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Local CLC Impact Report

​Local CLC provides free legal help to anyone in who lives, works or studies in the Local area, or otherwise has a connection to this community. Our services are designed to be appropriate to the needs of the Local community, and effective so that they have a positive impact for clients.

Our services: Last financial year

The Generalist Service provides 45 minute, one-off legal advices on a range of civil and criminal law matters, which can include: Wills and powers of attorney Consumer issues such as debt, contracts and rights   Boundary fences Domestic violence orders Criminal matters, including youth  Tenancy matters. We also provide guidance to clients who have civil law matters in the courts through our Self-Represented Litigants Clinic. Both of these services rely on the important contributions of our volunteers.	1,234 legal advices were provided to Local residents as part of the Generalist Service and the Self-Represented Litigants Clinic
The Welfare Rights Service provides advice, information and representation in matters relating to Centrelink issues for people across the Local community. Additionally, there is an opportunity, following assessment, for clients to be represented to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).	The Welfare Rights Service provided advice to 68 clients, and represented 17 clients at the AAT
The Domestic Violence Duty Lawyer Service, provided at Local Magistrates Court, means that people affected by family violence can gain protection, as lawyers support them in applications for domestic violence protection orders. Working in partnership with Legal Aid Queensland, we provide legal help to people responding to allegations of domestic violence.	81% of the Domestic Violence Duty Lawyer clients are referred to community services for more help
​The Family Relationship Centre Partnership continues to offer legal assistance and support in the separation process in an attempt to reduce the number of matters that need to go before the courts. Our family law practice is focused on parenting provisions, but we also offer limited advice on divorce and property settlement procedures.	81% of Family Relationship Centre clients feel more confident navigating the legal system
The Employment Law Service assists workers facing issues with employment, and provides free, confidential legal advice, further assistance and referrals for vulnerable employees in these areas. It assists with the following issues: Unfair dismissal Unlawful termination and general protections claims Underpayment of entitlements Breach of contract  Equal opportunity. ​	91% of Employment Law Service clients would recommend our services

Our clients

• 61% of our clients are women
• 12% of our clients are First Australians 
• 19% of our clients have disability 
• 18% of our clients are aged over 65 years.​

What our clients say

Local CLC surveyed 60 clients across the month of February last financial year. This survey group represents just under 10% of our total clients across one year. Proportionately, more women over the age of 50 years old provided responses to the survey (20%), than are represented in our overall client base (7%). Our largest group of clients are women aged between 18 and 45 years (47%).

The feedback from our client survey was as follows:
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• ​85% of clients said Local CLC staff helped them to understand their legal issues, and the available options
• 86% of clients agreed or strongly agreed that our service was easy to access
• 93% of clients were confident that our staff [not just lawyers] could assist them
• 83% of clients agreed that our information and resources were useful
• 86% of clients found our staff friendly and respectful
• 93% of clients now know where they can get legal help in the future
• 88% of clients felt we met their personal and cultural needs in providing a service.

Our clients told us: 

My situation was very difficult as I certainly did not fit the boxes with my disability, as it is rare and very hard for people/doctors to understand it. This service was outstanding and I truly believe that without Local CLC, I would still be in a black hole fighting for some type of assistance. I cannot thank you enough for the help I received.

Very thorough, went out of the way to help, disappointed in final result but that was not the fault of the legal service.

Very caring, attentive and informative.

Our focus on increasing accessibility of our services

Research completed by the Law and Justice Foundation (2015, p 63) shows that people with a disability or mental illness have high vulnerability to a broad range of legal problems. Information from the Local Council shows that one in five residents (20%) has a disability, but last year, only 8% of our clients told us they had a disability.

By making sure that more people with disability can get accessible and appropriate legal services, we increase the likelihood that their matter will be properly heard/adjudicated, resulting in decreased stress and anxiety, and decreasing their social isolation/exclusion.

This year, Local CLC developed a number of strategies to make our services more accessible to people with disability, including:

• Developing a Disability Action Plan, which sets out a framework for service delivery that is appropriate, inclusive, non-discriminatory and effective
• Entering into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Local Disability Service Inc, a large provider of services to people with disability in the Local area
• Reviewing our office’s physical features, to ensure that the building is accessible for people with mobility issues
• Delivering community legal education sessions on Appealing and Reviewing NDIS decisions to family and carer groups
• Partnering with Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland to host a morning tea in December to celebrate International Day of People with a Disability.

As a result of this work, last year, 19% of our clients told us they had a disability, an increase of 75% in just two years. 

Our client's stories

Michael’s story

​Access to social security benefits ensures that people who have a disability can live with dignity and have their basic needs met. For people with a disability, it can be challenging to negotiate a complex social security system to obtain the social security benefit to which they are entitled.
 
After approaching a number of government and non-government agencies for assistance to obtain disability support payment, Michael sought assistance from Local CLC.  He was experiencing high levels of stress about how to pay for his daily needs, as he did not have regular income.  Local CLC assisted Michael by contacting Centrelink and negotiating with them about Michael’s entitlement to income support.  This involved providing documents to Centrelink that provided evidence of Michael’s situation.

As a result of Local CLC’s work, Michael is now in receipt of disability income support.  Michael has been able to start paying off a backlog of bills, and has said that: ​

Thanks to Local CLC, I feel less stressed and more in control.

Jannali’s story

​All children have a right to be cared for in a safe environment. When a child's parent is unable to provide that care, grandparents can be an important part of extended families to take over this responsibility. The child protection and family law systems are complex to negotiate when a grandparent is wanting to ensure their grandchild is living in a safe environment.
 
Jannali sought assistance from Regional CLC when her grandchild, Mia, was taken into the care of Child Safety as a result of her daughter, Tarni, being unable to take care of Mia. The relationship between Jannali and Jane broke down as a result of Tarni’s drug use. Mia was disruptive in school, on the days that she made it. After Mia was taken into the care of Child Safety, Jannali didn’t have any contact with her, despite many requests.

Regional CLC assisted Jannali with her application to the Regional Magistrates Court to obtain guardianship of Mia. A solicitor from Regional CLC represented Jannali in her guardianship hearing. As a result of the assistance provided by Regional CLC, Jannali was successful in her application to care for Mia. Jannali is feeling less stressed about Mia’s future care and Mia is regularly attending school, with her behaviour at school improving. ​

Our impact on our clients

Clients of Local CLC agree that we provide appropriate services that can assist with them resolving their legal problems and as a result they feel better equipped with how to seek help in the future. While some clients identified that they felt their legal problem was not resolved to their satisfaction (22%), they did not attribute this to a problem with the services provided by Local CLC.

The case studies illustrate that when clients have their legal problems resolved, this can lead to greater impacts upon their lives such as improved family relationships, freedom from debt, and access to an income.

In the coming 12 months, we look forward to working towards further increasing our access to the community through the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan.