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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....

Ch 4. Barriers to accessing legal assistance

I don’t think that a person with chronic depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or drug and alcohol issues has the capacity to seek out help.

As discussed in the previous chapter, people with a mental illness face particular legal issues, including those relating to the Mental Health Act 1990 (NSW), discrimination, housing, social security, debt and consumer issues. Legal issues concerning family law, domestic violence, victims of crime, and care and protection were also raised in consultations, and are supported by the literature.

This chapter will look at the barriers faced by people with a mental illness in accessing legal assistance.² For the purpose of this report, the term ‘legal assistance’ includes the provision of legal information, legal advice and legal assistance (see Appendix 7 for definitions of each of these).

Consultations for this study revealed that people with a mental illness experience both individual and systemic barriers to accessing legal services. The first part of this chapter will look at the individual barriers that people with a mental illness confront in accessing and using legal services, while the second part will discuss the systemic barriers to accessing legal services. This chapter will also consider the ways in which access to legal assistance for people with a mental illness can be improved.

Individual barriers to accessing legal assistance

The clients we get, obviously have enough strength to access some sort of assistance; [however,] there are probably many people out there [who] don’t have the capacity or the strength to try and get assistance

Consultations with stakeholders and participants revealed that symptoms or manifestations of a mental illness may affect a person’s ability to access legal services. These symptoms or manifestations included:

lack of awareness of legal rights
being disorganised
being overwhelmed
mistrust of service providers
difficult behaviour
communication problems
lack of mental health care.

Legal service providers reported that the degree to which having a mental illness can act as a barrier to accessing legal services will vary according to the individual’s specific circumstances, the severity of their illness, where they are in the cycle of their illness and their particular personality.⁴

It should also be noted that recent studies, including Genn (2004) and the Foundation’s Bega Valley Pilot Study (2003) and Justice Made to Measure (2006), found that the majority of people don’t access legal services when they have a legal problem.⁵ This suggests that this may also apply to people with a mental illness.

Lack of awareness of legal rights

A number of stakeholders and two participants suggested that people with a mental illness often lack awareness that their problem—for instance, housing, family, debt—has a legal element to it.⁶ Because people do not recognise that they have a legal problem, they may be unaware of their legal rights in a particular situation and may therefore not seek legal assistance.

So there are probably many people out there who don’t know they have a problem.

⁷

Quite often with mental health, clients are totally confused about what actually is a legal issue

⁸

Several service providers were of the opinion that because people with a mental illness tend to have lower levels of participation in education and employment, they lack basic knowledge of legal issues and the legal process, and they may also lack the ability to find this information.⁹ This is supported by the Disability Council in A Question of Justice, which found:

People with disabilities reported being disadvantaged as a result of lost educational opportunities which contributed to them not having the necessary knowledge, awareness, and skills to locate information or know what questions to ask.

¹⁰

It was also reported that loss of education is a particular issue for young people with a mental illness who, as a result, lack knowledge about legal issues and the legal system.¹¹

Being disorganised

A number of legal and mental health workers were of the opinion that some people with a mental illness tend to be disorganised, which can make it difficult for them to remember to keep appointments with legal service providers.¹² For example, in consultation for this study, one pro bono solicitor described how a person’s illness can make it difficult for them to keep appointments and prioritise their legal matter:

The practical stuff is actually getting the client to progress their matter. So [you try] to help them pursue a legal remedy, but their mental illness, often it’s depression or some sort of anxiety disorder, makes it hard for them to keep appointments or prioritise this, as you can imagine, over other aspects of their lives.

¹³

A family law solicitor argued that substance abuse can also make it difficult for people to be organised and keep appointments:

The substance abuse is another matter, because again people are just struggling to organise their lives to do things by a certain time … People will make appointments but something will happen, and they just won’t keep it … so [there are] issues in just getting instructions.

¹⁴

A non-legal service provider argued that the side-effects of medication can make it difficult for some people to get up early in the mornings, which may result in them missing appointments with legal services providers.¹⁵ This is supported by Cullen:

Depression and the side effects of medication can lead to extreme fatigue. When people are not able to manage appointments and arrangements, this can be interpreted as “not bothering”.

¹⁶

A Department of Family and Community Services study on barriers to service provision for young people with substance abuse and mental illness found that not turning up to appointments with health professionals was a particular problem for this group.¹⁷

Being overwhelmed

It was raised in consultations that people with a mental illness can become overwhelmed by their legal issues, and that as a result, they may avoid addressing them and accessing legal assistance.¹⁸ A few stakeholders reported that people with depression may be overwhelmed by their problems and so may not be motivated to access a legal service provider.¹⁹

When someone is very ill and depressed, they are not going to be motivated to get any legal advice

²⁰

It depends on what sort of mental illness people have, but some people might believe that no one can help them [if] they are suffering from depression. So they might not be able to access services simply because of the way they are looking at the world at that time. People can’t see how they can be helped, because their problems are just so overwhelming

²¹

In addition, a couple of service providers argued that people with a mental illness may be so frightened by having a legal problem that they will avoid addressing it:

[It’s a] general mental illness thing. People get confused and … they cope really poorly with solving the problem, because of the mental illness. They hide, they run. People without mental illness do that too, but it seems to be more pronounced [for people with a mental illness].

²²

I know people who get mail, who are so freaked out, they don’t open it. So it piles up, and the problem just gets worse and worse, because the

²³

Roundtable attendees suggested that situating legal services in places where people with a mental illness would normally go in the course of their day-to-day activities might increase the accessibility of these services.²⁴ This could also address the barriers caused by a lack of motivation and fear of the problem.

Mistrust of service providers

It was raised in several consultations that some people with a mental illness are reluctant to access or contact a legal service provider, either because they are mistrustful of them, or because they are frightened of divulging personal information.²⁵ Personal information required by legal services usually includes contact details and full name, but may also include other information about a person’s life, which may be relevant to the legal issue. This reluctance or fear about divulging personal information may mean that a legal service provider is unable to ascertain the client’s full circumstances and details, which may prevent them from adequately assisting the client. For example, one caseworker said:

And there are barriers in that we ask them many nosey parker questions. For the Legal Aid requirements, we are obliged to know who we are speaking to before we give legal advice, and for people with paranoia [this is a problem]

²⁶

A solicitor from a CLC gave an example of how this fear may prevent people from getting the legal support they need:

I saw this woman who had come to see me about a neighbourhood dispute. I had never seen her before, and I started taking instructions and writing down what she was telling me, and then … I think I just called her by her name, or just quoted back what she said to me. And she said, “How do you know that? [Do] you have other information on me? [Do] you have records on me?” And I said, “No, it’s only just what you have told me now that I have written down.” And she said, “No you must be involved in this conspiracy against me.” And I said, “No I haven’t, you can have a look … I have just written down what you’ve told me.” And so I gave it to her, and she ripped it into pieces. We couldn’t continue the discussion … That just stopped her getting legal advice, because she was so paranoid.

