Victoria Legal Aid

We welcome the landmark decision by the High Court of Australia that a notice of a visa cancellation is not valid when the recipient lacks legal capacity to respond to that notice. The court found that the Department of Home Affairs did not give valid notice of visa cancellation to our client, as he did not have capacity to understand or respond to the notice issued to him while in prison. This sets an important precedent for the rights of non-citizens in prison or detention who are subject to visa cancellation where they do not have capacity to take action in response. It also reinforces the need for early legal and non-legal assistance so people with disability or mental health issues can be supported to exercise their rights. This case demonstrates the harsh impacts of the government’s 'cancel first, talk later' mandatory visa cancellation policy. We support calls in our sector for the policy’s repeal. Read more https://lnkd.in/gU2aMKSF Office of The Public Advocate

The Global Commission on Drug Policy have released a report which they describe as being 'a call to action … to chart a new path forward'. We have been advocating for reform to drug policy for years. Drugs should be treated as a health issue not a criminal issue. Listen to this interview on ABC Radio National Breakfast to find out more https://lnkd.in/eJafPcs6

Today is International Human Rights Day. Here at Victoria Legal Aid we work towards supporting our client's human rights every day. We also continue to advocate for an Australian human rights charter. This is essential for a fairer, more respectful society where people are treated with fairness, equality, dignity and respect in all aspects of their lives. For more information visit https://lnkd.in/gnsWmu27

We have a large number of lawyers who recently earned specialist accreditation in children's law and criminal law. ‘Specialisation is also a recognition of your enhanced skill level and expertise and is a significant achievement distinguishing you in your area of practice,' says Professional Support Lawyer, Crime, Jennifer Schubert. Read more about our latest accredited specialists https://lnkd.in/gkYqvcyV

Stronger action should be taken to recognise and prevent financial abuse of Australia’s child support system. We're pleased to see these recommendations from the parliamentary joint standing committee on corporations and financial services. Legal help is available to stop the weaponising of child support payments and be paid what your children are owed.  You can read more information on child support and our specialist legal service here https://lnkd.in/g7zNuMDM https://lnkd.in/g7M6Ki65

Earlier this week, we had the pleasure of attending DjirraVIC's ACTIVEism Festival to celebrate Aboriginal women's strength and to take a stand against gendered violence. During the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence we acknowledge that First Nations women are disproportionately impacted by family violence.   For over 22 years, Djirra has advocated for the safety of Aboriginal women and children experiencing family and sexual violence.   To learn more about the links between misidentification, family violence and child removal and the First Nations led solutions identified by Djirra and their partners - read their submission to National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Safety Plan https://lnkd.in/gUPKFi7q

As 2024 draws to a close I just wanted to acknowledge all of my Victoria Legal Aid colleagues who work to make a difference in the lives of clients and the community, every day. This week we marked some extraordinary milestones of remarkable staff who have given decades of their professional lives to this important work, and we reflected on our collective achievements. Amidst the many challenges it has been a terrific year in so many ways which you can read about in our Annual Report 2023-24: https://lnkd.in/g9gtVgAB From a regional perspective, a few that stood out to me include the opening of our new Mildura office, the more recent initiation of a Wodonga based staff practice, and the privilege of undertaking on-Country cultural learning for many of our metro and regional office staff. I also want to give a shout out to colleagues and fellow-travellers from across the legal assistance sector who continue to give so deeply in their own ways and workplaces. You are inspiring. Having concluded my stint supporting the transition between CEO’s I look forward to returning to the Regions and Service Delivery directorate in full strength in the new year (from 20 January), rejuvenated by some time off with family and travel abroad. Stay safe over the festive season and go well. Rowan McRae Cam Hume Joanna Fletcher Kate Bundrock Lucy Adams Eila Pourasgheri Ashley Morris Nadeesha Mapa Bill Jaboor

We welcome the increased investment across the legal assistance sector that aims to address wage parity for Community Legal Centres, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services and provides more sustainable service delivery. https://lnkd.in/g7Dz3UGD National Legal Aid

Today is International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD). We all have a role to play in ensuring people with disability can equitably participate in all aspects of community life. Last week, we held a staff event to celebrate IDPwD. Our theme was ‘Busting barriers to rewarding careers’ with two guest speakers: - VLA Board Member Llewellyn Prain - ADHD Australia CEO Melissa Webster (she/her) Melissa shared her experiences as a neurodivergent individual and successful strategies for supporting people with ADHD in the workplace. This included her concept of disability ‘superpowers’ – areas where people with disability can be ‘absolutely awesome, sometimes better in areas than colleagues'. Llewellyn reflected on the fact that she became more adaptable than she thought she was when she lost her vision. ‘What's become really clear to me is that people with disability are super adaptable – we're constantly problem solving, we're constantly thinking about the logistics and situations that are going to be disabling for us and thinking about how we're going to manage that,’ she said. You can also join the Australian Disability Network campaign to ‘Choose Inclusion’ by watching the short film ‘It’s not hard to be inclusive’ https://lnkd.in/g5Xm9juP

'During the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, this is all the more important to ensure we don’t forget why we do the work.' Read Sharika Jeyakumar's reflections on the work of the Specialist Family Violence Courts project following yesterday's morning tea where we had an opportunity to hear from people involved across the life of the project. #16DaysOfActivism