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On the edge of justice: the legal needs of people with a mental illness in NSW   , 2006 This study examines the legal and access to justice issues experienced by people with a mental illness. The methodology comprised a literature review, focus group discussions with key stakeholders, in-depth interviews with 81 legal and non-legal service providers, and 30 semi-structured interviews with people who have a mental illness. The report concluded that people with a mental illness experience a number of legal issues with potentially serious personal and financial consequences, and face many barriers in having these legal issues addressed....

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Acknowledgements

The authors of this report are Maria Karras, Emily McCarron, Abigail Gray and Sam Ardasinski of the Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales (the Foundation).

The authors acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the Foundation in the production of this report: Jenny Kaldor for her assistance in compiling the report; Geoff Mulherin, Christine Coumarelos and Suzie Forell for their reviewing of the final text; and Simon Miller for the production of this report. We would also like to thank Misia Temler, Lisa Bernstein and Emma Barrett, students from the UNSW Forensic Psychology Masters Program who worked as interns on this project; their assistance with literature searching and arranging and conducting consultations is appreciated.

The Foundation is also grateful to Terry Carney, Phillip French and Rogelia Pe-Pua for reviewing this report pre-publication.

Finally, the authors especially wish to thank all the people and agencies who contributed their time and insights to the current study. Each has made a significant contribution to this report. We particularly appreciate the willingness of the 30 people with a mental illness who spoke with us about their legal issues and experiences of the legal system.