²⁷

A disability awareness trainer provided an example of how this type of mistrust can act as a barrier to accessing services. She commented that some people experiencing paranoia believe that government computer systems and legal service providers’ computer systems are linked to one overall monitoring system.²⁸ This may increase a client’s reluctance to divulge personal information:

They may have a broadened belief that everybody, and I encounter this all the time, that you are all connected up together, and you are connected up with the police, and anything I say to you, you are going to put that on your computer, and you are all in on this together.

²⁹

This same stakeholder also argued that a fear of being recorded over the phone can prevent people with a mental illness from accessing legal services by phone. This trainer, who has experienced mental illness herself, gave an example of where her own fear of being bugged prevented her from using a telephone:

I could never make a phone call in years gone by. I might make two phone calls a year and I would get someone else to ring the phone and start talking, and then put it over to me. And it was just horrific, because my paranoia was so severe that I was absolutely convinced that I was bugged, and everywhere I went I was [watched], so it was very hard for me to access a service.

³⁰

The national program manager from Multicultural Mental Health Australia (MMHA) thought that in addition to having a great fear of legal issues, refugees with a mental illness also have a great fear or mistrust of “authority”. This might act as one barrier (among others) to such refugees accessing legal assistance.³¹

Difficult behaviour

It was suggested in three consultations that some mentally ill clients can be difficult, and in some circumstances exhibit quite threatening behaviour, which can make it difficult for legal service providers to assist them.³² If a legal service provider does not feel physically safe with a client, they may not be able to provide them with legal assistance. For example:

Sometimes people can come in very angry, and be very difficult and alienating to deal with. [They] come in and make threats, “I am going to kill this person, I am going to do this”, and all sorts of things … so accessing the service can be a problem.

³³

We had a particular client, who was coming into the office, and we had a couple of situations that were quite alarming and we really didn’t quite know what to do. Some staff wanted to call the police. Other staff were reluctant to call the police because this particular client was so frightened of being taken away.

³⁴

A disability awareness trainer commented that training for legal services staff may be useful to overcome this barrier.³⁵

Communication problems

I have worked in the community sector for 10 years now … you adapt your communication skills, and your approach to things, and you make sure you explain things in a certain way from that professional point of view

³⁶

Consultations indicated that the symptoms of mental illness can make it difficult for a person to communicate easily with others and that it was difficult in some circumstances for lawyers to understand what their client’s problem was and what their instructions were.³⁷ Communication problems can act as a barrier to accessing legal assistance, as a solicitor may not be able to gather the right information from a client and therefore may not be able to assist them effectively.

Accessing the service can be a problem simply because with some mental illness conditions, there can be a real problem with communication.

³⁸

The mental illness affects their expression a bit, and they find it hard to articulate their problems

³⁹

It’s impossible to get verbal instructions: the words just don’t make sense. To try and understand what they are saying, there are key words, but I have no idea what [they are] saying. So there is probably a huge group of people that are totally lost, totally unable to access the system.

⁴⁰

Getting instructions, to know what to do in a matter, can be awfully difficult.

⁴¹

The difficulties people can have communicating with legal service providers were also reported by the Disability Council in A Question of Justice:

Difficulties in communication between client and legal representative were commonly reported. Lawyers expressed that they were often uncertain about the instructions they received, particularly from people with a psychiatric disability

⁴²

A senior solicitor from the Mental Health Advocacy Service (MHAS) argued that it can be difficult for some clients with a mental illness to communicate the most (legally) relevant details about their situation:

I think mental illness can interfere with the way that people remember and relay that sort of [detailed] information.

⁴³

People with a mental illness may also have difficulties comprehending information relayed to them, particularly if it is complex. A mental health caseworker and a CLC worker reported that clients with a mental illness can have problems absorbing and understanding legal advice given to them.

If they are unable to even cook their own breakfast, how are they interpreting the legal advice that’s being given to them?

⁴⁴

One participant argued that communication problems can be exacerbated by the effects of medication:

There are side-effects when, my brain is sort of, I am thinking straight, but I am not clear-headed, I am medicated. So it might take me a bit longer to achieve something.

⁴⁵

In consultation for this study, a senior solicitor from the MHAS also argued that communication problems are exacerbated for people from NESBs with a mental illness, because they have to rely on the use of interpreters:

If somebody turns up to the Legal Aid Commission office and can’t speak a word of English, we will try and arrange an appointment with an interpreter. All of that stuff is more difficult to a person who is mentally ill. They need to be coherent enough to know what their problem is really, to know what they are after.

⁴⁶

In A Question of Justice, the Disability Council argued that using interpreters may be harder for people with a mental illness whose first language is not English, particularly when interpreters are not trained to work with people who have disabilities.⁴⁷

Communication over the telephone

Many legal services provide legal advice and information over the phone—for example, some CLCs, particularly those based in capital cities, will have a telephone advice service at particular times of the day. LawAccess is a free telephone advice service that provides people with legal information and advice on where to seek additional legal assistance.⁴⁸ Telephone advice lines are invaluable ways of providing advice to people who have difficulty accessing legal assistance face-to-face, such as people living in rural and regional areas and people with very specific mental illnesses, such as agoraphobia and serious depression.⁴⁹ However, several service providers interviewed for this study commented that people with a mental illness often have difficulties communicating with lawyers over the phone, and prefer face-to-face communication.⁵⁰ For example:

It is hard for people with a mental illness to ring the advice line, so they tend to do better with face-to-face advice. They just find it very difficult to find us and ring up

⁵¹

The illness itself can be a problem, and the person on the other end [of the phone], if they are not aware of the situation, can find the communication difficult, and so it will be less beneficial than otherwise

⁵²

Speaking to a legal rep on the telephone could be quite daunting.

⁵³

Commenting on the lack of support services available in rural and regional areas, a solicitor from a regional CLC made the following remarks:

… there are not the support services that can assist them to make that phone call, or interpret the information, or provide that sort of assistance. In my experience, people feel much more comfortable in accessing legal advice or information by sitting down and talking to someone, and being in the same room.

