Illawarra legal Centre InC AnnuAl RepoRt 2011- · PDF filePhillip Dicalfas Principal Solicitor...

Illawarra Legal Centre Inc Annual Report 2011 - 2012

© Illawarra Legal Centre Inc 20127 Greene Street (PO Box 139)Warrawong NSW 2502Telephone 02 4276 1939Facsimilie 02 4276 1978www.illawarralegalcentre.org.au

Illawarra legal Centre InCAnnuAl RepoRt

2011-2012

Illawarra Legal Centre Inc Annual Report 2011-2012

© Illawarra Legal Centre Inc 2012

7 Greene Street (PO Box 139)

Warrawong NSW 2502

Telephone 02 4276 1939

Facsimilie 02 4276 1978

www.illawarralegalcentre.org.au

Cover image: Becky Guggisberg, Carefree 2012, Oil on canvas

Chairperson’s Message 2

Coordinator’s Report 3

Centre Workers, Management Committee and Volunteers 4

ILC Snapshot 6

Illawarra Legal Centre Catchment Area 7

The Year in Review 8

Aboriginal Legal Access Program 10

Finances / Administration 11

Child Support Project 12

Children’s Court Assistance Scheme 13

Financial Counselling, Credit and Debt Legal Services 16

General Law Project 18

Tenants Service 21

Welfare Rights Service 23

Community Legal Education 25

Law Reform & Human Rights 27

Financial Reports (extract only) 28

Contents

Illawarra legal Centre InC annual report 2011 - 2012 1

Prevention is Better

The Illawarra Legal Centre (ILC) is part of the community legal centres movement across Australia. Community legal centres (CLCs) seek to improve access to justice for those with the greatest legal needs. CLCs as grassroots community organisations are uniquely positioned to deliver services that focus on prevention that not only assists individuals but also has wider social value. CLCs provide direct legal services to individuals in the form of legal advice and casework and indirect services to the community in the form of community legal education.

On the individual level, the preventative work of CLCs assists people to solve legal problems before they escalate and reach the courts where high costs and stress take a toll on all parties involved. At the community level, by providing community legal education about legal rights and avenues for conflict resolution, CLCs build capacity for self-help and equip people to access justice.

The value for individuals and for the broader community is achieved both in the avoided costs of expensive litigation to the individual and society, and also in the public benefit of education about rights, and the increased capacity for people to make informed choices and to take action for themselves.

CLCs work to improve both the justice system and peoples’ access to justice through policy and law reform work. This work is grounded in what we learn from people using our advice and casework services. As former High Court Judge Michael Kirby says:

“To provide effective laws and lawyering, it is necessary to go beyond solving immediate problems. Lurching from one problem to the next, without examining the underlying causes of the difficulty, leads to band-aid mentality.”

Illawarra Legal Centre has over the years used innovative ways to present community legal education and policy and law reform projects. Community stalls, media projects, performance and presentations designed for specific groups are part of our legal education work which increases peoples’ capacity to understand and access the justice system.

The value to society of community legal centres has been assessed by an independent study, to be of the order of 1:18. As Judy Stubbs, the principal author of the study explains:

“…that is, for every dollar spent by government on funding CLCs, these services return a benefit to society that is 18 times the cost. To express it in dollar terms, if the average held constant for CLCs across Australia, the $47 million spent on the program nationally in 2009/10 would yield $846 million of benefit to Australia.”

However it is measured, either in dollar terms or in personal and social value, it can be demonstrated that the preventative work of CLCs is of benefit to each and every one of us.

Truda GrayCentre Coordinator

Coordinator’s ReportChairperson’s Message

Truda GrayJudy Stubbs

Though I have been closely involved with the Illawarra Legal Centre for many years, and seen many accomplishments, changes and challenges in that time, the events of this year have made me feel even more privileged to be involved in the sector than perhaps at any other time.

Individually, the Illawarra Legal Centre (ILC) retains a clear focus on providing access to justice for those most disadvantaged in the community through our diverse programs and activities. Our base in Warrawong places us firmly within one of the most disadvantaged and high need communities in the nation, whist we increasingly reach out to diverse groups and geographic areas through effective outreach, innovative service delivery methods, and increased focus on those with special access needs including Aboriginal people, more isolated regional communities and young people.

As a sector, two national projects which I was fortunately selected to undertake for National Association Community Legal Centres (NACLC) have had a huge impact on the way I see the sector. The first, the National Legal Needs Strategic Planning Project, strongly indicates that those communities close to a CLC or with a well-functioning outreach project, have a much greater likelihood of providing access to services. Those where there is no proximate CLC overwhelmingly generate no legal matters which means that whole communities, often highly isolated and disadvantaged, lack the most fundamental access to justice. The serious inequality in access to justice evident across Australia does not arise from a simple rural/regional-city divide, as is often contended, but is vitally a result of the physical presence and effective outreach and access provided by CLCs.

The Social Cost Benefit Analysis of CLCs in Australia, demonstrates overwhelmingly the social and economic value that the Australian community gains from the way in which access to justice is delivered by CLCs, and in particular, the holistic, preventative and flexible delivery of services within a rights based framework. CLCs are unique among publicly provided legal services and other access to justice measures in the way they meet the equity objectives of government. Moreover, CLCs provide a major economic benefit to the community through facilitating the proper operation of the legal system, providing cost effective service delivery, early intervention, multi-service delivery, and avoiding costs arising from the unintended consequences of the law, such as institutionalisation, homelessness and the like.

I commend to the reader this Annual Report, which can only touch briefly on the range of programs and activities that make the Illawarra Legal Centre an essential component in access to justice in our region.

Judy StubbsChariperson

Illawarra legal Centre InC annual report 2011 - 2012 Illawarra legal Centre InC annual report 2011 - 2012 2 3

StaffPhillip Dicalfas Principal SolicitorLucy Houweling Generalist Solicitor Tracey Iskra Generalist SolicitorTrevor Collier Credit and Debt Solicitor/IT ConsultantMaroun Germanos Financial CounsellorCarolyne Turner Child Support SolicitorLinda Meyns Generalist Solicitor (LWOP from January 2012)

Truda Gray Centre Coordinator (Acting Coordinator, July 2011 – March 2012)Vesna Horley Receptionist/Administrative Officer/IT AdministratorEleonora Raseni Administrative Officer/IT Administrator

Catherine O’Neill Financial AdministratorAlexis Porritt Bookkeeper (resigned December 2011)Cecilia Roesler Bookkeeper

Sharon Callaghan Children’s Court Assistance Scheme CoordinatorLinda Brazier Community Legal Education Worker Stacy Timms Aboriginal Legal Access Worker (resigned August 2011)Della Chaounne Aboriginal Legal Access Worker

Ian Turton Welfare Rights SolicitorLiz Turnbull Welfare Rights Solicitor

Yasmine Khan Tenancy Team Leader Warren Wheeler Tenants Advocate – (Acting Team Leader, July 2011 – March 2012)Jenna McConnachie Tenants AdvocateLeah Janetzki Tenants Advocate Jody Clark Tenants Advocate (resigned October 2011)

Relief and Contract StaffWendy Mills Administrative OfficerEunice Harding Administrative OfficerGlenda Stares Family Law SolicitorTom McDonald Tenants AdvocateElizabeth De Freitas Tenants Advocate

Management CommitteeJudy Stubbs ChairJohn Littrich Deputy ChairRay Clack SecretaryNick Guggisberg TreasurerMichael McGrath Committee MemberBelinda Hawker Committee MemberBrendon Fitzgerald Committee Member

