Preferred supplier newsletter — June 2024
This month:
Preferred supplier applications open
Legal Aid Queensland is calling for applications from all current and new preferred suppliers for 2024-27. Law firms with expertise in criminal, family and civil law matters are invited to apply.
With up to 80 percent of legal aid representation work being done by private law firms in Queensland, preferred suppliers are a valuable part of LAQ’s state-wide network to ensure demand for legal aid services is met.
If you are an existing preferred supplier, your agreement will expire on 31 July 2024. The good news is, we want you to reapply.
To help save you time, we have streamlined the application process. Existing preferred suppliers can complete a checklist instead of a full written response. Read more about how to apply for 2024-27. Applications close 17 July 2024.
We also welcome applications from new firms, particularly those in regional and remote areas, so please feel free to share this with your networks.
Law firms interested in becoming a preferred supplier for 2024-27 can learn more at how to become a preferred supplier. There is no closing date for new applications.
Youth Practitioner Certification training
Legal Aid Queensland has organised two training sessions for lawyers who want to complete their Youth Practitioner Certification. The training is a compulsory certification program for all youth lawyers undertaking Childrens Court duty lawyer and/or file work.The dates for the training sessions are:
- 18 July 2024, 9am – 4pm
- 11 November 2024, 9am – 4pm
The training sessions are available at Legal Aid Queensland’s Brisbane office at 44 Herschel Street, or via webinar. There are 20 ‘in person’ spots available for each session. Please use the webinar option if there are no available spots for in person training.
Please register for either sessionhere.
If you have any questions, please send an email to LAQ’S Youth Crime Coordinator youth.certification@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Criminal law duty lawyer service locations and requests for duty lawyers to act as agent
Firms are reminded that a complete list of LAQ’s Criminal Law Duty Lawyer Service Locations is available on our webpage here: Criminal Law Duty Lawyer Service Locations
This page provides key information including the name and contact details of firms providing the service, and days that a duty lawyer is available to assist. This information can be used to quickly identify the firms available to accept agency requests for eligible criminal law matters.
To determine if a matter is eligible for assistance from a duty lawyer agent, please visit Request For Duty Lawyers to Act as Agents. If a matter is eligible for assistance from a duty lawyer, please complete the request form and send to the relevant service provider.
If you have any questions about the duty lawyer service locations or requesting an agent, please contact the Duty Lawyer Services team on 3917 0404 or via criminallaw.dutylawyer@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Introducing Blurred Borders Queensland
In 2023, Legal Aid Queensland launched the Blurred Borders Queensland tool kit featuring story cards, stickers, wallet cards and other resources you can use with clients to simplify legal concepts and help them understand the law and their legal rights.
We have trained hundreds of frontline service providers across Queensland, and we are pleased to invite you take part in our free training program in 2024–25.
In addition to the information session, we will be running a range of sessions to cater for different experience levels and needs:
- Information session (1hr)
This session provides a general overview of the Blurred Borders Queensland tool kits. A captioned recording will be published on our YouTube channel.
- Training sessions* (2hrs)
Comprehensive sessions to show you how to use the Blurred Borders Queensland tool kits in your role. Best for those with no prior knowledge of Blurred Borders Queensland. *Includes a FREE kit for organisations completing training for the first time.
- Refresher sessions (1–2hrs)
Tailored sessions for those who have previously attended a Blurred Borders Queensland training session and are looking for specific information or have unique needs.
You can learn more about the tool kits on our website. The website includes a video called “What is Blurred Borders Queensland?” which provides an overview of the resources and how they can be used.
If you have any questions or are interested in training, please email cle@legalaid.qld.gov.au with your location, number of attendees and session type.
LAQ library: free access to caselaw databases
LAQ’s in-house library offers a wealth of resources to support your valuable work. This includes access to six specialised caselaw databases:
- Criminal judgments
- Comparable sentencing decisions (adult and juvenile)
- Domestic and family violence decisions
- Counselling Notes Protect decisions
- Family Law Property Decisions
- Child Protection Decisions.
These databases provide essential information for legal research and case preparation. You can access the databases and other helpful resources under the Information Resources tab on Grants Online.
Not sure how to navigate these databases? LAQ’s library team is here to help. You can email library@legalaid.qld.gov.au for advice and training on how to make the most of these resources.
Dispute Resolution Services – Junior Solicitor Pilot
From 1 July 2024, Legal Aid Queensland’s Dispute Resolution Services will begin a pilot program to allow junior solicitors to participate in family dispute resolution conferences.
The purpose of the pilot is to enable junior solicitors to be trained in Legal Aid Queensland’s conference model using a supervisory/mentoring approach.
The pilot will apply to all solicitors (in-house Legal Aid Queensland solicitors, preferred suppliers and privately funded solicitors) who are representing a party to the conference. Please note that neither the junior nor the mentoring solicitor can be appearing as the family dispute resolution practitioner in the conference.
A junior solicitor is considered to be either a graduate solicitor, trainee solicitor or an early-career solicitor with 1-3 years post-admission experience. A junior solicitor may participate in a Legal Aid Queensland conference as either:
- a silent observer of a mentoring solicitor, who is representing a party or appearing as an ICL or
- the file-managing solicitor of a party, with a mentoring solicitor attending the conference as the silent observer of the junior solicitor.
The program does not apply to barristers, law clerks, PLT students or other observers.
The mentoring solicitor must advise the conference organiser when they confirm the date and time of the conference that a junior solicitor will attend the conference with them and their client. The mentoring solicitor must also state if the junior solicitor will attend as a silent observer, or as the file-managing solicitor who will be silently observed by the mentoring solicitor. The principles of confidentiality apply to all mediation participants, and the observing solicitor must comply with the rules of being a silent observer.
The pilot started on 1 July 2024 and will continue until 24 December 2024, when it will be reviewed.
For more information about the pilot please email drs@legalaid.qld.gov.au
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Looking for professional development opportunities to boost your CPD points? Many of LAQ’s CPD seminars are recorded and available on Grants Online under the Information Resources tab.
Upcoming webinars
Family Law Act Amendments - This community legal education session will focus on the significant changes which came into effect in May 2024, with a focus on parenting cases and how they apply to the Family Courts.
Date: Tuesday, 16 July 2024, 11am – 12pm (1 CPD point)
Keep an eye out for the email invitation and registration link.
June CPD wrap-up
We presented two webinars which were open to preferred suppliers and eligible for CPD points.
11 June – Social Deprivation at Sentencing – Bugmy and onwards (recording will be available through Grants Online – 1 CPD point).
21 June – Blurred Borders Queensland toolkits – tools and resources to help clients break down legal concepts and understand the law and their legal rights (a captioned recording will be published on LAQ’s YouTube channel).
Publications and resources
LAQ produces more than 100 publications and resources from factsheets to posters, brochures, wallet cards and comprehensive legal information guides on a range of topics. You can check out the publications on the LAQ website and they can be ordered online at no cost.
For more information about our publications or to order copies of the duty lawyer session report form, email publications@legalaid.qld.gov.au
Suggestions about this newsletter
As preferred suppliers you play an important role in helping us to provide quality legal services to disadvantaged Queenslanders. To provide comments or suggestions on what you would like to see in this newsletter, please email psupp.coordinator@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Other feedback
To provide feedback on LAQ services, policies, processes or staff members, you can complete a contact form or email LAQ at complaints@legalaid.qld.gov.au at any time. A senior staff member investigates all issues thoroughly and LAQ also analyses all feedback regularly to improve our policies, processes, and services. View our Feedback and Complaints Policy.