Preferred supplier newsletter – October 2024
Stay up to date with the latest news and information for law firms that provide legal aid services.
In this issue:
Spotlight on Legrady Law
Pictured (L-R) LAQ’s Peter Delibaltas with Samantha Legrady and Bernie Mitchener
Legrady Law, a boutique criminal and family law firm in Rockhampton, has been partnering with Legal Aid Queensland for more than three years.
Principal Solicitor Samatha Legrady told us the firm undertakes legal aid work because “…everyone deserves good quality legal representation. We try to end the roundabout so that people don’t come back into the justice system.”
The most rewarding part of being a preferred supplier for the team at Legrady Law?
“We get great outcomes for our people. In some cases, it is really life-saving,” Samantha said.
Thank you to Samantha, Bernie Mitchener and the dedicated team at Legrady Law for your partnership with LAQ. We could not deliver legal aid services to Queenslanders without you.
Want to feature your firm in our newsletter or social media? We would love to hear from you! To register your interest please email partner.engagement@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
New practice direction – exclusion orders
New laws passed by the Queensland Parliament recently make the Childrens Court more accessible to a range of people including victims of crime, their families and representatives, and accredited media.
These laws apply to Childrens Court criminal proceedings not heard on indictment, such as matters heard by a Childrens Court magistrate.
Under the changes, victims of crime – or the family of victims who have died, including by homicide, cannot be excluded from proceedings.
The media, who were previously required to apply to be present, can attend proceedings if accredited, unless excluded where necessary to prevent prejudice to the administration of justice or for the safety of any person, including the child.
On 3 September 2024, Practice Direction 1 of 2024 was issued, which sets out how to apply for an exclusion order in the Magistrates (Childrens) Court jurisdiction.
Section 20 of the Childrens Court Act 1992 limits who can attend criminal proceedings. Subsection (1) of the Act lists who can be present in court.
The new practice direction requires you to file an application to exclude media and/or other parties from the court. The application is required whether you know if the party you are seeking to be excluded will attend court or not. The application must be filed the day before the next court date.
You will also need to file an application for each court date, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
In considering whether to make an exclusion order, under the Act the court must consider the following:
- the primacy of the principle of open justice
- the public interest
- the Youth Justice Principles under the Youth Justice Act 1992
- the age of the child
- any special vulnerabilities of the child
- whether the child is unable to meaningfully participate in the proceeding because of the presence of the person proposed to be excluded by the exclusion order
- the seriousness of the offence alleged to have been committed by the child
- any cultural considerations relating to the child
- whether the presence of the person proposed to be excluded by the exclusion order may prejudice further court proceedings
- any submissions made under subsection (4)
- any other matter the court considers relevant.
Subsection (4) relates to the parties that can make submissions - a party to the proceeding, a person proposed to be excluded by the exclusion order and another person mentioned in subsection (1) with the leave of the court.
Read the Magistrates (Childrens) Court Practice Direction 1 of 2024 in full.
LAQ webpages update
To help you and your legal team navigate the information and resources on our website with ease we’ve updated our For Lawyers and Become a legal aid service provider webpages.
The refreshed webpages now feature preferred suppliers who partner with us to deliver legal aid services. You can also check out the benefits of being a partner law firm to LAQ, all in one handy place.
We hope you find them easy to navigate. We would appreciate your feedback on the new pages — email us at partner.engagement@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Would you like to feature your firm on our website? We would love to hear from you. Please email partner.engagement@legalaid.qld.gov.au.
Grants Online update
We are excited to share that the refreshed Grants Online will be live by the end of the year and will feature a new look and easier navigation.
You will see there is a new landing page as well as tool tips for key pages. As a bonus, you will now be able to upload multiple files at once.
Thank you to our partner law firms for their input on this project to date. Please watch this space for a practitioner’s guide to using the new screens.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts about the new look for Grants Online when it goes live.
Interpreter services
Does your client need an interpreter? Our Legal Aid Queensland language services policy will guide you when delivering language services to clients.
The policy sets out how we work with interpreters, the types of interpreters to use, how to arrange an interpreter and more.
The Grants handbook outlines the grants of aid available for an interpreter to communicate with clients and potential witnesses who are from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, have difficulty communicating in English or are hearing or speech impaired.
LAQ does not currently have a scale of fees for interpreters. For more assistance, please refer to the Grants handbook or contact your Grants team. Please note, LAQ will not cover interpreter fees if the cost is the responsibility of the court. You can refer to the relevant court practice direction for more information about this.
Database of the month
Not sure where to start with the LAQ library databases? Each month we are featuring one of our free databases to help you with your legal research. This month we are taking a dive into the family law property decisions database.
This database contains family law decisions about property settlement. You can access a range of family law property decisions from courts, and search property settlements based on criteria such as type and length of relationship, contributions made and future needs.
For guidance using the family law property decisions database, refer to our new tipsheet and video 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.
NLA Survey update
National Legal Aid (NLA) has let us know they achieved their target for the recent NLA survey response, with over 1000 responses submitted nationally.
The survey aimed to understand more about the experiences of private law firms who do legal aid work.
The team at NLA was impressed by the engagement with the survey from private practitioners from all over Australia, with 153 responses gathered from Queensland firms.
The NLA team passed on its thanks to all firms who participated and has advised that we can expect the draft report from the survey findings in November 2024.
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Are you looking for professional development opportunities to boost your CPD points? You can access recorded CPD sessions, which are available on Grants Online under the Information Resources tab.
Sessions available to book in October
7 to 10 cases which often arise in sentence hearings
Date: 15 October 2024
Time: 1–2pm
CPD Point Allocation: 1 (SL)
Event Details and Registration Link: Invitations will be sent soon via email, so please keep an eye on your inbox.
Mental health and wellbeing in the legal profession – managing burnout and building resilience
Date: 23 October 2024
Time: 1–2pm
CPD Point Allocation: 1 (PS)
Presented by psychologist Tera Vaka, of Vaka Psychology
This session is relevant to legal professionals of all experience levels and is also relevant to paralegals and support staff.
Keep an eye on your inbox for more details and the link to register. Please share the invitation and encourage your team to attend.
Communicating Forensic Biology Results - Session 2 of 2
Date: 25 October 2024
Time: 1–2pm
CPD Point Allocation: 1 (PS)
Event Details and Registration Link: refer to your invitation sent via email (on 5 September 2024).
If you’d like more information, please email learning@legalaid.qld.gov.au
Applying for a grant of aid and navigating our process
Date: 30 October 2024
Time: 2–3pm
September CPD and training wrap-up
We presented several sessions in September open to preferred suppliers and eligible for CPD points.
Child protection – helping clients access legal help
Date: 18 September 2024
CPD Point Allocation: 1 (PS)
Blurred Borders training – Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Date: 19 September 2024
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.
Introduction to Forensic Biology - Session 1 of 2
Date: 20 September 2024
CPD Point Allocation: 1 (PS)
All about the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management
Date: 25 September 2024
CPD Point Allocation: 2 (PS)
You can access recorded CPD sessions via Grants Online. Please note, sessions may take up to three weeks to appear following the event. You will find these under “Information Resources” and then “Continuing Professional Development”.
Publication of the month
One of our most popular publications last month was Do you have a grandchild in your care?
If you are a family law practitioner with clients raising grandchildren, then you will find this factsheet beneficial to have on hand. Read more about how to assist your clients to understand what they need to do if they have a child relative in their care and how family law applies to them.
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 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.