⁵⁴

A caseworker reported that a reliance on the telephone can act as a barrier for people with a mental illness who are from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and, in particular, those who are from a small community and who rely on the Translating and Interpreting Service.⁵⁵ She was of the opinion that fear of stigma within their own community may make it difficult for some people to disclose their illness to a legal service provider through a telephone interpreter:

… if you are someone from a Cambodian background, and you have a big debt, you don’t live in the metropolitan area, you can’t come in, and your English is poor, all you can do is disclose your problem to the telephone interpreter service, [and there are] not all that many Khmer interpreters working for the service. [There are] not only fears related to the mental illness, but also fears of being identified by the community. [This is] just an additional problem for people forced to rely on telephone interpreters

⁵⁶

Lack of mental health care and treatment

The impact of the above barriers on those people with a mental illness who receive appropriate mental health care and treatment might be reduced. Three stakeholders and one participant indicated that if a person is taking appropriate medication, and/or receiving appropriate support or treatment, they may be more stable and therefore better able to access a legal service provider.⁵⁷ For example:

If they are not functional, that’s where it is serious disadvantage. If they are on medication then they are well controlled, then their functionality might be good. And you can tell them all these things and their access to justice is OK. Versus someone who just got out of a psych hospital and can’t even get out of their chair

⁵⁸

The reported crisis in mental health care in NSW is likely to reduce the chances of many people with a mental illness to receive the treatment and care they need to access and communicate with legal service providers.⁵⁹

Systemic barriers to seeking legal assistance

This section will look at some of the systemic barriers confronting people with a mental illness in accessing legal assistance. These include:

the availability of affordable legal services
time constraints
remote, rural and regional issues
identifying mental illness
credibility
barriers in the physical environment.

Availability of affordable legal services

Consultations for this study and previous literature indicate that people with a mental illness tend to have low levels of income.⁶⁰ People with a mental illness are therefore less likely to be able to afford private legal representation:

What avenues have I got for representation, just generally? It’s just that I associate legal help as costly. So I don’t bother about it.

⁶¹

As a result, many people with a mental illness are likely to be dependent on legal assistance and advice from Legal Aid, CLCs and pro bono legal service provision.⁶² However, service providers interviewed for this study were of the opinion that the limited availability and resources of these types of legal services can act as a barrier to accessing legal assistance for people with a mental illness.⁶³

A number of studies and submissions have documented that Legal Aid is under-resourced.⁶⁴ In its submission to the Access to Justice and Legal Needs Program, the Law Society of NSW suggested that it was much harder for people to obtain a grant of legal aid now than it would have been several years ago.⁶⁵ Furthermore, Legal Aid services at court, such as the Duty Solicitor Scheme, are only found in the criminal jurisdiction and in some family courts. Several service providers interviewed for this study commented that the limited availability of legal aid may prevent some people with a mental illness from accessing legal advice and representation.⁶⁶

There is not enough legal aid out there. I remember one consumer calling me who had tried Legal Aid and tried the Mental Health Advocacy Service … he kept trying all these other agencies and he couldn’t access any legal support.

⁶⁷

Roundtable attendees argued that the eligibility criteria for obtaining legal aid is also very confusing, which can deter people with a mental illness from even trying to obtain a Legal Aid grant.⁶⁸

Similarly, CLCs’ resources are constrained. In its Submission to the Review of NSW Community Legal Service Funding Program, the Council of Social Services of NSW (NCOSS) commented in relation to one specific CLC that “existing resources are woefully inadequate to meet demand”.⁶⁹ CLCs therefore focus on providing legal assistance and advice and community legal education. Representation is not usually available except in cases of unusual disadvantage or if the case is in the public interest.⁷⁰

Time constraints

And actually trying to get the right information, or enough information out of them, to see if there is a legal claim, and distil it from all the rest of the information they provide you with, can be very difficult. I imagine if they are not going to people who have the time and capacity to go through those things, they are going to be turned away.

⁷¹

Policy and legal officers suggested that people with a mental illness benefit from having more time during interviews with lawyers, in order to overcome some of the problems listed at the start of this chapter.⁷² However, they also argued that this can place extra pressure on CLC and Legal Aid staff, who already face constraints on resources. Stakeholders reported that clients with a mental illness may need substantially longer appointments than what is already allowed for.⁷³ It was argued that present funding levels of CLCs and Legal Aid prevent these services from having enough time to spend with clients who have a mental illness:

People with mental health [issues] … their stories are narratives. You can’t ask a question and get an answer. You actually have to wait, and it might take three or four times interviewing the client to get the full picture. That understanding can often be quite difficult for lawyers. It’s very time-consuming. If you have a lot of work happening, you have to have the time to put in, and often they [service providers] don’t.

⁷⁴

For example, the Duty Solicitor Scheme at the Local Court is a Legal Aid service available to people who need representation for criminal matters. Generally, people access the duty solicitor at court on the day their matter is being heard.⁷⁵ This leaves the duty solicitor with only a short amount of time to gather the details of their client’s case, which may not be sufficient for clients who have a mental illness. Commenting on people with a mental illness accessing the Duty Solicitor Scheme, a local court registrar reported:

… a person with a mental illness shows up to see the solicitor who has lots of people to see … They come into an area where resources and time are limited. So they [the solicitor] don’t see people for a long period of time, only 15–20 minutes. They [the client] fall through the cracks. Unless they get someone who is more vocational and goes into their own time.

⁷⁶

The time constraints on duty solicitors were also raised by one mental health worker as a particular issue for young people with a mental illness.⁷⁷ This worker was of the opinion that the stretched resources of the legal service may mean that a client must repeat their story to several different lawyers throughout the case. The client’s communication difficulties, combined with the time constraints of the service, may mean that only pieces of the client’s situation are conveyed each time.⁷⁸ This could mean that particular details of a client’s case are not discussed.

I really think the Legal Aid solicitors do a brilliant job. But occasionally when you hear them stand up you know that they have little bits missing that they haven’t actually picked up; they haven’t picked it up because it would be humanly impossible to do it.

⁷⁹

Furthermore, a few stakeholders indicated that clients with a mental illness may need more support while accessing legal assistance.⁸⁰ Lawyers may need to write letters, make calls and set up appointments on a client’s behalf, all of which places extra strain on legal service providers’ time.

It was reported that in some instances, CLCs have to refer people with a mental illness on to other services because they do not have the resources to assist these clients themselves. This can act as an additional barrier to accessing legal services for people with a mental illness, as they may be more easily deterred by having to make contact with and explain their situation again to another service.

The nature of her disability and her personality was that she was a difficult person to deal with; difficult to communicate with, emotionally very fragile, very tearful, very needy, frequently in communication at a greater level than what was called for. In the sector you talk about people getting burnt out by a particular client, and they [the client] then go on this referral merry-go-round.

⁸¹

For in-depth legal issues, [people are told to] ring this number or ring that number. So quite often, people get fobbed off. If they have a mental health problem, they’ll tend to drop [the matter] altogether

⁸²

What we find is that people get on a referral merry-go-round. That’s one of the great barriers to [accessing] legal services for people with mental illness … it’s quite difficult to explain to someone who has a [mental illness] about a particular matter that needs to be acted upon, that you can’t act on it … because you don’t have the resources.

⁸³

Genn et al. discuss the phenomenon of “referral fatigue”, which refers to a state of affairs whereby the “likelihood of people actually obtaining advice after having been referred on by an adviser declines with each adviser who makes a referral”.⁸⁴ In light of the individual barriers discussed in the first part of this chapter, it would seem that people with a mental illness may be particularly prone to experiencing referral fatigue. This is supported by Cullen:

It can take a great deal of effort for someone with a mental health problem to come into a bureau or voluntary organisation. If they are then referred to other agencies such as specialist debt services, they may well be lost to help.

