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The aim of this project

The Project aimed to examine the capacity of people with a mental illness in NSW to:

• obtain legal assistance (including legal information, basic legal advice, initial legal assistance and legal representation)
• participate effectively in the legal system (including courts and tribunals)
• obtain assistance in legal processes from non-legal advocacy and support agencies (including non-legal early intervention).

A separate study will examine the capacity of people with a mental illness and other disadvantaged groups to participate in law reform processes.

This chapter will begin by developing the Project’s working definition of the term ‘mental illness’. This will be followed by a summary of available data on the prevalence of and demographic factors associated with mental illness. The remainder of this chapter will discuss the Foundation’s reasons for choosing to conduct the Project, and will end with a discussion of relevant literature.