The Family And Civil Law Needs Of Aboriginal People

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The family and civil lawneeds of Aboriginal peoplein New South WalesFINALREPORTChirs Cunneen & Melanie SchwartzLaw Faculty, University of NSW, 2008

AcknowledgementsThe following people coordinated the sixteen focus groups in eight focus sites, and provided invaluable assistancein ensuring high rates of attendance: Sandra Hooper, Sharon Dykes, Tanya Carney, Dawn Blanch, BronwynPenrith, Simone Jolley, Evelyn Robinson, Don Clark, Jenny Beale, Clive Suey, Brett French, Phyllis Cubby,Teddy Hart.Fiona Allison provided research and organisational assistance for the project. In particular Fiona was responsiblefor Chapter 8 of the report. Michael Salter assisted with data SVLAWALSYLSAustralian Bureau of StatisticsAboriginal Client Services Specialist (Courts)Aboriginal Justice Service Delivery Plan (Legal Aid NSW)Aboriginal Legal Access Program (CCLCG)Aboriginal Legal Services NSW/ACTAboriginal Legal services of TorontoAccessibility/Remoteness Index of AustraliaAboriginal Trust Funds Repayment SchemeAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal ServicesAudio Visual LinkApprehended Violence OrderCombined Community Legal Centres Group (NSW)Community Development Employment ProjectsCommunity Legal CentreCommunity Legal EducationCommunity Liaison Officers (LAQ and NTLAC)Cooperative Legal Service DeliveryDepartment of Community Services (NSW)Department of Housing (New South Wales)Focus Group[Indigenous] Family Violence Prevention Legal ServiceHigher Education Contribution SchemeHuman Rights and Equal Opportunity CommissionIntegrated Indigenous Strategy Unit (LAQ)Indigenous Liaison Officer (LAQ)Legal Assistance Forum (LAQ)Legal Aid Society of Alberta (Canada)Legal Aid CommissionLegal Aid OntarioLegal Aid QueenslandLegal Services Agency (Pokapu Ratona Ture, New Zealand)Legal Services Corporation (United States)Legal Support Officer (Legal Aid NSW)Legal Services Society (British Colombia, Canada)Memorandum of UnderstandingNorthern Australian Aboriginal Justice AgencyNishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation (Canada)Native American Rights Fund (United States)National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social SurveyNational Legal Aid and Defender Association (United States)New South WalesNorthern Territory Legal Aid CommissionSteering Committee for the Report of Government Service ProvisionPrimary Dispute Resolution (NTLAC)Public Interest Advocacy CentreState Debt Recovery OfficeTechnical And Further EducationVictorian Aboriginal Legal ServiceVictorian Legal AidWestern Aboriginal Legal ServiceYukon Legal Service Society (Canada)2

CONTENTSAcknowledgementsAcronymsList of TablesEXECUTIVE SUMMARY91 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND211.1 Introduction and Research Questions1.2 Structure of this Report1.3 Methodology1.3.1 Identification and Selection of Research Site Areas1.3.2 Focus Groups: location and composition1.3.3 Focus Groups: process and discussion areas1.3.4 Stakeholder Interviews1.3.5 Identification of Stakeholders1.4 Service Delivery Context: Legal Aid NSW1.4.1 LAC/ATSILS Partnership1.4.2 Legal Aid Outreach Service at ALS Offices1.4.3 CLSD1.4.4 Rural Client Services Strategy1.4.5 Aboriginal Service Delivery Plan1.5 Service Delivery Context: Community Legal Centres1.6 Importance of a Legal Needs Analysis for Aboriginal People in Civil andFamily Law1.6.1 Access to Justice1.6.2 Existing Barriers to Accessing Justice1.7 Previous Research: Legal Needs1.7.1 The New South Wales Law And Justice Foundation Legal Needs Research Reports1.8 Previous Research: Indigenous Legal Needs1.8.1 Hawkesbury Nepean Community Legal Centre Study1.8.2 Previous Legal Aid NSW Reviews and Evaluations1.9 Definition of Legal Needs2 ABORIGINAL USE OF LEGAL AID CIVIL AND FAMILY LAW SERVICES412.1 Legal Aid for Civil Law Matters2.1.1 Applications for Civil Aid2.1.2 Applications for Civil Aid by Gender2.1.3 Successful Grants of Legal Aid for Civil Law Matters2.1.4 Grants of Civil Aid by Gender2.2 The Provision of Minor Assistance for Civil Law Matters2.2.1 Provision of Civil Minor Assistance by Gender2.3 Legal Aid for Family Law Matters2.3.1 Applications for Family Law Aid2.3.2 Applications for Family Law Aid by Gender2.3.3 Successful Grants for Family Law Aid2.3.4 Grants for Family Law Aid by Gender2.4 The Provision of Minor Assistance for Family Legal Aid Matters2.5 Conclusion3 LEGAL NEEDS ANALYSIS: FAMILY, HOUSING, NEIGHBOURS AND EDUCATION 613.1 Family3.1.1 Children3.1.2 Accessing Legal Advice3