⁸⁵

Remote, rural and regional issues

Consultations for this study indicated that there are even less affordable legal services available in rural and regional areas than elsewhere.⁸⁶ This is supported by the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee:

One of the major barriers to access to justice is the fact that large geographical areas in Australia are not covered by legal aid or free legal services.

⁸⁷

In addition, where services do exist, they may not have the capacity or funding to take on clients with more complex needs. In country towns throughout NSW, Legal Aid pays local solicitors to do legal aid work for the local population. One solicitor commented that because many of these solicitors are running their own business as well as doing legal aid work, they may not feel they are adequately compensated for the time it takes to work with clients with a mental illness, who may need more time and support than other clients.⁸⁸ CLC workers from Women’s Legal Services NSW (WLS) also commented:

If you have a client who has a mental illness and they need constant reassurance, or they need to be in constant contact over certain things … it can actually turn solicitors off doing Legal Aid work, which means that in rural areas, there are less and less solicitors. Some towns have no solicitor that does Legal Aid work at all, and there is no Legal Aid office there, so it just means that people getting access to Legal Aid is hard enough

⁸⁹

A lack of accessible local legal services may therefore mean that people with a mental illness living in rural and regional areas face additional barriers to accessing legal services, including having to travel long distances to obtain legal advice. It was indicated that the organisation and motivation required to travel large distances to attend appointments is often beyond the capacity of someone who is mentally unwell.⁹⁰ This is compounded by both the cost of travel and the lack of available regular public transport in rural and regional areas.⁹¹

In addition, one regional CLC worker suggested that often, people with a mental illness need to access a lawyer immediately, as they may not have the capacity to plan ahead. This CLC worker argued that this can be a problem for people living in rural and regional areas who do not have a lawyer based in their town:

I think the main barrier is it being available right when they need it. I think people that suffer from a mental illness require the assistance when they need it. And that is a great difficulty in terms of the provision of legal services, because there just isn’t a solicitor that is based in Bourke that will assist people and be there all the time … So you have to wait a fortnight to get an appointment, and often in a fortnight things could have completely changed.⁹²

Accessing telephone-based legal services is an option for people with a mental illness living in rural and regional areas. However, as discussed earlier in this chapter, communication difficulties can be made worse over the phone, and it was therefore suggested that people with a mental illness tend to prefer communicating face-to-face with solicitors.⁹³

In recognition of the lack of available legal services in rural and regional areas, Legal Aid is trialling the Cooperative Legal Service Delivery Model. The aim of this model is to organise coalitions of legal services (including government, private, community and quasi-legal service providers) to work together to identify gaps in service delivery, develop service delivery priorities, and develop a referral network in the area to better assist disadvantaged people to access legal services.⁹⁴ A family law solicitor described the model:

We have a cooperative service delivery model operating out of Dubbo, which is trying to collaborate between the different sorts of agencies, so that people aren’t getting a run around.

⁹⁵

Finally, a lack of available mental health services in rural and regional areas can mean that people with a mental illness have far less support and treatment options to assist them in stabilising their illness. This can further compromise their ability to access and use legal services, as discussed earlier.⁹⁶

Identifying mental illness

Stakeholders were of the opinion that a lack of awareness by legal service providers that a client has a mental illness may compromise that client’s ability to access legal assistance.⁹⁷ If a legal service provider is aware that a client has a mental illness, they may take the time to cater to their needs, including allowing more time for the client to give instructions, adopting an appropriate communication style, and providing additional support and flexibility. If a client’s illness is not identified, their needs may not be catered to, making it harder for clients with a mental illness to access and use legal assistance effectively.

Furthermore, mental illness is often considered by CLCs and Legal Aid in determining whether a person is eligible for legal representation.⁹⁸ For example, to be eligible for a grant of legal aid in a wide range of matters, including personal injury and employment, it needs to be established that a client has an “unusual or special disadvantage” which includes having “difficulty in dealing with the legal system by reason of a substantial psychiatric condition”.⁹⁹ A family law solicitor argued that if a person is not identified as having a mental illness, they may not be eligible for special consideration for a grant of legal aid, and may therefore miss out on legal representation.¹⁰⁰

Stakeholders reported that people may not be identified by a legal service provider as having a mental illness for either of two reasons:

the person does not disclose, because of fear of stigma, or because they are undiagnosed
the legal service provider does not recognise that the person has a mental illness.

Non-disclosure

A couple of stakeholders suggested that people may not reveal to a legal service provider that they have a mental illness because of the associated stigma. For example:

There is the whole tension between, if I disclose that I have got a mental illness, will I then be stigmatised, and harmed, and treated more adversely than if I didn’t disclose—but if I don’t disclose, then my needs don’t get met, and I am perhaps excluded from or compromised right through the process.

¹⁰¹

This is supported by the Disability Council, which reported in A Question of Justice that participants with psychiatric disabilities spoke of being negatively stereotyped as “crazy”, “mad”, “dangerous” and “violent” and, as a result, felt that the “stigma and consequences of disclosing a psychiatric disability were such that it was better not to”.¹⁰²

In consultation for this study, solicitors from Shopfront Youth Legal Centre argued that young people may be embarrassed to disclose to a lawyer that they have a mental illness, particularly young male clients who may also be in denial about their illness.¹⁰³

Different cultural groups may have different approaches to mental illness, which may prevent them from disclosing that they have a mental illness. A court liaison worker was of the opinion that Aboriginal people tend to see mental illness as highly stigmatic, and would rather go to prison than to a psychiatric hospital.¹⁰⁴ Further, the national program manager from MMHA argued that some people whose first language is not English may not recognise the label or concept of mental illness.¹⁰⁵

A Sydney barrister interviewed for this study argued that people with a mental illness may not disclose their illness because they are not aware they have one.¹⁰⁶ This may be due, as one CLC solicitor suggested, to the fact that inadequate levels of mental health care have resulted in some people with a mental illness going undiagnosed.¹⁰⁷ The same solicitor suggested that this is a particular problem in rural and regional areas, where the availability of mental health services is even more limited.¹⁰⁸

Failure to identify

Consultations for this study indicate that if a person does not disclose that they have a mental illness, it may be difficult for legal service providers to identify that a person has a mental illness.¹⁰⁹ Several legal and non-legal service providers suggested that this may be because it is not overtly apparent that a person has an illness. For example:

Of course it’s relatively easier if someone is obviously in the middle of psychosis, if someone is paranoid and expressing strange thoughts. But it is the people that have some sort of neurosis where it can be quite difficult, where you just realise after a few calls going over the same stuff, or [they are] unable to pursue our advice.