Children’s Court Assistance Scheme Seconded StaffMatt Ball Wollongong Youth ServicesJasminka Cicic Illawarra Multicultural ServicesLauren Gallina Southern Youth and Family ServicesEileen Gibson Southern Youth and Family ServicesMaxyne Graham Warrawong Community Development ProjectAmy Hans Southern Youth and Family ServicesDanna Nelse The Rail Neighbourhood AssociationGlenda Pearce Interchange IllawarraDavid St Quintin Drug and Alcohol Community Youth TeamTamara Smedley Central Illawarra Youth ServicesScott Wood Southern Youth and Family ServicesNathan Hynd Southern Youth and Family ServicesTara Turnbull BarnardosSlavia Dedovic Illawarra Multicultural ServicesBeatrice Murekatete Illawarra Multicultural ServicesDiana Proksch Illawarra Multicultural Services

Volunteer SolicitorsLachlan Bryant Dawson LawyersMark Bye BIC LegalEleisha Constable RMB LawyersKim Cooper DGB LawyersMartin Culleton Russell McLelland BrownRobert Davidson Williamson & IsabellaMichael Davies Maguire & McInerneyCatherine Geenty Caroll & O’DeaDanaë Harvey Danaë HarveyJames Isabella Williamson IsabellaLeila Kraushaar Creswick McCarthyKerry Kyriakoudes Hansons LawyersBill Lawson William LawsonMichael McGrath Russell, McLelland & BrownAnne Mowbray Verekers LawyersMelea Mullard Kelly Mullard White SolicitorsDavid Potts Kells the LawyersPeter Robinson Williamson & IsabellaMichael Sergent Legal Aid NSWHelen Volk Helen Volk LawyersMichelle Walsh Turner FreemanTony Williamson Williamson & IsabellaAnn Woods Hansons LawyersGreg Woods Hilton King SolicitorsCassandra Vatovec Rachel Stubbs & AssociatesEmily McLaren UNIFAMLinda Wright DGB LawyersCourtney Bowie Gadens Lawyers

University and TAFE VolunteersCarly KerrBelinda KundeNicholas AroutsidisCharlie TaylorPhillip Jones Mary-Kate Rankin Tony ValentinettiLiam SheenAaron BoomKim BusuttilDaniel McIlgormCorrine Baird Rachel Walls Elizabeth Lathlean Skye Rae

Centre Workers, Management Committee and Volunteers


The Illawarra Legal Centre is located in Warrawong, within the Illawarra region, south of Sydney. We provide free legal advice and assistance across the local government areas of Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama. In addition to these areas, the Tenants Service reaches as far as the Wingecaribee, Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla and Bega Valley areas.

The Illawarra Legal Centre acknowledges that we work on Aboriginal land, traditionally the home of the Dwaral Nation.

Our Mission StatementThe Illawarra Legal Centre assists people to realise their legal rights. We promote social justice for all, with a particular focus on reaching those who experience social and economic disadvantage in the Illawarra and surrounding areas.

ILC Snapshot

Our aims are to:

• maintain services relevant to the diverse community of the Illawarra and surrounding areas

• provide advice, advocacy and/or referral on a full range of legal matters to the Illawarra and surrounding areas

• undertake policy analysis, review existing laws and to lobby in relation to law reform and legal processes which affect the rights of those in our community

• develop and implement community legal education programs which are both proactive, as well as responsive to community needs

Hours of operationThe Centre is open to the public on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9.00 am until 5.00 pm, and on Thursday from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm. It is closed every day between 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm.

Advice ServicesGeneral Law phone advice is provided for a total of six hours over three days per week; Financial Counselling is available seven hours over three days and Welfare Rights for four hours. The Tenants Service provides phone advice for twenty hours per week.

Child Support, along with Welfare Rights and Financial Counselling can be available outside the scheduled hours where possible.

TELEPhonE AdVICE TIMES

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

General Law4276 1939

2.30 – 4.30pm 10 – 12 noon 2.30 – 4.30pm

Financial Counsellor4276 1939

2 – 4.30pm9.30am – 1pm

and 2 – 3.30pm

Tenants Service4274 3475 or 1800 807 225

9am – 1pm 9am – 1pm 9am – 5pm 9am – 1pm

Welfare Rights4276 1939

10am – 12 noon 2.30 – 4.30pm

Illawarra Legal Centre Catchment Area

Illawarra Legal Centre (ILC) boundary area ILC Tenants Service boundary area

CURRENT STAFF AT ILC 2012

Generalists 2.2 EFT (1 full time; 3 part time)

Child Support 1.0 EFT (1 full time)

Financial Counselling 1.0 EFT (1 full time)

Welfare Rights 0.9 EFT (2 part time)

CCAS 0.6 EFT (1 part time

CLE 0.4 EFT (1 part time)

Tenants Service 3.8 EFT (1 full time; 3 part time)

ALAP 0.6 EFT (1 part time)

Administration 3.2 EFT (I full time; 3 part time)

Project/Administration (casual) (2 part time)

TOTAL 13.7 EFT (21 staff - total combined full time and part time) EFT = Effective Full Time


The Year in Review

Project No. Project Name Funding Body State/Com Amount Per Annum % of TotalA64 Cth - Family Relationship Centre Legal Aid - 2% 21,327.00 2A04-2 State - Fair Trading FC - Sol NSW Fair Trading - 3% 37,808.13 3A62A PPF - Aboriginal Legal Access Program Legal Aid - 4% 51,250.00 4A03 Cth - Financial Counselling - 4% 54,000.00 4A46 PPF - Childrens Court Assistance Legal Aid - 5% 56,570.90 5A04 State - Financial Counselling NSW Fair Trading - 5% 58,753.56 5A17 Cth - Welfare Rights Legal Aid - 8% 92,724.00 8

Cth - Generalist Legal Aid - 12% 147,404.14 12A02 Cth - Child Support Project Legal Aid - 14% 169,904.00 14A01 State - Generalist Legal Aid - 16% 197,287.25 16A24 State - Tenancy NSW Fair Trading - 27% 321,661.25 27

1,208,690.23 100

PPF = Public Purpose FundingSPF - Special Purpose Funding

Funding Information2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012*

Information 343 659 2180Advice 3556 3994 3232Open cases 240 264 223Opened Cases 237 278 226Closed cases 225 375 259Total 4601 5570 6120

*Comprehensive data collecion system comenced

Three Year Trend Report for Activities

ILC Services - Funding

2010/2011 2011/2012Child Support 40 33Consumer complaints 11 5Credit and debt 83 64Discrimination 3 4Employment 17 8Family Law 9 2Govt pensions/benefits/allowances 55 53Victims compensation 22 8Traffic Offences/Motor vehicle accidents 2 5Neighbourhood disputes 0 1Criminal 4 1Tenancy 106 110Civil - other 6 0

Cases

Top 10 Advice Problem Matters

1 Tenancy 2515othertermination by lessorrepairsrentbondaccesstermination by tenantending tenancyagreement

7204303513431961711399570

2 Credit & Debt 573

debt owed by clientbankruptcymortgageother

3676136

109

3 Govt Pensions/Benefits/Allowances 247

4 Employment 236

otherconditions entitlementsunfair dismissalsdiscriminationother

8371461620

5 Consumer Complaints 151

trade/sell practicesotherservicesfinancial/insurance/supersolicitorsmedicalbuilding