3.1.3 Divorce and Separation3. 2 Housing and Tenancy3.2.1 Disputes with Landlord3.2.2 Disputes Relating to Supported Accommodation3.2.3 Other Legal Needs Relating to Housing3.3 Neighbours3.4 Education3.5 Conclusion4 LEGAL NEEDS ANALYSIS: EMPLOYMENT, STOLEN WAGESAND DISCRIMINATION774.1 Employment4.2 Stolen Wages and Stolen Generations4.3 Discrimination4.4 Conclusion5 LEGAL NEEDS ANALYSIS: SOCIAL SECURITY, CREDIT DEBTAND CONSUMER ISSUES875.1 Social Security and Centrelink5.2 Credit and Debt5.3 Consumer Issues5.4 Conclusion6 LEGAL NEEDS ANALYSIS: VICTIM’S COMPENSATION, ACCIDENTS,INJURIES AND WILLS AND ESTATES976.1 Victim’s Compensation6.2 Accident and Injury6.2.1 Motor Vehicle Accidents6.2.2 Work-Related and Other Injuries6.3 Wills and Estates6.4 Conclusion7 ABORIGINAL EXPERIENCES OF LEGAL AID1057.1 Aboriginal Legal Needs: The Priority Areas7.1.1 Determining Priority Areas7.1.2 Housing7.1.3 Discrimination7.1.4 Credit and Debt7.1.5 Family law / Care and Protection7.1.6 Other unrecognised needs7.2 Observations on Legal Aid NSW Service Delivery7.2.1 General observations on Legal Aid as a service to Aboriginal people7.2.2 Literacy issues, complexity of Legal Aid forms and lack of assistance7.2.3 Issues involving conflict, referral and lack of assistance7.2.4 Level of attention and friendliness given to clients7.2.5 Breakdowns in client-practitioner communication7.2.6 Issues concerning flexibility of service delivery7. 3 Conclusion8 CIVIL AND FAMILY LAW INITIATIVES IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS4123