¹¹⁰

A couple of legal service providers suggested that it can also be difficult for lawyers to distinguish between people with a mental illness and people who were just being “difficult”:

People may not straight away pick that the problem with this person is that there is an illness happening

¹¹¹

A solicitor and a case manager were of the opinion that identifying that a person has a mental illness is even more difficult over the telephone:

I think that is the trick, people don’t make that distinction very well [between people with an illness who are functioning well and those who are not]. It is very hard to judge over the phone. It is very hard to judge without someone telling you their functionality.

¹¹²

One solicitor acknowledged the difficulties faced by legal service providers in asking people directly whether they have a mental illness:

A lot of people won’t tell us they have got a mental illness. We do ask people if there are any particular circumstances or things we should be aware of … but [we] can’t say, “are you mentally ill?”

¹¹³

However, service providers referred to ways in which lawyers can attempt to ascertain whether a person has a mental illness. For example, a case manager suggested that if a legal service provider suspects a client may have a mental illness, they could attempt to encourage the client to disclose their illness.¹¹⁴

Sometimes we can needle it out … we tend to say, “you are sounding very anxious. I can see that you are finding this experience very stressful. Have you seen a doctor about your anxiety?” Anxiety can be code for lots of things, but it could be something that they feel more comfortable talking about. If you ask them whether they are seeing a doctor about their anxiety, they might just break down and say, “my doctor thinks I might have schizophrenia”.

¹⁵

One CLC worker believed that a lack of clarity in legal instructions was often taken as an indicator of mental illness.¹¹⁶

A perceived lack of credibility

As discussed above, clients may not disclose that they have a mental illness, due to a fear of stigma. One manifestation of the stigma surrounding mental illness raised in this report is that people with a mental illness are often viewed as being less credible. Stakeholders interviewed for this study reported that some lawyers find people with a mental illness less credible, and are therefore less inclined to believe what they say.¹¹⁷ This may act as a barrier, if a solicitor dismisses a client’s claim because they don’t believe them.

If somebody comes across as obviously mentally ill, then I think quite often they can be dismissed and not really get through the door. The attitude is, “I just want to get rid of this person”.

¹¹⁸

That fundamental sort of credibility issue that they face trying to access the service is difficult. Because they are vulnerable, because it’s apparent they have a mental illness, if you do pursue the matter their credibility is already in question.

¹¹⁹

Two non-legal service providers felt that it is sometimes difficult for lawyers to determine what part of their client’s version of events is reality, and what part is fictitious.¹²⁰ The difficulty faced by some people with a mental illness in communicating their issues in a coherent and logical manner can further impact on how seriously they are taken by lawyers.¹²¹

A disability awareness trainer who provides training on working with people with a mental illness argued that it is important for legal service providers to be aware that people with a mental illness are not necessarily deliberately lying or being misleading, but that what they are saying is an honest reflection of their current reality.¹²² One CLC worker argued that it is important for lawyers to deliver a legal service to their client, to the best of their ability, regardless of how much of the client’s story seems “real”:

If I find someone and I am suspicious that this is related to a mental illness, even if I think the story is completely far-fetched and made up, I just give the legal advice. It is much simpler to just say, “Look, this is the legal advice,” and you are respecting that person’s understanding of the situation, by [giving] them legal advice. Because somewhere in there, there may well be something. And also, contacting us may be the only form of contact and information they get.

¹²³

This was reiterated by a solicitor from PWD, who commented that people who are mentally ill sometimes just need lawyers to give them a chance and attempt to understand their situation and provide them with legal assistance:

What the person needed was someone who actually sat down and said, “Well I’ll give you a chance … you know it doesn’t look good, but I’ll go through it with you.”

¹²⁴

Physical environment

In consultation for this study, one stakeholder believed that the physical environment of a legal service, and its day-to-day office procedures, may act as a barrier to using legal services for someone who has a mental illness.¹²⁵ For example, seemingly small things, such as fluorescent lighting and extraneous noise, may be distracting to people with a mental illness and prevent them from engaging effectively with legal service providers.¹²⁶ She also argued that simple office procedures, such as, for example, putting someone “on hold” with no explanation or warning, may be confusing and stressful for a client with a mental illness. These concerns identify an additional barrier to accessing a service.

Suggestions to increase the accessibility of legal services to people with a mental illness

A specialist mental health legal centre

A number of service providers felt that a specialist legal service for people with a mental illness would help address some of the barriers encountered in accessing legal assistance.¹²⁷ Although there are a few services that do cater to people with a mental illness (such as the Legal Aid MHAS and the Disability Discrimination Legal Centre (DDLC)), while extremely beneficial, these services are limited by their jurisdictional requirements in the advice they can give. The MHAS acts on legal issues arising from the Mental Health Act 1990 (NSW), including compulsory hospitalisation and treatment orders, guardianship, community treatment orders and community counselling orders.¹²⁸ The DDLC assists in cases of disability discrimination under either the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) or the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).

Thus, roundtable attendees felt that there are currently gaps in legal service provision to people with a mental illness.¹²⁹ They felt that there is a role for a specialist mental health legal centre that deals with all areas of law, with the capacity to undertake test case litigation and law reform.¹³⁰ Another roundtable attendee proposed the establishment of a national system of disability legal services.¹³¹

It was suggested that ideally, such a service would employ solicitors that had the communication skills necessary to work with people who have a mental illness. This would allow more time during appointments and more flexibility around the needs of people with a mental illness.¹³² The service would be aware of the barriers—such as those discussed earlier in this chapter—facing people with a mental illness.

A possible model for this is the Mental Health Legal Centre in Victoria, a specialist legal centre for people with a mental illness that provides legal advice and representation for people who have a legal matter related to their mental illness, as well as a referral service, legal education and telephone advice.¹³³ The centre acts on issues dealt with in NSW by the MHAS and the DDLC, as well as criminal (fitness to plead), family law (child protection in particular, but also resident and contact order arrangements) and debt issues.¹³⁴

Another example of a specialist legal service for people with a mental illness is the Springfield Advice and Law Centre that operates out of Springfield University Hospital in the United Kingdom. This London-based centre offers independent, free advice, as well as casework and legal representation, to local users of the national mental health system, and operates in regards to hospitalisation, housing, debt and community care matters.¹³⁵

One case manager interviewed for this study expressed some concern that not all people with a mental illness would access a specialist mental health legal centre, because they do not believe or know that they have a mental illness, or because they are afraid of experiencing the stigma associated with mental illness.¹³⁶ For this reason, people with a mental illness may be more likely to access more generalist legal service providers, which, as a result, will need to be aware of and have the capacity to assist people with a mental illness.

