The Royal Commission provides an opportunity for a wider conversation about mental health through community consultation which aims to accelerate improvements in access to mental health services, service navigation and models of care, looking at ways to end stigma and discrimination. Northern Community Legal Centre made a Formal Submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and supports the government’s efforts to improve and expand the current framework.
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Mental health problems are widespread within NCLC’s community. In Hume City Council, 15.9% of residents identify as having high or very high levels of psychological distress. A 2010 Victorian Health report revealed that mental health problems, along with neurological and sense disorders, are the ‘leading cause of burden in the Hume region.’ High proportions of people also experienced high or very high levels of psychological stress, coupled with high or very high levels of social isolation, in Merri-bek City Council.
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Northern Community Legal Centre made a submission to Productivity Commission inquiry into Mental Health, which aims to explore the social and economic benefits of improving mental health.
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We focus our limited resources on the most vulnerable in our community, which includes people with mental health issues. Many of the clients we assist across a range of legal areas have a mental health illness as a backdrop to their legal problems. In our submission, we highlight various areas of concern for our priority clients, who include newly arrived and refugees, people with a mental illness, young people and victims/survivors of family violence. These cohorts present with compounding vulnerabilities which exacerbate their difficulty in accessing appropriate legal help. We identify the following considerations:
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​That the understanding of the justice system as outlined in the inquiry be broadened to include civil justice and that understandings obtained through the recent inquiries.
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That there be specific Health Justice funding for lawyer’s in mental health programs.
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That process’s in courts at the state and federal level incorporate better identification of people with mental illness including; questions on all forms; requirements on judicial staff to identify if a person before the court whether in the civil or criminal jurisdiction has a mental illness and training of staff in better identifying and responding to people with a mental illness.
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We recommend that funding agreements for other social services provide incentivisation to work with other services including community legal services to provide a wraparound service.
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That the Legal Assistance sector funding through the National Partnership Agreement ensure a more specific focus on mental health and promotion of integrated service delivery with mental health services.
LAW REFORM & ADVOCACY​
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Northern Community Legal Centre’s purpose is to ensure equal access to justice for all in Melbourne’s North-West and Northern growth corridors. Using evidence-based insights drawn from our legal casework, community engagement activities and research projects, NCLC advocates for changes to policy and laws to address justice barriers that lead to inequity and disadvantage.
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Law Reform Submissions
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MENTAL HEALTH
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Law reform submissions relating to mental health:
Northern Community Legal Centre made a Formal Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Homelessness in Victoria and supported the Victorian government’s efforts to address homelessness in Victoria.
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We are committed to assisting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members our community. These are people who have much more limited access to legal assistance and include: Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, people experiencing homelessness, people who have a diagnosed mental illness, refugees and the newly arrived, victims/survivors of family violence, and young people.
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Our 2020-2024 Strategic Plan affirms our commitment to assisting clients who face multiple systemic barriers to justice. Ultimately, we see significant cross over between our priority clients and their homelessness experiences, namely that their homelessness has contributed to or has been exacerbated by their legal matter.
HOMELESSNESS
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Law reform submissions relating to homelessness:
NCLC has provided a written submission to the Parliament of Australia: House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence. The findings of this inquiry will inform the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.
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Our submission highlighted key findings from our project ‘Abused and Abandoned: Family Violence in the Australian Indian Community’ funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board. Drawing on our findings from casework to date, our submission highlighted the need for urgent systemic reform based upon our research into the experiences of Indian women in Australia, and the adequacy of our legal system to provide appropriate protections.
This submission recommends amendment to the family violence provisions under the Migration Regulations 1994 to allow any person including those on skilled/business innovation streams who have experienced family violence to access pathways to permanent residence. It is recommended that new permanent visa pathways are introduced for victim survivors of family violence on temporary visas who have Australian citizen or permanent resident children. This submission further calls on the broadening of the definition of family violence under the Migration Regulations 1994 to cover conduct that has been perpetrated by extended family members as well as conduct committed outside of Australia.
FAMILY VIOLENCE
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Law reform submissions relating to family violence:
This project piloted a scalable Lawyer Assisted Dispute Resolution program by partnering with a Monash Law Clinic, and Family Relationship Centres (FRCs). We upskilled community Lawyers in property law, built the capacity of FRC mediators to work with community lawyers in property mediations, and tested a model of swift, accessible, limited legal assistance that avoids the need for expensive litigation. For victims-survivors of family violence, the pilot successfully improved access to mediation, access to the property pool, knowledge of the family law system, and access to additional financial legal remedies. Though we require further funding is required for mediation and litigation services.
Funded by the Victoria Law Foundation, and run in partnership with the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights, the Barriers to Access Research Project unpacked the range of process issues and barriers faced by migrant and refugee women applying to the court for family violence intervention orders online.
Funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner, the Justice at Home Research Project explored the user experience of victims/survivors of family violence participating remotely in intervention order hearings, evaluating the benefits and constraints of remote attendance and any impacts it has upon safety, validation, participation, support needs, and awareness of the next steps.
Funded by the Victorian Law Foundation, the Technology-Enhanced Access to Legal Services (TEALS) Project explored whether an interactive online tool – the 'Legal Connector' – could streamline NCLC's triage process in an efficient, safe and informative way.
Run in partnership with Mind Australia, the Legally Minded Project explored how legal intervention can impact upon the wellbeing and quality of life of people with mental health issues.
This two-year investigative project funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board developed a model of integrated legal, migration and family violence support – combined with community education and engagement – for migrant women from India. Project findings confirmed that women on temporary visas experience disproportionate frequency and severity of family violence, and that migration status is a significant barrier to leaving abusive relationships or addressing violence. The project assisted 164 women throughout its duration and proved to be phenomenally successful, enabling many of these women to find safety and establish themselves free from risk of violence. In 2021, NCLC received extended funding from the Victorian Legal Services Board for the Safe Landing Project, which extends the pilot model to include all women experiencing family violence on temporary visas in Melbourne’s North-West.
Project Reports & Recommendations