59381514997

6 Motor Vehicle/Road & Traffic 124

7 Child Support 85

8 Family Law 84

9 Wills 68

10 Neighbourhood Disputes 55

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500


2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

0 20 40 60 80

100 120

Cases

2010/2011

2011/2012 0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500


2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

0 20 40 60 80

100 120

Cases

2010/2011

2011/2012

Family Relationship Centre - Cth 2%

Fair Trading FC - State 3%

Aboriginal Legal Access Program - PPF 4%

Childrens Court Assistance - PPF 5%

Welfare Rights - Cth 8%

Debt/Financial Counselling - Cth 4%

Debt/Financial Counselling - State 5%

Child Support - Cth 14%

Tenancy - State 27%

Generalist - Cth 12%

Generalist - State 16%

2% 3% 4% 5%

8%

4%

5%

14% 27%

12% 16%


The ALAP worker’s primary focus is to improve access to justice within the Aboriginal community by:

• Raising the profile of the Illawarra Legal Centre (ILC) and promoting its services within the Aboriginal community

• Increasing the number of Aboriginal people accessing our services

• Enhancing the capacity of the ILC to provide effective, culturally appropriate services to Aboriginal people

• Increasing awareness among Aboriginal people of their legal rights

Part of the role of the ALAP worker is to act as a liaison and support person for Aboriginal clients who are seeking legal assistance. The worker listens to the concerns and needs of the local Aboriginal community and identifies strategies to encourage local people to seek legal advice.

During the past year there was a short vacancy in the position due to the resignation of our previous worker who moved out of the area. I was appointed to the position in November 2011.

Some examples of my work include:

• I have regularly attended the Illawarra Aboriginal Community Based Working Group (IACBWG) to which I have been elected as a delegate. The IACBWG is a monthly meeting of Aboriginal workers, government and local community representatives that work together to achieve the goals of the community. The Law & Justice Cluster, which is a sub committee of the IACBWG, is a reference group for the ALAP worker to help achieve the goals of the program at ILC. This committee is responsible for taking action on legal issues raised by the community as well as trying to break down barriers between police and the community.

Aboriginal Legal Access Program (ALAP)

• I run two information referral outreach services. They are held every Tuesday at The Aunty Mary Outreach Centre in Warilla and at The Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation located at Warrawong. I attend community gatherings at both venues where I talk to groups and individuals about the services we offer at the ILC.

• Reconciliation Week was promoted throughout the centre. We had a small morning tea dedicated to Reconciliation Week and ILC staff participated. Staff also participated in the Shellharbour Schools Reconciliation Walk. Staff were invited to be a part of the official ceremony to exchange flags and plaques with school children from the Shellharbour area. ILC staff attended the University of Wollongong Reconciliation events on behalf of the Centre.

• During the NAIDOC Week celebrations ILC was well represented and promoted at Bellambi Neighbourhood Centre, Roads & Maritime Services (RTA), Illawarra Aboriginal Medical Service and Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation’s combined NAIDOC Funday held annually at The Land, Windang. We held an ILC information stall on the day which was a big hit with all who came by. We had a lot of interest in the services we offer and informed visitors to the stall about ILC services that some people didn’t know about. ILC staff including myself worked the stall. The day was a huge success.

Overall, the Aboriginal Legal Access Program has had a big year and looks forward to working towards more success next year. Thanks.

Della Chaounne Aboriginal Access Worker ILC Supporters. NAIDOC Day at The Land, Windang (6th July 2012). Back Row: Dylan Farrell, Nathan Merritt (Rabbitohs Players). Middle: Kristen Gorgieski, Makee Chaounne. Front: Youssef Chaounne.

Finances / Administration

The financial/administrative team of the Centre is responsible for our financial accountability, record/file management and administrative support for all the Centre’s services.

Our finance/administration team has moved into a new room with new work-stations and more desk and storage space. Catherine our financial/administration manager has been focusing this year on re-organising and streamlining the Centre’s financial and administrative systems. The finance team of Catherine, Alexis and Cecilia, has documented and simplified our procedures and conducted orientation for all staff on the new systems. The team has carried out the work of making the transition from our previous finance manager who had recently retired after 25 years service.

The reception/front desk is central to the work of the Centre. The reception is the first point of contact for people seeking assistance. In this position, Vesna has the role of identifying the nature of the person’s enquiry, making the appropriate referral to our ILC services or to services outside the Centre. Handling phone referrals (over 2,000 per year), ILC messages, drop-in visitors and phone advice intake makes for a challenging and hectic work environment.

Database management, record keeping, information storage and reporting are key elements that support our services. Eleonora is our specialist in these areas.

Information technology (IT) support for the Centre is now part of the work of the adminstration team. Our IT has been overhauled and redesigned by Trevor Collier, our debt and credit solicitor who is also experienced in IT. Vesna and Eleonora provide IT support coordination, ranking problems, assessing what is within our capability in house and calling in external support when needed.

Eunice and Wendy are our casual workers on front desk reception, data base entry and special projects such as client satisfaction surveys. Eunice and Wendy bring their wealth of experience to our team.

As a Centre we seek to provide a welcoming reception and we acknowledge the work of Vesna, Eleonora, Eunice and Wendy in this important area.

Catherine O’Neill Finance/Administration Manager (Part Time)

Alexis Porritt Bookkeeper (resigned December 2011)

Cecilia Roesler Bookkeeper (Part Time)

Vesna Horley Reception/Intake /Information/Referral/IT/ Administrative worker (Full Time)

Eleonora Raseni File/Data Base/Record keeper/IT/Administrative worker

Eunice Harding Administrative worker (Locum)

Wendy Mills Administrative worker (Locum)

Catherine O’Neill Eleonora Raseni Eunice HardingAlexis Porritt Vesna Horley Wendy Mills


The Illawarra Legal Centre’s Child Support Project solicitor is Carolyne Turner. The project provides advice, assistance, preparation of documents and court representation on child support matters. Over the past year the casework that requires preparation of documents and Tribunal or Court representation has increased in response to the needs of clients.

Types of Enquiries and Assistance:During the past year the majority of clients presented with issues arising from the initial application made to the Child Support Agency, because of decisions made by the Child Support Agency, or because the other parent was not paying child support at all.

The cases that the project assisted in covered the following types of child support issues: liaising with the Child Support Agency, applications for a change of the administrative assessments in special circumstances and objections to Child Support Agency decisions. The project also assisted with submissions and representations in Social Security Appeals Tribunal Applications for reviews of Child Support Agency decisions. We provided advice on binding and limited agreements.

We represented many parents needing paternity applications as a result of Centrelink referrals. On occasion the project was able to gain a Centrelink exemption from the Maintenance Action Test because of previous violence or the father’s whereabouts being unknown. In addition the project represented clients seeking Change of Name orders from the court, the enforcement of arrears and debt to the Commonwealth.

The child support project has continued its membership of the NSW child support liaison & stakeholders group that meets monthly. The child support network has also continued to take part in the national network of child support.

The following 2 case studies provides an indication of matters dealt with this past year:

Child Support

Carolyne Turner Child Support Solicitor

Case Study 1:Amanda’s* son was 18 years old and had been accepted into university. Amanda sought the project’s help to seek Consent Orders with the father for financial maintenance until the child completed his tertiary education. Firstly we referred Amanda to Centrelink to apply for Youth Allowance. Then the project was able to work out how much Amanda’s child needed in support from his father to allow him to complete his education. We contacted the parent who lived interstate but he refused to agree. We then filed an application in the Federal Magistrates Court for over 18 years maintenance orders under the Family Law Act. Both parties attended conciliation with the Court Registrar and finally the project was successful in having Consent Orders signed and made by the court. Now the father is providing financial support according to the orders agreed to.

