Preferred supplier newsletter – December 2024
Stay up to date with the latest news and information for law firms that provide legal aid services.
In this issue:
Stay up to date with the latest news and information
for law firms providing legal aid services.
A thank you from our CEO
Nicky Davies, LAQ CEO
As the end of the year approaches, LAQ would like to recognise the valuable contribution that the private law firms we partner with make to our disadvantaged clients and to the justice system every day.
Preferred suppliers provide about 80 percent of our legal representation services across criminal, family and civil law matters throughout the state. It is clear we could not meet legal assistance needs in Queensland without you.
As you are probably acutely aware, there is a growing need for more law firms to join our community and deliver legal aid services around the state.
We were pleased to announce a fee increase from 1 August 2024, when we increased fees paid to solicitors, barristers and other service providers in State and Commonwealth law matters.
We know that fees are one of the key considerations for firms when deciding to take on legal aid work, and we continue to work with both the state and federal governments on this issue.
Another of our key priorities is improving communication and engagement with partner law firms.
We want you to feel a valued part of the LAQ team and enjoy the benefits of being a partner law firm. As always, if you have any suggestions for ways we can work better together, please email partner.engagement@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Meet Terry Fisher of Fisher Dore Lawyers
Terry Fisher of Fisher Dore Lawyers.
This month we sat down to chat with Terry Fisher, of Fisher Dore Lawyers, Brisbane. The firm also has offices in Cairns and Mackay, where they provide legal aid services. Terry told us about his extensive work as an external review officer for LAQ.
With a legal career spanning four decades, Terry Fisher has built a reputation as a formidable lawyer, leading many high-profile cases before courts, tribunals and Royal Commissions.
Along with drug, murder and complex fraud matters, some of Mr Fisher’s most notable cases have seen him defending clients charged with Migration Act offences, including Indonesian fishers who were famously acquitted of people smuggling.
Mr Fisher began his career in the law as an Australian Army legal officer, before taking up a role as a prosecutor with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Passionate about social justice, he has also worked in the community legal sector, including with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service and Prisoners’ Legal Service.
The firm Mr Fisher co-founded, Fisher Dore Lawyers, also represents clients as a LAQ preferred supplier law firm.
Given his extensive experience practising in criminal and administrative law, Mr Fisher was approached by LAQ in 2013 to take on the role of external review officer—independently reviewing decisions made by the organisation about applications for legal aid.
“I see this role functioning as a safety valve,” Mr Fisher said.
“We ensure aid is distributed in an equitable and transparent way, to the right people, for the right reasons. These are decisions that affect people’s lives.”
LAQ receives more than 40,000 applications for legal aid each year and approves around 75 percent.
When applicants disagree with a decision made about an application for aid, or about conditions put on a grant of aid, there are two avenues for appeal.
The first process sees decisions reviewed internally. If applicants are unhappy with the outcome of that process, they can seek to have the decision reviewed by an external review officer.
Around 300 applications are considered by external review officers each year.
To be considered for the external review officer role, lawyers need to be experienced practitioners with an extensive knowledge of the law. A minimum of 10-plus years’ in criminal, civil or family law is a requirement.
Mr Fisher sees strong administrative law experience as an asset to an external review officer, as well as a social justice mindset.
For those interested in doing this type of work, Mr Fisher encourages experienced legal practitioners to go for it.
“It takes you back to the basics, that is, listening to clients and delivering on what they tell you they need,” he said.
“It will benefit your own development in grounds of appeal and growing client relationships.”
“You’ll have independence in your decision making and you’ll be able to assist vulnerable people who can’t afford a private lawyer, helping them navigate administrative and court decisions impacting their lives and wellbeing.”
LAQ is currently calling for expressions of interest from legal professionals with 10-plus years’ experience in criminal, family, civil or administrative law, to join its panel of external review officers.
For more information, visit the LAQ website. Expressions of interest close 20 December 2024.
Want to feature your firm in our newsletter or social media? It would be great to hear from you. To register your interest please email partner.engagement@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Supreme Court summer break details
The Supreme Court of Queensland has issued the court’s summer break 2024-25 arrangements in Applications and Crime.
The court has confirmed the summer break will start on Monday 16 December 2024 and finish on Tuesday, 28 January 2025, noting Monday, 27 January 2025 is the Australia Day public holiday.
A Duty Judge will be available to hear urgent matters only, commencing the weeks of 23 December 2024 and 30 December 2024. To arrange a hearing for urgent matters, you can phone Court Security on 3738 7743, who will then contact the Associate.
Read further details about the Supreme Court summer break for 2024/2025.
New Guidelines for Independent Children’s Lawyers (ICLs)
New Guidelines for Independent Children’s Lawyers were launched on 29 October 2024 at the National ICL Conference in Perth.
Developed by National Legal Aid, in collaboration with state and territory Legal Aid Commissions, and in consultation with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA), the guidelines reflect changes to the parenting provisions of the Family Law Act, which came into effect in May 2024. They have been endorsed by the Chief Justice and Chief Judge of the FCFCOA and the Chief Judge of the Family Court of Western Australia.
The new guidelines provide comprehensive information about the role and work of the ICL in parenting and Hague Convention cases. They give legal effect to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the ‘best interests’ test, the child’s right to express views in matters that affect them, and the right to be heard in proceedings about them.
The guidelines are arranged into practical topics, including:
- key expectations of the ICL
- relationship with the child
- skills in representing vulnerable children
- relationships with parties and their lawyers
- general process on appointment.
For example, under the section ‘Skill in representing vulnerable children’, the guidelines discuss representing children at risk of harm from family violence, abuse, and neglect, and refer to the Courts’ Family Violence Best Practice Principles. The guidelines recommend seeking expert assistance and evidence to assess and manage risks, and ensuring relevant evidence about the potential risks and their impacts are available to the court in decision-making.