8.1 Legal Aid Queensland8.1.1 Integrated Indigenous Strategy and Integrated Indigenous Strategy Unit8.1.2 Outreach8.1.3 Legal Assistance Forums8.1.4 MOUs with ATSILS and FVPLS8.1.5 Family Law Conferencing Program8.1.6 Other8.2 Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission8.2.1 Access and Education8.2.2 Family Dispute Resolution8.2.3 Outreach Project and Indigenous Community Liaison Officers8.2.5 Other8.3 Victorian Legal Aid8.3.1 Statement of Cooperation with VALS8.3.2 Secondment Arrangements8.3.3 Legal Aid Offices8.3.4 Cross Cultural Training8.4 Western Australian Legal Aid Commission8.4.1 Country Lawyers Program8.4.2 Other initiatives8.5 Other Australian Legal Aid Commissions8.5.1 Tasmanian Legal Aid Commission8.5.2 ACT Legal Aid Commission and South Australian Legal Services Commission8.6 Civil and Family Law Legal Aid to Aboriginal People in Canada8.6.1 Civil and family law services in Canada8.6.2 Legal Aid Ontario8.6.3 Legal Services Society British Columbia8.6.4 Legal Aid Society of Alberta8.6.5 Yukon Legal Services Society8.6.6 Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission8.6.7 Legal Aid Manitoba8.6.8 Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission8.6.9 Legal Services Board of the Northwest Territories8.6.10 Other Legal Aid Offices8.7 New Zealand8.7.1 Legal Services Agency8.7.2 Community Law Centres and Legal Aid8.7.3 Research and Advice8.7.4 Provision of legal education and information8.8 United States8.8.1 Native American Nationhood8.8.2 ‘Legal aid’ services in the US8.8.3 Legal Services Corporation8.8.4 Other Services8.8.5 National Legal Aid and Defender Association8.8.6 Legal aid services working with Native American communities8.9 Conclusion9 PROPOSALS FOR REFORM1479.1 Existing Staff and Services9.1.1 Current Employment of Aboriginal people in Legal Aid NSW Offices9.1.2 Cultural awareness training for non-Indigenous staff9.1.3 Special disadvantage test9.1.5 Improving Legal Aid NSW Offices9.1.6 Flexibility in service delivery9.2 Improving Service Delivery through Connecting to the Community: Outreach9.2.1 Outreach services in community locations9.2.2 Existing Legal Aid Outreach Models5

9.2.3 Indigenous Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Outreach Models9.2.4 Court Registrar Outreach Service in Wagga9.2.5 Developing Legal Aid Outreach Models9.3 Employing Aboriginal field officers9.3.1 Aboriginal Field Officer in Community Legal Centres and Other Legal Aid Offices9.3.2 The Role of Field Officers9.4 Expand the use of Audio Visual Links (AVL) for advice9.5 Ensuring better understanding by Aboriginal people of civil and family law9.5.1 Civil and family law community legal education9.5.2 Indigenous Telephone Advice line9.6 Aboriginal Reference GroupREFERENCES169APPENDICES173COVER ART The artistic work titled “Ray of Light” was supplied by Clint Lingard(Jongaragee Mata). He is a member of the “Ewamian People” whose ancestral landsare in “Far North Queensland” and he is also a Civil Law Solicitor at Legal Aid NSW’sParramatta Office. Clint describes “Ray of Light” as comprising of three sectional bandsof colour in the form of a "bandaid", with the colours red, orange and yellow representingelements of the colour spectrum for a flame and more particularly the colours found in thelight of a camp fire. Superimposed over each coloured section are impasto/textured flamesymbols of the relevant monochromatic colour or its shades in each band.The title “Ray of Light” reflects the story that after aid comes light and that after theprovision of legal aid/advice comes light or hope - essentially aid generates a shininglight in terms of outcome and so is a beacon for assistance.The number three is used inthis work as inspiration reflecting Clint's conception of the three means of problem solving:self-help, collaborative help, and the full help or assistance from another person.Clint also drew inspiration from all the recent relief efforts in 2009, particularly in Victoria,particularly those through artistic expression, and most notably music."6