Case Study 2:Jane* had recently relocated to the Illawarra to be closer to her parents. She was the Sole Carer of her 8 year old son who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Autism. Jane’s son’s father was employed by his parent’s company and had a very low taxable income. When the parents were together the child benefited from a variety of therapists and paediatric doctors. The project assisted Jane to make an application to change the administrative assessment that was based on the formula used by the Child Support Agency using the payer’s declared taxable income. The project was able to show that his lifestyle was beyond the income declared and so there must be more financial resource available to him. The project collated 18 months of medical and therapist invoices and receipts that supported the amount of money needed to support the child’s learning disability. Jane’s application was successful and she now receives a fair and just amount of child support.

*The names are changed in these case studies even where permission to publish has been provided.

Children’s Court Assistance Scheme

Sharon Callaghan Children’s Court Assistance Scheme Coordinator

The Children’s Court Assistance Scheme (CCAS) continues to provide support to young court attendees and their families and provide referral to key support services.

Sharon Callaghan, the CCAS Coordinator (21 hours per week), works with experienced CCAS workers seconded from community and youth sector organisations. These workers represent the disability, housing, education, drug and alcohol and other diverse community sector support areas.

CCAS ReviewThe program underwent a thorough state wide review that revealed CCAS work was essential to the smooth operation of the Children’s Court and very cost effective. CCAS workers were in contact with almost all young people attending Children’s Court and provided significant support to family and friends accompanying young people.

Various CCAS models were found to be responsive to their local areas including the ILC CCAS that identifies law reform and education needs for further development.

CCAS networks were found to be strong and well linked making referrals for young people more likely to be effective. Informal feedback suggests that some CCAS referrals are

acted upon and lead to further links between young people and key services.

The Aboriginal Legal Access Program worker (ALAP) is involved with the CCAS scheme by providing support to young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at Children’s Court.

CCAS and TAFE PartnershipThe ILC generally and CCAS specifically, worked closely on education and action research projects designed to promote and facilitate ILC access to justice projects and support student learning in advocacy and social policy.

Young people and fines debtThe Illawarra Legal Centre’s work on fines debt and Work and Development Orders (WDO) is now primarily the responsibility of Legal Aid NSW. Legal Aid received funding to promote the WDO scheme and continue WDO work within their offices around NSW.

Wollongong based Legal Aid (LA) staff are in contact with government and community workers outlining the benefits of their agencies signing up to be ‘approved’ organisations to supervise people who undertake a WDO.

7 GREENE STREET WARRAWONG NSW 2502 TELEPHONE 42761939

Children’s Court Assistance Scheme

C C A S

A project of the Illawarra Legal Centre



Young People 285

Friends and family support people 78

Port Kembla CCAS Statistics January 2012 - June 2012

These supervising organisations can then assist those who struggle with the burdens associated with great social and financial hardship to reduce or eliminate their debt.

Linda Meyns is the Legal Aid Work and Development Order solicitor in the Illawarra and south east region.

The Illawarra Legal Centre continues to distribute information on WDO and presents education sessions in conjunction with colleagues working in this area.

Community CabinetThe CCAS Coordinator took the opportunity to meet with State Government representatives on juvenile justice issues including the need for education, housing and other support that can serve to divert young people from the courts.

This work continued with the closure of the Youth Drug and Alcohol Court (YDAC) and the need for early intervention and support for children and young people in the juvenile justice system.

Community Legal Centres (CLC) State ConferenceThe CCAS Coordinator collaborated with Legal Aid to present information on Work and Development Orders (WDO) to NSW CLC conference attendees. We distributed current WDO information from a conference stall attracting significant interest.

The CCAS Coordinator has assisted with publicity on the WDO scheme including a video designed to inform relevant workplace representatives of the value of participating in the WDO scheme.

http://www.youtube.com/user/legalaidnsw?feature=results_main

CCAS NetworksThe CCAS Coordinator continues to participate in the work of the following groups:

• Youth Justice Coalition• Southern Suburbs Taskforce• Wollongong Youth Network• Children’s Court Assistance Scheme (CCAS) state network

Other network meetings involve TAFE and University students and teachers, local police, Legal Aid and workers participating in the Children’s Court.

Young People 328

Friends and family support people 123

Port Kembla CCAS Statistics July 2011 - December 2011

Young People

27%

73%

Friends and familysupport people

Young People


21%

79%

Port Kembla CCAS Sta/s/csJuly 2011-‐December 2011

Port Kembla CCAS Sta/s/csJanuary 2012-‐June 2012

Young People

27%

73%


Young People


21%

79%

Port Kembla CCAS Sta/s/csJuly 2011-‐December 2011

Port Kembla CCAS Sta/s/csJanuary 2012-‐June 2012

Children’s Court Assistance Scheme (Continued)

Illawarra Mercury, 4 June 2012 The Advertiser, 20 July 2011


Case study 1:Jono* attended the service seeking help with his car loan. He is a single parent with three children. He is on Centrelink benefits. He has the car in his possession. The loan is in joint names and the car is security. The car is registered in his name. He is one month in arrears for the loan repayment. He is worried that the finance company may repossess the car because he was called twice and a threat was made that he could loose the car if payments are not brought up to date. He needs the car for the children.

We discussed Jono’s options with him and prepared an income and expenses statement. It shows that he could only afford half the normal monthly loan repayment. We wrote to the finance company requesting variation to the contract on grounds of hardship and to reduce the payments and extend the terms of the contract. The finance company didn’t respond to us within the time allowed by the National Credit Code.

We then obtained instruction from the client and lodged a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service. Within a few days, we received a call from the finance company and after a number of discussions, the finance company agreed to vary the terms of the contract in accordance with our request including obtaining a declaration from the other borrower consenting to the changes and Jono was able to keep the car and afford the repayment.

Case study 2:Gina* received a large mobile telephone bill for $2,500.00.She is a single parent with one child. She is on Centrelink benefits. She stated that she was pressured by her ex-partner to apply for a mobile phone contract under which she received two handsets. The application was made at the phone shop and her ex-partner was the one who “did the talking”. Gina was only working as a casual cleaner for few hours a week. The contract stated that she was working full time. She was told to sign without having a chance to read the contract. Her ex-partner took one handset and she kept one. They separated before the first bill was received. The first installment of the $2,500.00 bill was more than $400.00. She couldn’t pay it.

We wrote to the phone company requesting copies of documents. The phone company ignored our request. We then obtained our client’s instructions and lodged a complaint with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). We argued in the complaint that the phone company did not undertake proper assessment to determine that our client could afford the payment under the contract and did not take into consideration that our client was a vulnerable consumer at the time of entering into the contract. We received within 10 days, a call from the dispute resolution officer of the phone company and he offered to reduce the balance of the account from $2,500.00 to $300.00. We discussed the offer with our client and made a counter offer. The offer was to return her handset in lieu of payment and waive any outstanding balance. The phone company accepted our client’s counter offer and the complaint was resolved to her satisfaction.


16

Financial Counselling Service & Consumer Credit Legal Service

Maroun Germanos Credit & Debt Financial Counsellor

The Financial Counselling Service receives funding from NSW Fair Trading under the Financial Counselling Services Program and from the Commonwealth Financial Counselling (CFC) under the Money Management Program. This funding enabled the Illawarra Legal Centre to provide the equivalent of 8 days services to the community including 2 days Consumer Credit Legal Service.

The aim of the Service is to assist people in this region who are facing financial problems for many reasons such as unexpected changes in circumstances mainly unemployment, illness, family breakdown and mental illness etc.

The Service has been operating at the Centre since 1989 and has proven successful in attracting clients from across the region assisting 268 new clients 2011/2012.

The services are mainly:

• Advocacy and negotiation with creditors on behalf of clients.

