Preferred supplier update — September 2022
This month:
Criminal law duty lawyers and the representation of children
Legal Aid Queensland (LAQ) recently changed its policy in relation to duty lawyer representation in youth justice (criminal law) Childrens Court matters.
Where possible, LAQ in-house practitioners will provide specialist duty lawyer services for Childrens Court call-overs. However, where this is not possible, LAQ will engage preferred supplier law firms and other practitioners who are appropriately accredited and certified to deliver services to young people in youth justice matters.
If, however, there is a child requiring duty lawyer assistance but no accredited Childrens Court duty lawyer available, an exception is made for a Magistrates Court (adults) duty lawyer to provide the service to children, whether in custody or otherwise, so that no child is left without legal assistance and/or representation at court. Any Magistrates Court duty lawyer providing this service to children will be able to submit a duty lawyer session report to claim payment for the service to children.
This exception does not detract from LAQ’s requirement for all existing and new duty lawyers to complete the compulsory Youth Practitioner Certification Training conducted by LAQ for accreditation as a Childrens Court duty lawyer. The next scheduled training will be on Friday, 14 October 2022. You may register for this training CPD session here.
We look forward to continuing to work with you in providing this important service to children and thank you for your ongoing commitment to our clients.
Criminal law duty lawyers and the representation of children — Youth Practitioner Certification Training
The Youth Practitioner Certification is a compulsory certification program for all youth lawyers undertaking Childrens Court duty lawyer and/or file work. This certification aims to enhance the skills of lawyers providing legal services to young people and create a greater understanding of the knowledge required to work with vulnerable youth. All lawyers must complete the program before working with youth and this requirement has been added to the criminal law case management standards.
LAQ is organising a Youth Practitioner Certification Training session on 14 October 2022 for practitioners who want to undertake the training.
Below are the details and the link to register:
Friday, 14 October 2022
Legal Aid Queensland Auditoriums (44 Herschel Street, Brisbane)
Face-to-face or webinar option available
Register through the link below:
LAQ's Youth Practitioner Certification - Friday 14 October 2022 Tickets, Fri 14/10/2022 at 9:00 am | Eventbrite
In person attendance is encouraged, however there are limited spots available for the face-to-face sessions. A webinar option will be available for those practitioners unable to attend in person.
If you have any questions, please call Lauren on (07) 3917 0281 or email youth.certification@legalaid.qld.gov.au
Continuing professional development
Recorded CPD seminars are available on Grants Online under the Information Resources tab.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
The latest information about COVID-19 for preferred suppliers can be viewed here.
All persons entering Queensland Courts are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask.
Preferred suppliers are reminded to ensure they are confident in their ability to respond to COVID-19 by understanding the risk, minimising it where possible and complying with government and court directions.
Feedback
We welcome feedback and comments from clients, the community and our suppliers. As preferred suppliers you play an important role in helping us to provide quality legal services to disadvantaged Queenslanders. If you would like to provide comments or suggestions to us about our services, policies, processes or staff members, you can complete a contact form or email us at complaints@legalaid.qld.gov.au at any time.
Your feedback is important to us. We ensure a senior staff member investigates all issues raised thoroughly and we analyse all feedback every quarter to see what processes and services can be improved.