LIST OF TABLESTable 1.1Table 1.2Table 2.1Table 2.2Table 2.3Table 2.4Table 2.5Table 2.6Table 2.7Table 2.8Table 2.9Table 2.10Table 2.11Table 2.12Table 2.13Table 2.14Table 2.15Table 2.16Table 2.17Table 2.18Table 3.1Table 3.2Table 3.3Table 3.4Table 3.5Table 3.6Table 3.7Table 3.8Table 3.9Table 3.10Table 3.11Table 3.12Table 3.13Location and Gender of Focus Group ParticipantsAge Range of Focus Group ParticipantsApplications for Civil Aid by Indigenous Status and Category of Matter. Legal AidNSW 2007Applications for Civil Aid by Indigenous Status and Most Common Type of Matter.Legal Aid NSW 2007Aboriginal Applications for Civil Aid by Gender and Category of Matter. Legal AidNSW 2007Successful Grants for Civil Aid by Indigenous Status and Category of Matter. LegalAid NSW 2007Grants for Civil Aid by Indigenous Status and Most Common Type of Matter. LegalAid NSW 2007Aboriginal Grants for Civil Aid by Gender and Category of Matter. Legal Aid NSW2007Civil Minor Assistance by Indigenous Status and Category of Matter. Legal AidNSW 2007Civil Minor Assistance by Indigenous Status and Most Common Type of Matter.Legal Aid NSW 2007Aboriginal Civil Minor Assistance Gender and Category of Matter. Legal Aid NSW2007Applications for Family Aid by Indigenous Status and Category of Matter. Legal AidNSW 2007Applications for Family Law Aid by Indigenous Status and Most Common Type ofMatter. Legal Aid NSW 2007Aboriginal Family Aid Applications by Gender and Category of Matter. Legal AidNSW 2007Successful Grants for Family Law Aid by Indigenous Status and Category of Matter.Legal Aid NSW 2007Grants for Family Law Aid by Indigenous Status and Most Common Type of Matter.Legal Aid NSW 2007Aboriginal Family Aid Grants by Gender and Category of Matter.Legal Aid NSW 2007Family Minor Assistance by Indigenous Status and Category of Matter. Legal AidNSW 2007Family Minor Assistance by Indigenous Status and Most Common Type of Matter.Legal Aid NSW 2007Aboriginal Family Minor Assistance by Gender and Category of Matter. Legal AidNSW 2007Number and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Identified Family LawIssues Relating to Custody and Access to ChildrenNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Identified a DOCSRelated MattersNature of Family Law / DOCS ProblemsNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Sought Legal AdviceNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Divorced or SeparatedNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Positively IdentifiedHousing and Tenancy Related IssuesThe Reason for Tenant / Landlord DisputesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Sought Legal AdviceAgency Contacted for Assistance with Housing and Tenancy IssuesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Positively IdentifiedNeighbour Disputes as an IssueNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Sought Legal AdviceAgency Contacted for Assistance with Neighbour IssuesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Were Responsible For aYoung Person in Education7

Table 3.14Table 3.15Table 4.1Table 4.2Table 4.3Table 4.4Table 4.5Table 4.6Table 4.7Table 5.1Table 5.2Table 5.3Table 5.4Table 5.5Table 5.6Table 5.7Table 5.8Table 5.9Table 5.10Table 5.11Table 6.1Table 6.2Table 6.3Table 6.4Table 6.5Table 6.6Table 6.7Table 6.8Table 6.9Table 6.10Table 6.11Table 6.12Table 6.13Table 7.1Table 7.2Table 7.3Table 7.4Table 7.5Number and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Reported ProblemsRelating to Expulsion, Fees, etc.Education IssuesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants With Identified EmploymentDisputesEmployment ProblemsNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Affected by Stolen Wages,Trust Funds or Stolen Generations.Number and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Had Advice Relating toAFTRSNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Identified Discriminationas an IssueDiscrimination: type and locationNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Sought Legal AdviceNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Were Receiving A Benefitor AllowanceNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Identified a Dispute withCentrelinkNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Sought Legal AdviceNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who had Debt ProblemsNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who had Credit Rating, Loan orBankruptcy ProblemsCredit and Debt IssuesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who had Issues DisputesRelating to Superannuation or Bank FeesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who had Issues DisputesRelating to InsuranceNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who had Problems with aCommercial ScamNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who had Other ConsumerIssuesOther Consumer IssuesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Have Been the Victim of aViolent Crime.Number and Percentage of Victims Who Were Aware of the Victim’s CompensationSchemeNumber and Percentage of Victims Who Pursued Victim’s CompensationNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Were Involved in a CarAccident Over the Last Couple of YearsNumber and Percentage of Participants Involved in an Accident Who were InsuredNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Reported Work-RelatedInjuriesNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Reported Injuries Outsidethe HomeNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Reported InjuriesRequiring Medical TreatmentNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Have Completed a WillNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Would Like AssistanceCompleting a Will.Who Would You Approach for Advice on Completing a Will?Number and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Have Been an Executorfor a Deceased EstateNumber and Percentage of Focus Group Participants Who Have Been Involved in aDispute over a Deceased EstateGeographic Location and HousingGeographic Location and DiscriminationGeographic Location and legal action faced on account of DebtGeographic Location and Custody/AccessGeographic Location and Care/Protection8