• Inform clients about their options in cases of debt recovery actions.

• Assist client to prepare a budget plan and help them to gain skills to manage their money.

• Provide clients with various options under the bankruptcy act.

• Referrals to other relevant services.

The Service is provided by telephone and face-to-face. The majority of the telephone contacts become face-to-face interviews and on-going cases.

The Service assists clients to resolve their disputes with creditors through direct negotiation or by lodging disputes with the various External Dispute Resolution Schemes such as Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), The Credit Ombudsman Service (COSL), The Energy & Water Ombudsman (EWON) etc.

We continue to give priority to urgent problems such as mortgage repossession, garnishee orders and other debt recovery actions through the courts.

The cost of housing is too high in comparison to most of our client’s income and doesn’t leave an adequate amount of money for other living expenses such as food and utility bills.

This year, clients have presented with complex and multiple problems that have resulted in more time being spent assisting each person.

Throughout the year, the Consumer Credit Solicitor and the Financial Counsellor worked closely to assist clients to deal with their complex financial problems including combating certain lending practices by various fringe lenders that preyed on the vulnerability of clients and their desperate need for borrowing to pay for car repairs or registration or in other cases to pay the electricity bill.

Trevor Collier Consumer Credit Solicitor


EmploymentDuring the year the centre continued to receive calls from people who had been unfairly dismissed. The centre advised these people and acted for some under the Fair Work laws.

The general focus of the centre’s casework is to target those whose access to justice is significantly challenged.

Credit and Debt The team are seeing more mortgage stress cases. Some of the cases are likely to end up with the borrowers selling the property because the clients cannot afford the mortgage and have no future prospect even if they get more time to pay on hardship grounds. The reasons are mainly that home loans are too high to start with and clients have no prospect of improvement in financial circumstances. The team has been able to assist in various ways including lodging disputes with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). It is taking a long time to resolve disputes through FOS because of the large number of disputes that are registered with them after the Commonwealth took over responsibility for consumer credit law and more emphasis was placed on alternative dispute resolution instead of litigation.

The team has managed to get a few debts waived by creditors due to hardship. A number of other hardship applications relating to mortgage default/stress were put to lenders and were successful.

Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman were quickly resolved in favour of the centre’s clients. This is possibly due to the telecommunication companies putting more resources into resolving disputes to minimise the amount of fees they have to pay if complaints are not resolved and have to go through the system.

The generalist team acted for a client who had 2 fines waived. Council had sent notices to the wrong address for the client.

The generalist team had success for a client with various disabilities in reducing traffic penalties and having “no conviction recorded”.

DiscriminationThe generalist team lodged a successful claim in a discrimination matter where a person with a hearing aid was refused service by a private legal firm.

The generalist team also assisted a client with lodging complaints to the Health Consumer Complaints Commission as the client had difficulty reading and writing.

Victims’ Compensation The team won a number of victims’ compensation claims including two for young people with health and education issues. They also won victims’ compensation matters for domestic violence and childhood sexual assault.

The generalist team were also successful in obtaining a financial award for a psychological injury for a client who had suffered from domestic violence throughout their relationship. The funds awarded to this client allowed the client to receive specialist medical care which otherwise would have been unaffordable.

Community development activities during the year have included:• The Principal Solicitor coordinated with Legal Aid a joint

education response to redundancies at Blue Scope Steel.

• The Principal Solicitor presented community legal education sessions on wills and estates to Portuguese carers, to carers of people with dementia and to a Parkinson’s support group.

• A member of the team participated in Homeless Persons Week event.

General Law Project

Phillip Dicalfas Principal SolicitorTrevor Collier Credit and Debt Solicitor (Part Time)Linda Meyns Generalist Solicitor (currently on leave)Lucy Houweling Generalist Solicitor (Part Time)Carolyne Turner Child Support SolicitorTracey Iskra Generalist Solicitor (Part Time)Meagan Donnelly Credit and Debt Caseworker (locum)Judi Teesdale Locum Jenna McConnachie Locum

Phillip Dicalfas

Client ServicesThe General Law Project offers the following advice services:

• Phone advice sessions on general legal matters

• Phone advice covering child support, available as required

• Appointment sessions with a volunteer solicitor one afternoon each fortnight for clients who require an interpreter, have a disability or some other need for a face to face interview

• Appointment sessions with volunteer solicitors every Thursday evening

Outreaches:• appointment sessions at the Illawarra Women’s Health

Centre every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month

• drop-in sessions at Kedesh Rehabilitation Services every two months which includes a community legal education session.

Ann Woods, a volunteer solicitor and registered migration agent, continues to give free migration advice at the centre on a monthly basis.

Volunteer law students have continued to assist staff and volunteer lawyers during the Thursday evening advice roster.

The generalist team provides advice and representation to clients in the following areas of law:

• Discrimination

• Victims’ compensation

• Some AVO applications

• Debt matters where the creditor is a financial institution

• Child support

• Employment matters

• And other matters of public interest

Casework TrendsIn 2011-2012 the general law project advised over 1,000 clients.

The team has continued to adopt a strategic approach to casework so that limited resources can be focused on matters that have a strong social justice element. Much of the centre’s work is in civil matters not traditionally taken up by private solicitors.

The team has provided advice and representation in discrimination matters. The centre has also acted in complex victims’ compensation matters that typically involve childhood sexual assault and domestic violence that were never reported to police.

Linda Meyns Jenna McConnachieTracey Iskra Judi TeesdaleTrevor Collier


Illawarra legal Centre InC annual report 2010 - 2011

Tenants Service

Yasmine Khan Tenancy Team Leader Jody Clark Tenants Advocate (resigned)Leah Janetzki Tenants AdvocateJenna McConnachie Tenants Advocate

Warren Wheeler

“You can’t stop the change any more than you can stop the suns from setting.” Shmi Skywalker, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

The wisdom of Anakin’s mother in the first of the Star Wars prequels resonates strongly with the team of the Illawarra & South Coast Tenants Service, as 2011/12 has been another year of unavoidable change.

Following the resignation of long-term staff in 2011, the service sought to take stock and rebuild to better service tenants across its vast geographical catchment.

The service was scaled back to accommodate temporary staffing arrangements and this is reflected in our end of year statistics, with assistance at the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal dropping significantly.

In early 2012 we welcomed Jenna McConnachie aboard as an advocate who has proven invaluable with her infectious passion for community engagement. Jenna has worked closely with the local TAFE, bringing Community Services students in on a network-wide campaign targeting the disrepair of Housing NSW properties.

Jenna has coordinated this campaign on a local level, holding ‘repairs clinics’ at Warrawong Community Centre, which invites Housing NSW (HNSW) tenants to attend and call the HNSW maintenance hotline to log their repair issues. This clinic aimed to raise awareness amongst tenants of their right to repairs, as well as put HNSW on notice that the Service, and the wider network, has identified the lack of repairs as a crucial issue in public housing.

The Service also employed Yasmine Khan as Team Leader in early 2012. Yasmine also enjoyed engaging with the local residents, initiating our involvement in a public gathering for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.

Carly Kerr, who conducted her TAFE placement in the Centre in 2011, joined the tenancy team in 2012 to complete her placement hours. Carly worked alongside Jenna in facilitating the repair clinics.

Throughout the year the service recorded 1,494 separate contacts (some of these would be multiple contacts from one client), compared to 1,922 the previous year. This drop in contacts is likely to be attributed to the withdrawal of duty advocacy at the CTTT in Wollongong together with the training of new staff, which can detract from service delivery.

Termination matters account for 15.5% of our work, while repairs and rent arrears make up 22% and 9.6% respectively.