In the section discussing ‘Relationships with parties and their lawyers’ you will find practical guidance about communication with lawyers and unrepresented parties, effectively where the ICL takes an ‘honest broker’ role in negotiations to assist the resolution in a case.
Also worth reading is the ‘General process on appointment’ section, which sets out the steps and processes for an ICL appointed to a case. This part contains practical and legal considerations for the ICL in each stage of the case including:
- advising the parties and the court of their engagement
- liaising with report writers and experts and obtaining reports
- meeting with the child and ensuring the child’s views are put before the court
- case planning
- participating in interim hearings and final hearings
- promoting resolution
- explaining orders to the child
- considering appeals.
We hope you will find the new guidelines are a valuable resource, defining the work and requirements of the ICL role and highlighting the important role ICLs perform in parenting and Hague Convention matters.
Brisbane Magistrates Court - new domestic and family violence (DFV) summary call over (crime)
You may be aware there is a new DFV (crime) summary call over coming for DFV offences in Brisbane. The DFV Summary call over will be held on the second and fourth Friday of each month, in Brisbane Magistrates Court 25, commencing on 10 January 2025.
A PDF copy of the DFV summary call over - guideline 1 of 2025 was emailed to all LAQ partner law firms on 11 December 2024. The guidelines are to be read in conjunction with Magistrates Court PD No. 3 of 2023.
Relevant matters from the summary call over will be adjourned to be listed in the new DFV summary call over from now.
Please note that, as outlined in section 3a of the guidelines, if a plea is indicated at the first court appearance, the matter can be dealt with in the usual course as a sentence in courts 1 or 3, or an adjournment to remand court, lengthy plea diary or court 18.
This call over will be serviced by an LAQ duty lawyer.
Payment rules for case conferences under Supreme Court Practice Direction 5 of 2024
In our July 2024 Preferred Supplier newsletter, we shared that case conferences required under Supreme Court Practice Direction 5 of 2024 – Criminal list could be claimed as a mention fee. We would like to provide further clarification about what can be claimed in this scenario.
The grants of aid for barristers for Supreme Court pleas of guilty do not include a mention fee component.
To resolve this issue, case conferences required under Practice Direction 2024/5 can be claimed on invoices as an additional conference fee, on the initial Supreme Court grants of aid. Please include dates and details in the ‘outcomes’ section when submitting your invoice.
We have had some questions about whether additional case conferences can be claimed where an extraordinary case grant has been issued. If an extraordinary case grant for a Supreme Court plea of guilty or the Supreme Court trial grant have been issued (which is automatically paid at the extraordinary rate), you may only claim one conference fee under the initial Supreme Court grant of aid.
If you need to travel to attend case conferences required under Practice Direction 2024/5, you may claim travel time and expenses if the court is more than a 35 km round trip from your office. These claims should be made in accordance with the rates outlined in the LAQ scale of fees.
For more information, email Grants Team 10 at grantsteam10@legalaid.qld.gov.au or call 3917 0996.
LAQ criminal law duty lawyer roster changes
There have been some changes to how LAQ distributes the criminal law duty lawyer rosters and notes. Rosters will now be sent via a single email with separate attachments.
Links to the notes are now also available on the website.
LAQ is moving towards uploading the criminal law duty lawyer rosters and notes on our website, so please watch this space.
Grants Online update
We told you in previous editions of this newsletter that we are planning a new look and feel for Grants Online.
This project is still underway and we are working to have the new grant of aid screens, extension screens and invoicing screens live early in the new year.
We hope you will find that our refreshed Grants Online system will feature easier navigation for your firm.
Database of the month
Each month we are featuring one of our free databases that can help you with your case research. This month we feature the child protection database.
This database contains child protection decisions about child protection orders, custody, guardianship and contact. You can access a range of child protection decisions from courts, and search the decisions based on criteria such as proceeding type, stage, and child protection concepts.
For guidance using the child protection decisions database, refer to our new
child protection decision database tip sheet and video tutorial demonstrating how to get relevant results from your search. Both resources have been developed by our library team to make it easier for your firm to research caselaw.
The resources as well as the database are available through Grants Online. You will find them under the Information Resources tab. Need assistance with this database? Contact the library at library@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Are you looking for professional development opportunities
to boost your CPD points? You can access free live and recorded CPD sessions,
which are available on Grants Online under the Information Resources tab.
November CPD and training wrap-up
We presented several sessions in November that were open to preferred suppliers and eligible for CPD points. If you could not make a session, most are recorded so you can watch them in your own time. You can access recorded CPD sessions via Grants Online under “Information Resources” and then “Continuing Professional Development”. Please note, sessions may take up to 3 weeks to appear following the event.
Would you like us to deliver a free training session to your colleagues or attend one of your staff meetings to talk about the Blurred Borders kits? Please get in touch by emailing cle@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Check out our website to stay in the loop about our planned upcoming sessions.
Publication of the month
One of our most frequently viewed publications is our How do I get a domestic violence protection order? factsheet. Your clients may find it useful as well, so feel free to share the link or have copies available in your office.
You can share this publication with clients experiencing domestic and family violence in a relationship. It highlights how a domestic violence order can help stop the violence and covers how to apply for an order.
LAQ produces more than 100 publications and resources, from factsheets to posters, brochures, wallet cards and comprehensive legal information guides to help you support your clients. You can check out the publications on the LAQ website and they can be ordered online for free.
For more information about our publications or to order copies of the duty lawyer form or duty lawyer session report form, email publications@legalaid.qld.gov.au.