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYBackground to the research (Chapter 1)This research seeks to provide a greater understanding of the civil and family lawneeds of Aboriginal people in New South Wales. Its purpose is to benefit Aboriginalcommunities by improving access to and effective provision of civil and family lawservices to Aboriginal clients.The report addresses two broad research questions: The first is an analysis of the civil and family law needs of Aboriginal peoplein New South Wales.The second arises out of this legal needs analysis and explores how Legal AidNSW might improve the services that they provide to Aboriginal clients in theareas of civil and family law.The research was based on consultation with Aboriginal communities and with thosewho provide services to those communities, in eight focus sites: Redfern/Waterloo,Penrith/Mt Druitt, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Moree, Bourke, Tabulam and Goodooga.The sites were chosen for geographical spread as well as to represent remote, rural,regional and urban Aboriginal communities.In each focus site, two focus groups were held; one for men and one for women,where participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire which identified the legalincidents that they had encountered recently in the areas of law that the researchcovers. There was then broad discussion about these incidents and about the currentlevel of access of and satisfaction with legal services to seek remedies for theproblems encountered. Focus groups were also asked about any experiences of LegalAid NSW that they had, and asked about suggestions for improving the current modeof Legal Aid service delivery.In each focus site, interviews were also undertaken with legal practitioners,Aboriginal people working as support people within the legal system and otherorganizations providing associated services. Selected stakeholders providing relevantstate-wide services were also interviewed.Quantitative data provided by Legal Aid NSW was also used to examine the extent ofcurrent usage of Legal Aid family and civil law services by Aboriginal clients, as wellas the nature of the matters for which Aboriginal clients were most likely to approachLegal Aid NSW for advice or representation.Usage of Legal Aid NSW civil and family law services (Chapter 2)The profile of Aboriginal civil law applications, grants and minor assistance differedin various ways from non-Aboriginal clients in this area. Two striking differenceswere the different gender profile with Aboriginal women being the majority amongAboriginal clients, while men were the majority among non-Aboriginal clients. Asecond difference was in the type of matters for which assistance was sought. For9

example, mental health matters were more pronounced among Aboriginal clients andveteran’s affairs among non-Indigenous clients.The main findings arising from examination of the usage data in relation to civil lawshow that, in 2007: Aboriginal people comprised 4.6 per cent of all civil aid applications, 5.1 percent of all grants of civil aid and 5.8 per cent of clients who received minorassistance for civil aid. The rate of Aboriginal applications for civil aid andminor assistance per 100,000 of population was more than twice the nonAboriginal rate. The most common civil law applications for Aboriginal people were, in order:mental health (19.5 per cent), personal injury/accidents (16.6 per cent),miscellaneous civil matters (12.4 per cent) and consumer issues (10.7 percent). The most common grants of civil legal aid were for mental health (27per cent), personal injury/accident (14.3 per cent) and consumer (12.7 percent). Many of the mental health (forensic patient) and personal injury matters(victim’s compensation and civil assault) were generated through crime orcontact with the criminal justice system. Aboriginal women comprised the majority of Aboriginal applicants for civilaid (57 per cent), for grants of civil aid (59 per cent) and of Aboriginal clientsreceiving minor assistance for civil aid (62 per cent). Mental health was a major category for Aboriginal male applications for civilaid (30 per cent) and for grants of civil aid (44.2 per cent). Aboriginalwomen’s applications for civil aid and grants of civil aid were spread across abroader range of civil law areas. For Aboriginal women, personal injury wasthe most frequent category for applications (17.7 per cent) and for grants ofcivil aid (18.9 per cent).The main findings arising from examination of the usage data in relation to family lawshow that in 2007: Aboriginal people comprised 7.7 per cent of all family aid applications, 7.9per cent of all grants of family aid and 6 per cent of clients receiving minorassistance for family aid. The rate of Aboriginal applications for family aidand minor assistance per 100,000 of population was more than three times(applications) and twice (minor assistance) the non-Aboriginal rate. The most common family law categories of applications for Aboriginal peoplewere, in order, ‘children’ (primarily, residence and contact) (50.3 per cent),and care and protection (41 per cent). The most common grants of family legalaid were for ‘children’ (47.4 per cent) and care and protection (45.1 per cent).The most common categories for minor assistance were for ‘children’ (37 percent), child support (28 per cent) and family law ‘other’ (19 per cent).10