Training and awareness-raising

It was proposed that some of the barriers raised in this chapter might be addressed by providing training on mental health issues to those legal service providers who have clients with a mental illness. Training could include how to communicate effectively with people with a mental illness, what their needs are, what it is like to have a mental illness, indicators of mental illness, referral and resource information, strategies to work effectively with people with a mental illness, stress management and general awareness-raising in order to combat stigma and discrimination.¹³⁷ A number of stakeholders suggested that legal service providers would benefit greatly from training on mental health issues.¹³⁸

I think lawyers could be greatly assisted by training [to better] understand mental illness, or different types of mental illness.

¹³⁹

A disability awareness trainer made the further suggestion that training on mental illness could also be provided to law students at university.¹⁴⁰ This is supported by Lee.¹⁴¹

A number of legal service providers (including Legal Aid and various CLCs) provide training on mental illness to their solicitors. For example:

The Combined Community Legal Centres Group (NSW) Inc has organised sessions at past conferences on dealing with people with behavioural problems;¹⁴²
The NSW Statewide Community and Court Liaison Service has given talks to Legal Aid and the Law Society of NSW on how to identify mental illness;¹⁴³
Legal Aid provides one-day workshops run by a social worker to its staff on dealing with people who have a mental illness;¹⁴⁴
The Legal Information Access Centre provides training to staff on dealing with people who have a mental illness;¹⁴⁵
The Law Society of NSW provides a training session for its staff in the community referral service about clients with a mental illness;¹⁴⁶
The Family Court provides training for its internal mediators about clients with a mental illness. It is also piloting a suicide prevention program which will be evaluated in June 2006 and a mental health education program in Adelaide which aims to educate court staff about working with and supporting clients with a mental illness. Negotiations are underway to provide similar training in all Family Courts around Australia.¹⁴⁷

Support for lawyers

A few stakeholders were of the opinion that people with a mental illness can place great emotional demands on legal service providers.¹⁴⁸ These same stakeholders commented that the personal circumstances of some of their clients can be quite distressing to listen to, and that legal service providers do not usually have the training to cope with this. In addition, some mentally ill clients can be quite demanding and time-intensive, requiring an unusual amount of contact and reassurance. This can lead to lawyers reaching “burn-out” with a particular client, and therefore having to refer them on to another lawyer.¹⁴⁹

A case manager commented on the need for support services for legal service providers who work with clients with a mental illness, so that they are better able to look after themselves as well as their clients.¹⁵⁰

Summary

Consultations with stakeholders and participants for this study revealed that having a mental illness can affect a person’s ability to access and use legal services. The symptoms of mental illness that may act as a barrier to accessing legal services include a lack of awareness of legal rights, being disorganised, being overwhelmed, mistrust, difficult behaviour, and communication problems. These barriers are compounded by current inadequate levels of mental health care. The above symptoms may mean that a person with a mental illness has difficulty keeping appointments, or does not feel able to even attempt to seek legal assistance—or feel that it is worthwhile to do so. Further, an inability to divulge relevant personal details may mean that service providers are unable to assist the client. Difficult behaviour may also prevent a client from receiving legal assistance.

Communication problems may mean that the client’s situation is not properly understood. Consultations revealed that if a client is unable to give a reasonably coherent account of their situation, the legal service provider may not have enough relevant information to assist them. In addition, service providers argued that communication problems can mean that the client may not understand the advice they receive. They reported that communication issues for clients with a mental illness were often exacerbated by use of the telephone.

Consultations and the literature indicate that there is a link between serious mental illness and financial disadvantage. The cost of obtaining legal assistance is therefore a barrier for people with a mental illness, and suggests that they are more reliant on Legal Aid, CLCs and pro bono legal advice. Stakeholders reported that there is a lack of availability of these services, and that those that do exist are overstretched and underresourced. This has particular implications for people with a mental illness, who may require more time to communicate their situation, and more support in general.

Consultations indicate that a lack of availability of free legal services is even more pronounced in rural and regional areas. The organisation and cost required to travel large distances to access legal services create additional barriers for people with a mental illness.

Stakeholders indicated that legal service providers may not always be able to identify that a client has a mental illness. This can be important, as the client themselves may not divulge that they are ill, either because they have not been diagnosed or because they fear being stigmatised. If a client’s illness is not known, they may not receive the time, assistance and understanding they need to access legal assistance. In addition, someone with a mental illness may be eligible for legal aid—however, if their illness is not identified, they may not receive this support.

On the other hand, service providers believed that people with a mental illness may be taken less seriously if they do divulge that they have a mental illness. It was reported that some lawyers find people with a mental illness less credible, are less inclined to believe what they say, and are more ready to dismiss their claims. Certain aspects of the physical environment of legal services were also raised as potential barriers.

These barriers indicate that people with a mental illness may need greater understanding, assistance, flexibility and time than other clients when accessing legal services. If legal service providers do not understand these issues, then the specific needs of clients with a mental illness may not be catered to, and their legal needs not met.

Service providers revealed a need for more training in identifying symptoms of mental illness, and in determining a client’s level of functionality. The need for greater awareness amongst legal service providers of how people with a mental illness experience accessing and using legal assistance was also raised. This could potentially assist legal service providers in identifying clients who have a mental illness, and in better understanding their behaviour.

¹ Consultation with CLC workers, Shopfront, September 2004.

² A description of legal services generally used or referred to by participants and stakeholders can be found at Appendix 8.

³ Consultation with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

⁴ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004. Also consultations with CLC workers, Kingsford Legal Centre (KLC), August 2004, solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, August 2004, pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

⁵ H Genn, P Pleasance, N J Balmer, A Buck, A OGrady, Understanding Advice Seeking Behaviour: Further Findings from the LSRC Survey of Justiciable Problems, Legal Services Research Centre, London, 2004, <http://www.lsrc.org.uk/publications/advice.pdf> (accessed March 2006), Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Access to Justice and Legal Needs: A Project to Identify Legal Needs and Barriers for Disadvantaged People in NSW. Stage 2: Quantitative Legal Needs Survey, Bega Valley (Pilot), Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Sydney, 2003, Coumarelos et al., Justice Made to Measure.

⁶ Consultations with caseworker, South coast, NSW, November 2004, consumer advocate, Sydney, August 2004, Aboriginal mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, mental health worker, Western NSW, August 2004, community worker, Sydney, October 2004. Also iInterviews nos. 18 and 14.

⁷ Consultation with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

⁸ Consultation with caseworker, South Coast, NSW, November 2004.

⁹ Consultations with solicitor in charge, MHAS, Legal Aid, December 2004, caseworker, Blue Mountains, July 2004, convener of the NCSMC, December 2004, registrar, Local Court, Sydney, August 2004, Manager, Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB), November 2004, Aboriginal mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, registrar, Local Courts & Sheriff, July 2004. This is also supported by Cameron et al., Thin Ice. See also Jablensky et al., People Living With Psychotic Illness, Andrews et al., The Mental Health of Australians.

¹⁰ Disability Council, A Question of Justice.