At the ILCs planning day in 2011, improving access for male clients was identified as a priority for the Centre. The Tenants Service worked with Linda Brazier (Community Legal Education) and developed beer coasters that were distributed at select pubs and clubs across the region. Though our statistics show a minor increase (up 0.7%) in male clients accessing the service it is likely that such a campaign will involve the implementation of ongoing strategies before a recognisable difference can be made.

Warren Wheeler Tenants Advocate (Acting Team Leader)Tom McDonald LocumElizabeth De Freitas LocumCarly Kerr Student volunteer

Jenna McConnachie Jody Clark Leah Janetzki

• The Principal Solicitor presented a paper entitled “Partnerships Between Schools and Community in Presenting Community Legal Education” to the annual conference of the Australia and New Zealand Education Law Association (ANZELA). He also shared education resources with Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand (as a result of the presentation at the ANZELA conference).

• The team presented various community legal sessions on wills and estates to a Serbian carers group as well as Macedonian and Italian community groups.

• The Principal Solicitor provided suggested amendments to the Law Handbook in relation to appealing a suspension of a driver’s licence. These suggestions were adopted.

• The Principal Solicitor suggested changes and corrections to a Legal Aid publication for Older Persons.

• Members of the team attended meetings convened by Legal Aid’s Wollongong Civil section at Wollongong Local Court.

• Members of the team provided input into a public interest law subject for fourth and fifth year students at the University of Wollongong.

• Members of the team presented a talk on debt and credit and other related issues to the University of the Third Age in Wollongong. Around 70 participants were in attendance.

• Members of the team staffed information stalls in Wollongong Mall.

• The Principal Solicitor contributed policy to meetings of all legal centre principal solicitors in NSW (Professional Issues Committee of CLCNSW).

• The Principal Solicitor presented orientation to new volunteer solicitors (including time limits in key areas of law) and oriented new volunteer law students.

• The Principal Solicitor presented Start Out Right education sessions to high school students.

Law Reform• The generalists lobbied the NSW Attorney-General in

relation to access to files for victims of crime.

• They wrote to the Attorney-General and provided input into CLCNSW’s lobbying of the Victims’ Compensation Tribunal (VCT). The generalists argued clients should be sent all of the relevant documents on the VCT file, not only some of the documents. The generalists also provided input into CLCNSW’s report on affects of 1 January 2011 changes to Victims’ Compensation laws.

• The Principal Solicitor collated submissions to NSW Attorney General for the Review of Legal Assistance Services.

• The generalists provided case studies to CLCNSW for complaints about police.

• The Principal Solicitor oversaw first stage of a repairs campaign which was an outreach at Warrawong Community Centre.

• The Principal Solicitor received replies in response to having written to members of parliament regarding Work and Development Orders.

FundingThe Generalist law project workers are funded by:The NSW Community Legal Centre Funding Program, Fair Trading NSW, the Commonwealth Family Law and Legal Aid Department (Community Legal Service Program and Child Support Scheme Legal Services Program).

General Law Project (Continued)


Welfare Rights Service

Liz Turnbull and Ian Turton Welfare Rights Solicitors

23Illawarra legal Centre InC annual report 2010 - 2011

The Community Legal Service Program of the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department funds the Welfare Rights Service. The service provides free advice in relation to Social Security laws and its administration through Centrelink to assist people to maximise their entitlements, exercise their rights and fulfil their obligations.

Ian Turton and Liz Turnbull have worked in this position on a permanent job-share basis since Liz returned from parental leave in June 2011. Liz went on leave in April 2012 prior to the birth of her second child. Ian has worked on a full-time basis within the project since this time.

CaseworkWelfare Rights undertook 183 advice activities in the 2011/12 financial year. 18 files were opened at the beginning of this period with a further 50 files opened throughout the year, whilst 60 files were closed.

As always the level of assistance provided in individual matters is determined by our casework guidelines and includes reference to: the person’s ability to self represent; target groups identified in our planning day; and current casework levels.

This year the Welfare Rights service has provided representation more frequently at the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and Administrative Appeals Tribunal where it has achieved some noteworthy outcomes for clients as illustrated by the following case studies.

South Coast ServiceThe South Coast service continues to perform strongly, with Leah Janetzski devoting many hours to hands-on casework in the form of face-to-face advice and Tribunal representation.

Established in February 2010 the South Coast service has seen multiple changes to service delivery to accommodate the challenging resource pressures. In the last 12 months the service has operated four days a week and covers Eurobodalla, Bega Valley and more recently the Shoalhaven area.

Contacts for the south coast remain steady with approximately one third of contacts being from this area. Most of the work is generated through provision of Duty Advocacy at sittings of the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT). Of the 145 CTTT matters the service assisted 94 (65%) were from the south coast.

In November 2011 the Bega office was closed due to budget constraints and travel to the far south coast has also been limited. This has impacted on the service’s capacity to maintain links to the local area through attendance at interagency meetings and community education. The south coast office has participated in 4 interagency meetings, a regional homelessness forum in Queanbeyan and attended the opening of the new government services building Baylink. Leah also conducted 5 service visits and one education session.

The south coast rental market remains tight and affordability is a significant issue. In a recent report into housing affordability the Bega Valley was considered to have no affordable properties for a person on Government benefits or minimum wages.

Security of tenure has also been impacted by the change in legislation allowing for landlords to issue 90 day no grounds notice, which generally cannot be defended by the tenant at

the CTTT. On the south coast there has been a 50% increase in the number of enquiries regarding no ground notice of termination confirming anecdotal evidence that tenants fear termination for asserting their rights.

Law & Policy ReformThe Service has contributed to the review of the Residential Parks Act, the Boarding Houses Bill and the new Housing & Mental Health Agreement, replacing the former Joint Guarantee of Service (JGOS).

CaseworkIn September 2011 the NSW Police conducted simultaneous drug-raids on 10 separate premises across the region, arresting 25 people in the process. From these arrests, the Service assisted 5 Housing NSW clients who were facing eviction.

Of these five matters, one was withdrawn, one client chose to vacate, and two entered into consent orders. Unfortunately the remaining matter resulted in termination in the Tribunal.

Tenants Service (Continued)

Community Legal Education, Community Development and Law Reform The project continues to conduct a large number of community legal education workshops across the region. This year workshops were held at:

• Cringila Cooperative

• Illawarra Youth Services

• Various disability support services

• Shellharbour TAFE

• U3A Wollongong

The project participated in community events including NAIDOC Week and Sorry Day, working in close cooperation with the Centre’s Aboriginal Legal Access Program worker.

Welfare Rights has focused on providing services to people living on the South Coast, receiving clients on referral from Legal Aid and working cooperatively with service providers in that region.

Involvement with the National Welfare Rights Network continues to inform our law reform and policy work and the project maintains a strong working relationship with network members.


Community Legal Education

Linda Brazier Community Legal Education Worker

The Illawarra Legal Centre has continued to develop and deliver a range of initiatives throughout 2011-2012 as part of the community legal education (CLE) program.

Some of the elements of the program have included:

• Promoting the service to the wider community

• Identifying priories based on casework and community requests

• Community development through networking and participating in community events

• Improving access to information and resources

It is widely recognised that, while delivering information formally to a group is an important part of the CLE program, there are many other ways of reaching the community. This year a greater emphasis has been put on raising the Centre’s profile and making service information more accessible to a wider audience.

Information and Resources - WebsiteTo improve access for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups the ILC website now has service information in 15 languages all in a downloadable format.

The website also has a publications page with many of our publications available for downloading. This will automatically expire on 31 December allowing us to review publications before uploading again. The aim is to have most of our publications on the site.