Care and protection matters and ‘children’ matters under the Family Law Actwere the dominant categories in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal grants offamily law aid. However, care and protection formed a greater proportion ofAboriginal successful grants than was the case with non-Aboriginal grants(45.1 per cent compared to 31.5 per cent) and ‘children’ matters under theFamily Law Act were 13 percentage points lower for Aboriginal grants (47.4per cent compared to 60.4 per cent). The categories of family law grants were similar for Aboriginal men andAboriginal women clients. However, Aboriginal women were much morelikely than men to seek minor assistance about child support and Aboriginalmen were more likely than women to seek assistance in relation to childrenunder the Family Law Act.The civil and family law needs of Aboriginal people in New South Wales(Chapters 3-6)Civil law, we just know nothing about it. We don’t know about this civil lawstuff (Aboriginal legal support workers 1, Dubbo).Based on the information collected from the focus group questionnaire anddiscussion, as well as through stakeholder interview, various civil and family lawneeds were analysed as follows:Family lawThe evidence suggests that family law matters tend to be worked out by the partieswithout legal assistance. Disputes usually involve children. Overall 17.2 per cent offocus group participants identified an issue relating to custody or access. Aboriginalwomen were more likely (20.8 per cent) to identify these issues than men (13.5 percent).Children being taken into care was identified as a significant problem, and Aboriginalwomen were more than twice as likely (22.5 per cent) to identify such as issue thanmen (9.9 per cent). There was wide-ranging dissatisfaction among focus groupparticipants concerning their interactions with DOCS.Many stakeholders commented on the apparent lack of legal advice or representationfor parents in cases where their children are being removed. Focus group participantsindicated that very few people (14.9 per cent) sought legal advice in relation to theissues around family law and DOCS associated matters. Although the numbers weresmall, Aboriginal women were more likely to seek legal assistance than men (23.3 percent compared to 8.6 per cent).Housing and TenancyHousing problems emerged as a major issue in the focus groups discussions andinterviews with stakeholders. Overall 41.2 per cent of focus group participantsidentified disputes involving landlords, primarily the conduct of the Department of11

Housing or Aboriginal housing bodies. The most frequently noted matter was theissue of repairs, followed by rent.Of the 63 Aboriginal people who identified a dispute with a landlord, some 70 percent of individuals indicated they did not seek legal advice. Aboriginal women weremore likely to seek advice than Aboriginal men (28.9 per cent compared to 20 percent).NeighboursSome 26.8 per cent of focus group participants identified neighbourhood disputes asan issue that had affected them in recent years. Aboriginal women were more likelythan men to identify a neighbourhood dispute as having been an issue for them (32.4per cent compared to 21.3 per cent), and Aboriginal women were also more likely toseek advice (29.2 per cent compared to 18.7 per cent).Overall however, the majority of individuals (67.5 per cent) did not seek legal advice.Those who had not sought advice generally had more negative outcomes including acriminal conviction, an apprehended violence order, and at least four cases where theparticipant had moved out of the residence.EducationMore than a third of the focus group participants (37.4 per cent) were responsible fora young person in an educational institution. The proportion was higher forAboriginal women (44.6 per cent) than for Aboriginal men (30.1 per cent).Half (50.9 per cent) of the 55 participants who were responsible for a young personreported problems. The percentage was particularly high among women (61.3 percent) who had responsibility for a young person in education. The main problemsidentified by participants were suspension and expulsion.Five of the 27 individuals (or 18.5 per cent) who indicated a problem at school soughtlegal advice (four women and one male).EmploymentOverall, 20.9 per cent of participants indicated that they had employment issues. Theproportion of men identifying employment issues was slightly higher than women(22.7 per cent compared to 19.2 per cent).The most common problem related to disputes over pay, followed by bullying,harassment and intimidation in the workplace. Some 29 per cent of the 31 individualswho indicated they had an employment- related problem also indicated they soughtlegal advice.Stolen Wages and Stolen GenerationsSome 15.6 per cent of participants indicated that they had been directly affected bypolicies relating to Stolen Wages and Stolen Generations. The proportion of12