¹¹ Consultations with mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, CLC workers, Shopfront, September 2004.

¹² Consultations with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004, family law solicitor, October 2004, consumer advocate, Sydney, August 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004.

¹³ Consultation with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

¹⁴ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

¹⁵ Consultation with consumer advocate, Sydney, August 2004.

¹⁶ Cullen, Out of the Picture, p. 9.

¹⁷ T Szirom, D King & K Desmond, Barriers to Service Provision for Young People With Presenting Substance Misuse and Mental Health Problems, National Youth Affairs Research Scheme, Department of Family and Community Services, Canberra, 2004.

¹⁸ Consultations with senior public servant, NSW Centre for Mental Health, April 2005, family law solicitor, October 2004, solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, disability awareness trainer, August 2004, also roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004.

¹⁹ Consultations with senior public servant, NSW Centre for Mental Health, April 2005, family law solicitor, October 2004, also roundtable consultations, 3 and 16 June 2004.

²⁰ Consultation with senior public servant, NSW Centre for Mental Health, April 2005.

²¹ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

²² Consultation with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004.

²³ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004, also roundtable consultation, 3 June 2004.

²⁴ Roundtable consultations, 3 and 16 June 2004.

²⁵ Consultations with national program manager, Multicultural Mental Health Australia (MMHA), July 2004, disability awareness trainer, August 2004, CLC workers, WLS, October 2004, case manager, WRC, Sydney, October 2004.

²⁶ Consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, October 2004.

²⁷ Consultation with CLC workers, WLS, October 2004.

²⁸ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

²⁹ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

³⁰ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

³¹ Consultation with national program manager, MMHA, July 2004.

³² Consultations with disability awareness trainer, August 2004, case manager, WRC, Sydney, October 2004, also roundtable consultation, 3 June 2004.

³³ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

³⁴ Consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, October 2004.

³⁵ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

³⁶ Consultation with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

³⁷ Consultations with solicitor in charge, MHAS, Legal Aid, December 2004, executive officer, Human Services CEOs Forum, March 2005, CLC workers, WLS, October 2004, pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004, family law solicitor, October 2004, barrister, Sydney, January 2005, caseworker, Blue Mountains, July 2004. See also Cullen, Out of the Picture, paras.1.10, 4.10 and 6.22.

³⁸ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

³⁹ Consultation with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004.

⁴⁰ Consultation with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

⁴¹ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

⁴² Disability Council, A Question of Justice, p. 86.

⁴³ Consultation with solicitor in charge, MHAS, Legal Aid, December 2004.

⁴⁴ Consultation with caseworker, South Coast, NSW, November 2004. Also consultation with CLC workers, KLC, August 2004.

⁴⁵ Interview no. 11.

⁴⁶ Consultation with solicitor in charge, MHAS, Legal Aid, December 2004.

⁴⁷ Disability Council, A Question of Justice, p. 83.

⁴⁸ LawAccess Online, <http://info.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/lawaccess/lawaccess.nsf/pages/about_us> (accessed September 2005).

⁴⁹ Roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004

⁵⁰ Consultations with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004, family law solicitor, October 2004, caseworker, South Coast, NSW, November 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004, case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004. See also Combined CLCs Group (NSW) Inc (CCLC NSW), Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health, Sydney, 2005, p. 7, <http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/mentalhealth_ctte/submissions/sublist.htm> (accessed October 2005).

⁵¹ Consultation with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004.

⁵² Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

⁵³ Consultation with caseworker, South Coast, NSW, November 2004.

⁵⁴ Consultation with CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004.

⁵⁵ The Australian government, through the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, provides the Translating and Interpreting Service for people who do not speak English and for English speakers needing to communicate with them. The service is available to any person or organisation in Australia requiring interpreting services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is accessible from anywhere in Australia.

⁵⁶ Consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004.

⁵⁷ Interview no. 25 (taken from the Foundations study into homeless people). Also consultations with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, manager, Centrelink, June 2004, investigation officer, NSW Ombudsman, September 2004. See also CCLC NSW, Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health, p. 8.

⁵⁸ Consultation with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004.

⁵⁹ For example, the Select Committee on Mental Health, in Mental Health Services in NSW: Final Report, refers to endemic problems in the provision of mental heath services (p. 15). The MHCA, in Not for Service refers to the crumbling mental health care system (p. iii). See also HREOC, Human Rights and Mental Illness. Also case study 1617 taken from Coumarelos et al, Justice Made to Measure.

⁶⁰ Consultations with solicitor in charge, MHAS, Legal Aid, December 2004, caseworker, Blue Mountains, July 2004, convener of the NCSMC, December 2004, registrar, Local Court, August 2004, manager, ADB, November 2004, Aboriginal mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, Local Courts & Sheriff, July 2004. See also Andrews et al., The Mental Health of Australians, Butterworth, 2003, Jablensky et al., People Living With Psychotic Illness, Cameron et al., Thin Ice.

⁶¹ Interview no. 8.

⁶² In its Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health (p. 6), CCLC NSW estimated that a substantial proportion of their clients have mental health problems.

⁶³ Consultations with Aboriginal mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, President, Mental Health Review Tribunal, June 2003, executive officer, Human Services CEOs Forum, March 2005, consumer advocate, Sydney, August 2004, investigation officer, NSW Ombudsman, September 2004.

⁶⁴ Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee, Inquiry into Legal Aid and Access to Justice, Final Report, LSCRC, Canberra, 2004, pp. 48.

⁶⁵ Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Access to Justice Research Program: A Project to Identify Legal Needs, Pathways and Barriers for Disadvantaged People in NSW. Stage 1: Public Consultations, Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Sydney, 2003, p. 37.

⁶⁶ Consultations with President, Mental Health Review Tribunal, March 2005, consumer advocate, Sydney, August 2004, mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, Aboriginal mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, executive officer, Human Services CEOs Forum, March 2005, investigation officer, NSW Ombudsman, September 2004.

⁶⁷ Consultation with consumer advocate, Sydney, August 2004.

⁶⁸ Roundtable, 3 June 2004.

⁶⁹ Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS), Submission to the Review of NSW Community Legal Service Funding Program, NCOSS, Sydney, 2004, p. 6. Note that while this statement relates specifically to the work of the WLS, Indigenous Womens Unit Violence Prevention Units, the tone of this submission indicates that NCOSS is of the view that the under-resourcing of publicly funded legal services is widespread in NSW.

⁷⁰ CCLC NSW, Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health.

⁷¹ Consultation with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

⁷² Consultations with CLC workers, WLS, October 2004, barrister, Sydney, January 2005, policy officer, HREOC, June 2005.

⁷³ Roundtable consultation, 3 June 2004. Also consultations with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004, disability awareness trainer, August 2004. Also roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004.

⁷⁴ Consultation with CLC workers, WLS, October 2004.

⁷⁵ Legal Aid, Duty Solicitor Scheme, <http://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=375> (accessed September 2005).