In addition to these resources, the website now has an online client feedback form. This can be completed and submitted online.

Targeting menIt was identified that we needed to target males with information about the generalist and tenants’ services. A new initiative was launched during Law Week with the production and distribution of bar coasters. These were distributed to 13 local licensed premises and have been well received.

Launch of ILC bar coasters

Human Rights DayA Have your Say information stall was held on Friday 9 December in Wollongong Mall. Passers-by stopped to take information on a range of topics including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights and asylum seekers, and human rights and poverty. Many people also took advantage of prepared pro forma letters that they could fill in with their own details and send to local members of parliament.

In the lead up to Human Rights day, Coordinator Truda Gray and CLE worker Linda Brazier did a radio interview on community radio 2 VOXFM.

International Week stall at University of Wollongong

Welfare Rights Service (Continued)

Case Study No 1Ivan* received a workers compensation payment following a work related injury. Upon receiving this money he embarked upon two business ventures, both of which where unsuccessful. Ivan was a problem gambler and had been diagnosed as suffering from depression. The failure of his business ventures coincided with an increase in his gambling.

When he first approached the Legal Centre for help he had gambled away all of his money and was living in his car. Ivan was not entitled to claim Centrelink benefits for a further three years because of a compensation preclusion period. He had represented himself before the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) without success and was only able to survive with help from charities. We lodged an appeal on Ivan’s behalf at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Appeal was successful with terms of settlement being filed in the AAT. Ivan was held to be eligible for payment of benefits from the first date upon which he approached charities for assistance.

Many clients continue to seek advice in relation to a range of issues including compensation preclusion periods and eligibility for Disability Support Pension and Act of Grace payments. Centrelink debts continue to make up a significant component of our casework and we are successful in having debts waived at all levels of appeal. The service prioritises matters where there is a risk of related criminal proceedings or where prosecution has commenced.

Case study No 2Sabina* was enrolled as a university student receiving youth allowance and a scholarship payment on the basis of being a full-time student. Centrelink subsequently reviewed her case, cancelled her payments and raised a debt on the grounds that she was not a full-time student despite studying more than 30 hours per week.

We represented Sabina before the SSAT and were able to get her entire debt waived whilst she was restored to payment.



Law Reform and human Rights

Human RightsThere has been significant national discussion on human rights in recent years and the Illawarra Legal Centre (ILC) has joined that discussion in a range of ways.

Most recently the ILC has submitted ideas to the Federal Attorney General’s National Human Rights consultation on the Draft Human Rights Action Plan.

We argued for a national education program on human rights most particularly within the public sector and all levels of government.

As Community Legal Centres are community-based organisations working with the public and their advocates in diverse areas that include, housing, education, health and wellbeing, CLCs should receive additional funding to advance national human rights strategies.

The ILC particularly argued for a national human rights strategy to focus on the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (ATSI) and protections that address ATSI over representation in the criminal justice system.

Moreover, the ILC argued that young people are a vulnerable group whose rights are often neglected or undermined through punitive measures that fail to build social inclusion and access to justice. The ILC support strategies that not only divert young people from the juvenile justice system but increase their participation in education, training and employment.

Finally, we emphasised the rights of all citizens to safe, affordable housing, most particularly, those who live with disabilities and life challenges that limit their capacity to secure and affordable housing.

International Human Rights Day

Law Reform in Brief• The ILC supported the Australian Council of Social

Services (ACOSS) campaign calling for a “Fair Go for the Unemployed” by increasing income support payments and improved assistance while seeking paid employment

• The ILC supported a sector wide campaign seeking the retention and strengthening of victim’s compensation

• The ILC contributed to a range of local and state government consultations on local service delivery and represented elements of the community services industry in discussions on local government and state planning

• The ILC contributed to the review of the delivery of legal assistance services to the NSW community

• The ILC made a submission to the Australian Communication Consumer Action Network’s (ACCAN’s) ‘Fair Calls for All’ campaign seeking free or low cost calls when calling 1800, 1300 and 13 phone numbers from mobiles

• The ILC supported the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT)

Note: See individual project reports for further law reform activities

Other special events• University of Wollongong International Week,

September 2011

• Law Week, May 2012

• Refugee Week, June 2012

• Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, May 2012

Community Requests We have responded to requests for speakers from numerous and varied community groups including:• Motor Neurone Disease Support Group• Barnados Playgroup• NAVITAS English Resettlement Program• Illawarra Carer Respite Centre• Cringila Community Co op• Italian Dementia Carers’ Group• Illawarra Youth Housing• Portuguese Carers’ Group• Illawarra In-Home support• Shellharbour Centrelink• Northern Illawarra Parkinsons Support Group• University of the 3rd Age (U3A)• Illawarra TAFE

Older People - Planning Ahead Wills, Power of Attorney and Guardianship are of great importance to older people, their family and carers, and workers in aged care facilities.

In addition, for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, particularly where English is not spoken in the home, the prospect of making a will and planning ahead as one ages, can be very daunting. To this end, with the use of interpreters, we have provided information sessions to a range of communities including Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Greek and Macedonian groups.

MediaAs always, we have maintained a strong presence in local media throughout the year. Articles have appeared in print on issues such as human rights, young people and fines, and Law Week. Interviews were conducted on community radio 2 VOXFM for Law Week, Human Rights Day and on the topics of Bluescope redundancies, Centrelink and credit and debt.

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea at ILC

Community Legal Education (Continued)

The Advertiser, 16 May 2012


Changes to Financial Processes in 2011-2012Many changes to systems and processes were undertaken in the 2011-2012 period. These changes were designed to prevent double handling, to fully utilise the MYOB accounting system, to streamline processes and to enable the easy extraction of reports.

Work undertaken included:

• Superannuation processing

• MYOB networking

• Review banking and accounts

• Adjustment to pay periods

• Reviewed Timesheets

• Introduction of Bendigo Bank accounts

• Revamping of chart of accounts

Audit ReportAn audit was conducted on the financial reports for 2011-2012 by Akele Kinnas & Co and immediately follows this report. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lou and his audit team for all their efforts.

AcknowledgementsThank you to Wendy Brown not only for the hand-over she provided, but for her continued support and knowledge. Thank you for your patience and generosity Wendy.

A big thank you to Alexis and Cecilia in their positions as bookkeepers. It has been a year of significant change in the Centre’s processes and systems and their support has been valuable and appreciated.

Financial Report

Overview The Illawarra Legal Centre (ILC) financial result for the 2011-2012 period was a surplus of $86,444.48 and this surplus was for the most part attributed to interest earned on reserves and provisions held by the ILC.

Turnover for the year was $1,363,176 which includes $91,410 of interest, $45,978.48 of grants carried forward from 2010-2011 year and excludes internal administration fees. Only recurrent funding was received in the 2011-2012 with no additional grants.

One Issue for the Centre is that grants are not keeping up with wages increments or other CPI increases that relate to the delivery of services.

The Illawarra Legal Centre would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all of our funding bodies for their continued support of our services.

Funding SourcesThe Illawarra Legal Centre’s core operation funding is from the State and Commonwealth Governments through the Community Legal Service Funding Program. These grants are administered by Legal Aid NSW.