Aboriginal women affected was higher than Aboriginal men (19.2 per cent comparedto 12.2 per cent), which was probably influenced by the older age of Aboriginalwomen participants.The vast majority of participants (92.9 per cent) had not received advice concerningthe AFTR scheme.DiscriminationRacial discrimination has emerged as a major issue in this study, especially in some ofthe research locations. More than one quarter (28.1 per cent) of both males andfemales identified discrimination as an issue they had faced recently. Racialdiscrimination was the main type of discrimination identified, and pubs and clubswere the main problems, followed by real estate agents.Of the 41 individuals who indicated a problem with discrimination, only seven (17.1per cent) sought legal advice. Although the numbers are small, Aboriginal womenwere more likely to seek advice than men.Social Security and CentrelinkSome 36 per cent of Aboriginal participants in the focus groups were receiving anIndigenous specific allowance. The proportion was higher among males (42.7 percent) compared to females (28.4 per cent).In addition three quarters of the focus group participants (75.8 per cent) stated theywere receiving some other type of Centrelink benefit. The proportion was higheramong females (85.1 per cent) compared to males (66.7 per cent)Approximately one in three men (32.9 per cent) and one in four women (26.3 percent) identified having dispute with Centrelink over the last couple of years.Of the 44 people who identified having a dispute with Centrelink, five (11.6 per cent)sought legal advice.Credit and DebtSome 34.9 per cent of the participants identified debt-related problems. Thepercentage was similar for both males and females, and was more than one in everythree participants.Some 19 per cent of participants identified problems relating to their Credit Referencerating, as a guarantor for a loan or in relation to possible bankruptcy.Telephone bills and Credit Reference Rating were two frequently mentionedproblems.Only five focus group participants (three men and two women) indicated they soughtlegal advice for their problem.13

Consumer IssuesSome 19.9 per cent of participants indicated a dispute or problems accessingsuperannuation, or with a bank or financial institution. The percentage was higher forwomen (22.7 per cent) than men (17.1 per cent).Some 6.1 per cent of participants indicated a dispute relating to insurance. There waslittle difference between the male and female responses.Some 13.1 per cent of participants indicated a problem with a ‘scam’ such as a funeralfund or door to door sales. The percentage of Aboriginal men indicating this issue washigher than Aboriginal women (16.2 per cent compared to 9.9 per cent). Manyparticipants in the men’s focus groups identified problems with Aboriginal funeralfunds.Overall, seven individuals (four males and three women) indicated they sought legaladvice.Victim’s CompensationSome 28.9 per cent of participants reported being the victim of a violent crime. Theproportion of women victimised was slightly higher than men (30.7 per centcompared to 27.0 per cent).The majority (55.8 per cent) of those who reported being the victim of a violent crimedid not know about the victim’s compensation scheme. Aboriginal women were morelikely to be aware of the scheme than men (47.8 per ce

2 ABORIGINAL USE OF LEGAL AID CIVIL AND FAMILY LAW SERVICES 41 2.1 Legal Aid for Civil Law Matters 2.1.1 Applications for Civil Aid 2.1.2 Applications for Civil Aid by Gender 2.1.3 Successful Grants of Legal Aid for Civil Law Matters 2.1.4 Grants of Civil Aid by Gender 2.2 The Provision of Minor Assistance for Civil Law Matters

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