⁷⁶ Consultation with registrar, Local Courts & Sheriff, July 2004.

⁷⁷ Consultation with mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004.

⁷⁸ Also roundtable consultation, 3 June 2004.

⁷⁹ Consultation with mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004.

⁸⁰ Consultation with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004. Also consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004, and roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004.

⁸¹ Consultation with solicitor, PWD, August 2004.

⁸² Consultation with caseworker, South Coast, NSW, November 2004.

⁸³ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

⁸⁴ Genn et al., Understanding Advice Seeking Behaviour, p. 31. See also Figure 11 in this study.

⁸⁵ Cullen, Out of the Picture, p 79.

⁸⁶ Consultations with CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004, family law solicitor, October 2004, with mental health worker, Western NSW, August 2004.

⁸⁷ Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee, Inquiry into Legal Aid and Access to Justice, Final Report, p. 114.

⁸⁸ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

⁸⁹ Consultation with CLC workers, WLS, October 2004.

⁹⁰ Consultations with family law solicitor, October 2004, mental health worker, Western NSW, August 2004, CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004.

⁹¹ Consultation with mental health worker, Western NSW, August 2004.

⁹² Consultation with CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004.

⁹³ Consultations with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004, family law solicitor, October 2004, caseworker, South Coast, NSW, November 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004, case manager, WRC, November 2004.

⁹⁴ Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, NSW Legal Referral Forum, <http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/information/referral/together.html> (accessed September 2005).

⁹⁵ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

⁹⁶ Steering Committee for the Evaluation of the Second National Mental Health Plan 19982003, Evaluation of the Second National Mental Health Plan, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2003, p. 30.

⁹⁷ Consultation with senior public servant, NSW Centre for Mental Health, April 2005. Also consultations with CLC workers, Shopfront, September 2004, case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004, family law solicitor, October 2004.

⁹⁸ CCLC NSW, Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health Inquiry.

⁹⁹ Legal Aid, Policies in Brief, <http://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=242> (accessed September 2005).

¹⁰⁰ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

¹⁰¹ Consultation with the convener of the NCSMC, December 2004. Also consultation with CLC workers, Shopfront, September 2004. Also case study 1065, taken from Coumarelos et al., Justice Made to Measure.

¹⁰² Disability Council, A Question of Justice, p. 60.

¹⁰³ Consultation with CLC workers, Shopfront, September 2004.

¹⁰⁴ Consultation with NSW Statewide Community & Court Liaison Service workers, Justice Health, August 2004.

¹⁰⁵ Consultation with the national program manager, MMHA, July 2004.

¹⁰⁶ Consultation with barrister, Sydney, January 2005.

¹⁰⁷ Consultation with CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004.

¹⁰⁸ Consultation with CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004.

¹⁰⁹ Consultations with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004, CLC workers, Western NSW, September 2004, family law solicitor, October 2004.

¹¹⁰ Consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004.

¹¹¹ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004, also consultation with CLC workers, KLC, August 2004.

¹¹² Consultation with solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, also consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004.

¹¹³ Consultation with family law solicitor, October 2004.

¹¹⁴ Consultations with case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004, solicitor, CCLC, August 2004.

¹¹⁵ Consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004.

¹¹⁶ Consultation with CLC workers, KLC, August 2004.

¹¹⁷ Roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004. Also consultations with public servant, Centre for Mental Health, March 2005, Executive Officer, Human Services CEOs Forum, March 2005, pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

¹¹⁸ Consultation with solicitor in charge, MHAS, Legal Aid, December 2004.

¹¹⁹ Consultation with pro bono solicitor, Sydney, September 2004.

¹²⁰ Case study obtained in consultation with caseworker, Blue Mountains, July 2004, also consultation with official visitor, October 2005.

¹²¹ Consultations with caseworker, Blue Mountains, July 2004, disability awareness trainer, August 2004, solicitor in charge, MHAS, Legal Aid, December 2004. See also MHCA, Not for Service, p. 275.

¹²² Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

¹²³ Consultation with CLC workers, WLS, October 2004.

¹²⁴ Consultation with solicitor, PWD, August 2004.

¹²⁵ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

¹²⁶ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

¹²⁷ Roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004. Also consultation with solicitor, PWD, August 2004.

¹²⁸ In addition it was argued that the MHAS has limited resources and is already overwhelmed by existing levels of demand within its jurisdiction: roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004, consultation with CLC workers, WLS, October 2004.

¹²⁹ Roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004.

¹³⁰ Roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004.

¹³¹ Roundtable consultation, 16 June 2004.

¹³² Consultation with solicitor, PWD, August 2004.

¹³³ Consultation with CLC workers, Mental Health Legal Centre, Victoria (MHLC), March 2004.

¹³⁴ Consultation with CLC workers, MHLC, Victoria, March 2004.

¹³⁵ Springfield Advice and Law Centre, <http://homelesslondon.org.uk/services/projinfo.asp?session=googlebot&crumb=pPBI&b=01AR24&p=02PP11&s=&id=UK5734> (accessed March 2006).

¹³⁶ Consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004.

¹³⁷ Consultations with disability awareness trainer, August 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004, solicitor, PWD, August 2004. See also Disability Council, A Question of Justice, p. 129.

¹³⁸ Consultations with CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004, solicitor, CCLC, August 2004, CLC workers, KLC, August 2004, case manager, WRC, Sydney, November 2004, consumer advocate, Sydney, August 2004, mental health worker, Sydney, September 2004, CLC workers, Shopfront, September 2004, barrister, Sydney, January 2005, disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

¹³⁹ Consultation with CLC worker, Western NSW, September 2004.

¹⁴⁰ Consultation with disability awareness trainer, August 2004.

¹⁴¹ S H Lee, Report on Justice and People with Disabilities in Western Australia, People with Disabilities (WA) Inc, 2001, p 10.

¹⁴² Consultation with case manager, WRC, Sydney, October 2004.

¹⁴³ Consultation with NSW Statewide Community & Court Liaison Service workers, Justice Health, August 2004.

¹⁴⁴ Consultation with social worker, Legal Aid, October 2005.

¹⁴⁵ Law and Justice Foundation, Referral Forum, Minutes, 11 November 2004.

¹⁴⁶ Law and Justice Foundation, Referral Forum, Minutes, 11 November 2004.

¹⁴⁷ Law and Justice Foundation, Referral Forum, Minutes, 11 November 2004 and 15 March 2006.

¹⁴⁸ Consultations with case manager, WRC, Sydney, October 2004, CLC workers, WLS, October 2004, solicitor, PWD, August 2004.

¹⁴⁹ Consultations with CLC workers, WLS, October 2004, solicitor, PWD, August 2004.

¹⁵⁰ Consultations with case manager, WRC, Sydney, October 2004, disability awareness trainer, August 2004.