarcerated person or other appeals are initially made by CSOs that are formed for most applications. If complex legal advice is required, requests will be forwarded to VALS` duty counsel. Legal information can be found on the Find Legal Answers website in www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au and local public libraries in New South Wales. We have offices all over New South Wales. We also visit over 200 other locations in urban and regional areas of New South Wales where you can stop or make an appointment to discuss your legal issue. If you have been taken into custody, you have the legal right to speak immediately to a lawyer from the Aboriginal Legal Service. This is called a on-call notification service (CNS). It is a 24-hour legal advice service and a RU OK telephone line for Aboriginal people who are in police custody. More information about our services can be found on our website www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au Wirringa Baiya is a community law centre for Indigenous women, children and youth living in New South Wales.

They provide free legal advice and representation in relation to domestic violence. Call: 1800 686 587 To learn more about veterans` rights and rights, call 02 9219 5148 or email: [email protected] CLC give free legal advice and help with all kinds of legal matters. Call 1300 888 529 or look for a centre near you in: www.clcnsw.org.au. To apply for legal aid, you must complete an application form. The application form can be obtained from: You can find your nearest NSW legal aid office on our website at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au Recommendation 14-3: Commonwealth, state and territory governments should introduce a legal obligation for police to contact an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal service or equivalent service as soon as possible. after an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person was detained for any reason – including protection. A maximum period within which the notification must be made should be set. [14] A Custody Notification Service (SCN), sometimes referred to as the Custody Notification System, is a 24-hour legal advice and support telephone line for any Australian Indigenous person who is in detention and connects them with lawyers from the Aboriginal Legal Service operating in their state or territory. It aims to reduce the high number of deaths of Aboriginal people in custody by countering the effects of institutional racism. Legislation requiring police to notify the legal service when a person is taken into custody by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people is considered essential to ensure compliance and a clear record of events. Where custody notification services have been put in place, the number of Deaths of Aboriginal People in Custody has decreased. Katherine Women`s Information & Legal Services (KWILS) Shop 5 Katherine Arcade, Katherine PO Box 1194, Katherine, NT, 0851 Phone: (08) 8972 1712 or 1800 620 108 | Fax: (08) 8972 1572 North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) – Alice Springs 55 Bath Street, Alice Springs PO Box 1670, Alice Springs, NT, 0870 Phone: (08) 8950 9300 or 1800 636 079 | Fax: (08) 8953 0784 Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service (CAALAS) – Tennant Creek 68 Paterson Street, Tennant Creek PO Box 56, Tennant Creek, NT 0861 Phone: (08) 8950 9300 or 1800 636 079 | Fax: (08) 8953 0784 Friends and family of prisoners can call 02 8688 3888 and request the Legal Service for Prisoners.

We also have Indigenous field agents to help you with money worries and family law. If you need to speak to an Indigenous Field Officer, please contact our Central Sydney office on 02 9219 5000 or the Indigenous Legal Department on 1800 765 767. Atunypa Wiru Minyma Uwankaraku Domestic Violence Service PO Box 2189, Alice Springs, NT, 0871 Phone: (08) 8950 5420 or 1800 180 840 | Fax: (08) 8952 5476 We also do not go to the police stations and inform you by phone if you are arrested. However, if you are under 18, you can call our youth hotline at 1800 10 18 10. On June 13, 2020, it was announced that the federal government would fund the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), which was already providing an informal version, to provide an expanded CNS service after the Parliament of Victoria passed new legislation. $2.1 million would be allocated over three years to implement the service. [29] North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS) – Darwin 32 Dripstone Road, Casuarina PO Box 43104, Darwin, NT 0811 Phone: (08) 8923 8200 or toll free 1800 041 998 | Fax: (08) 8941 6020 We advise and represent children involved in criminal cases before juvenile courts and have mandatory lawyers in other courts.