Funding for the various specialist services of our Centre comes from numerous sources. They are as follows:

Aboriginal Legal Access Project:

• Legal Aid NSW - Public Purpose Fund

• Indigenous Wage Subsidy from Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Child Support Project:

• Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department

Children’s Court Assistance Scheme:

• Legal Aid NSW - Public Purpose Fund

Credit & Debt - Solicitor:

• Fair Trading NSW

Family Relationship Centre:

• Legal Aid NSW – Commonwealth Attorney General

Financial Counselling/Advocacy Service:

• Fair Trading NSW – Financial Counselling Program

• Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs – Financial Counselling Program

Generalists Legal Service:

• Legal Aid – Commonwealth Attorney General

• Legal Aid – State Attorney General

Tenancy Advice and Advocacy Program:

• Fair Trading NSW

Welfare Rights Service:

• Legal Aid - Commonwealth Attorney General

Catherine O’Neil Lexie Porritt Cecilia Roeslster


2012 2011note $ $

INCOMEGrants Received 1,145,343 1,201,965

Unexpended Grants Carried Forward 110,846 250,778

Interest Received 91,410 57,324

Membership Fees 114 75

Miscellaneous Income 14,148 5,661

Workers Compensation Recovery - 5,616

Centre Contribution 33,045 11,220

Victims Compensation 10,033 12,395

TOTAL INCOME 1,404,939 1,545,034

EXPENDITUREAccountancy Fee 6,000 -

Admin Relief Costs 10,079 13,800

Advertising 12,954 18,042

Auditor’s Remuneration 5,195 4,958

Bank Charges 628 625

Centre Contribution 33,045 11,220

Cleaning 6,130 9,133

Computer Stationery and Supplies 2,532 3,907

Conference Expenses 1,101 12,696

Consultants Fees 26,640 39,739

Depreciation – Furniture and Fittings 56,016 19,656

Electricity 3,167 3,325

General Expenses 2,813 1,816

Grant Levy - 4,800

Holiday Pay 24,877 4,377

Insurance 8,288 12,694

Legal Disbursements 2,295 (1,788)

Library Updates 231 11,712

Long Service Leave 6,477 4,166

Minor Equipment Purchased 71 318

Postage, Printing and Stationery 19,844 34,257

Professional Fees 3,800 3,700

Rates and Taxes 565 276

Redundancy Provision 7,331 -

Reference Materials 5,393 -

ILLAWARRA LEGAL CEnTRE InCoRPoRATEd(InCoRPoRATEd UndER ThE ASSoCIATIonS

InCoRPATIonS ACT 1984)

ConSoLIdATEd InCoME And EXPEndITURE STATEMEnTFoR ThE YEAR EndEd 30 JUnE 2012

2012 2011note $ $

Relocation Costs 600 -

Rent 1,719 10,888

Repairs and Maintenance 4,457 7,593

Security 1,819 2,068

Staff Amenities 10,113 9,400

Staff Training 9,135 6,446

Subscriptions 13,039 5,579

Superannuation Contributions 76,807 84,508

Technical Support 11,040 14,859

Telephone 30,418 30,163

Translations 2,822 2,805

Travelling Expenses 4,725 35,452

Wages 869,781 941,533

Workshop Expenses 709 4,648

TOTAL EXPENDITURE 1,282,656 1,369,371

EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE 122,283 175,663

Less AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED TO UNEXPENDED GRANTS 35,839 110,846

EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE $ 86,444 $ 64,817


note 2012 2011$ $

CURRENT ASSETSCash and cash equivalents 2 1,266,855 1,140,951

Prepayments 9,008 -

Receivables 5,386 -

Accrued Interest 26,211 -

TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 1,307,460 1,140,951

NON-CURRENT ASSETSProperty, plant and equipment 3 46,666 88,942

TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS 46,666 88,942TOTAL ASSETS 1,354,126 1,229,893

CURRENT LIABILITIESCreditors and borrowings 4 42,724 102,738

Provisions 5 547,119 445,653

Other – Grants unexpended 6 100,706 110,846

TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 690,549 659,237

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIESProvisions 5 68,103 61,626

TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 68,103 61,626TOTAL LIABILITIES 758,652 720,863NET ASSETS (LIABILITIES) $ 595,474 $ 509,030

EQUITYRetained Earnings 595,474 509,030

TOTAL EQUITY $ 595,474 $ 509,030


InCoRPoRATIonS ACT 1984)

STATEMEnT oF FInAnCIAL PoSITIon AS AT 30 JUnE 2012


InCoRPoRATIonS ACT 1984)

STATEMEnT oF ChAnGES In EQUITYFoR ThE YEAR EndEd 30 JUnE 2012

2012 2011note $ $

Balance at 1 July 2011 509,030 444,213

Profit attributable to members 86,444 64,817

Balance at 30 June, 2012 $ 595,474 $ 509,030


When Elizabeth, a local community worker, came to the Illawarra Legal Centre to find out how the place worked, this is ‘more or less’ what she found or could have encountered in a slightly longer visit.

A management meeting had just concluded.

A team of volunteer management committee members, comprising local solicitors, academics, teachers, community advocates and workers representing diverse locations and specialisations, donate their time to regular meetings, recruitment and the task of overseeing the work of the Illawarra Legal Centre.

A Generalist solicitor was on phone advice answering questions about debts, a traffic infringement, an unfair dismissal and much more.

Another solicitor was preparing a Child Support matter for the Federal Magistrates Court.

The Financial Counsellor was seeing the second of five appointments for the day.

The specialist worker on Centrelink issues, the Welfare Rights worker, was sending follow up letters to his clients and silently celebrating a good outcome in another matter.

The Community Legal Education worker was dragging a wheelie bag of educational resources to a community stall where information and referral information would be available to members of the public.

The Aboriginal Legal Access Worker (ALAP) had just picked up a box of Frisbees, printed with a Youthlaw hotline number, for the NAIDOC week stall she and her colleagues were to staff in the coming week.

The Children’s Court Assistance Scheme (CCAS) worker had returned from Children’s Court after assisting to facilitate links between young court attendees and their solicitors. She had referred a young person to a housing support service and another to an alternative school arrangement.

A Tenancy advocate was assisting a tenant complete their application to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) while a tenancy colleague finalised a media story about recent housing issues.

The ILC Coordinator finalised a funding submission and followed up the management committee decisions and gave Elizabeth some of the Centre’s recent publications.

The Principal solicitor facilitated a case conference with the Centre’s caseworkers and checked various publications before they went to print.

The phones rang incessantly and an administrative worker entering data occasionally helped the front desk worker answer phones. The financial team disappeared under an avalanche of papers to emerge countless times to answer questions. The reception worker made appointments for the Thursday Night Legal Roster staffed by local pro bono solicitors.

Elizabeth’s visit came to an end as several people ‘dropped in’ seeking urgent assistance with a tenancy eviction notice. Elizabeth said she would be back and perhaps she could volunteer her time on the management committee.

The day Elizabeth came to visit

Illawarra legal Centre InC annual report 2011 - 2012 36

Illawarra Legal Centre Inc Annual Report 2011-2012

© Illawarra Legal Centre Inc 2012

7 Greene Street (PO Box 139)

Warrawong NSW 2502

Telephone 02 4276 1939

Facsimilie 02 4276 1978


Cover image: Becky Guggisberg, Carefree 2012, Oil on canvas

Illawarra Legal Centre Inc Annual Report 2011 - 2012

© Illawarra Legal Centre Inc 20127 Greene Street (PO Box 139)Warrawong NSW 2502Telephone 02 4276 1939Facsimilie 02 4276 1978www.illawarralegalcentre.org.au

Illawarra legal Centre InCAnnuAl RepoRt

2011-2012

Illawarra legal Centre InC AnnuAl RepoRt 2011- · PDF filePhillip Dicalfas Principal Solicitor...

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Transcript of Illawarra legal Centre InC AnnuAl RepoRt 2011- · PDF filePhillip Dicalfas Principal Solicitor...