21 January 2020

As part of a coordinated response to mobilise resources, a number of organisations within the legal assistance sector (including Legal Aid NSW, Victorian Legal Aid, Justice Connect, CLCs NSW, the Law Society of NSW, the Law Institute of Victoria, the Victorian Federation of CLCs and the NSW and Victorian Bar Associations) have together developed a formalised process for volunteering pro bono legal support for those affected by the bushfires.

INFORMATION FOR PRO BONO HELP SEEKERS

Please note that people and small businesses needing legal assistance as a result of the bushfires should be directed to the following organisations and helplines:

• For help in NSW, call 1800 801 529 or visit the Legal Aid NSW website
• For help in VIC, call 1800 113 432 or visit the Disaster Legal Help website
• For help in SA, call 1300 366 424 or visit the Legal Services Commission website
• For help in QLD, call 1300 004 924 or visit the Legal Aid Queensland website
• For help in WA, call 08 6488 6813 or email naturaldisasters@legalaid.wa.gov.au
• For help in the ACT, call 1300 654 314 or 02 6274 0300.

These services will take initial requests for information or assistance and refer people to other legal services or send requests to Justice Connect for pro bono assistance.

The national Financial Rights Legal Centre has made available the following resources for help seekers:

• a factsheet about Insurance Claims Management Services
• a Bushfire Insurance Guide.

The Federal Court of Australia has confirmed that support is available to those who have been affected by the disaster and require assistance in relation to a current or prospective matter before the Court.

• Any requests for urgent assistance (in particular, any necessary adjournment or variations to timetables or preparation for hearings) should be made to the relevant duty judge, details of which can be found on the Court’s website.
• All non-urgent requests should be directed to Judicial Registrar Van Le, who can be contacted at Tuan.VanLe@fedcourt.gov.au or on 03 8600 3343.

VOLUNTEERING IN NSW

Law Practices:

Law practices able to provide pro bono support to individuals and small businesses (including farms) affected by the bushfires should register with Justice Connect.

Registration and access to Justice Connect’s Pro Bono Portal to provide assistance to those affected by the bushfires is available to non-member firms and is free. Justice Connect will provide a single point for requests for pro bono assistance, and will triage requests and allocate matters to firms via the Pro Bono Portal.

Note: if firms have emailed the Law Society of NSW offering pro bono services, they now need to complete the Justice Connect registration form.

Justice Connect will be working with CLCs in NSW to assist them in engaging solicitors at their frontline services as the need arises. When registering with Justice Connect, please specify if you can provide volunteer secondment support to CLCs working on the frontline.

Individual Solicitor Volunteers:

Individual solicitors seeking to volunteer are asked to keep their eyes out for requests published by the Law Society of NSW in its Monday Briefs.

Barristers:

Members wishing to provide pro bono legal assistance over the coming weeks and months should email the NSW Bar Association at disasterrelief@nswbar.asn.au and provide details of relevant areas of practice and whether they accept direct access briefs. Barristers will be contacted by Justice Connect when a need for contributions from the NSW Bar arises.

VOLUNTEERING IN VICTORIA 

Law Practices: 

Law practices able to provide pro bono support to individuals and small businesses (including farms) affected by the fires should register their interest in volunteering by completing this form which is maintained by the Disaster Legal Help Service. All expressions of interest from firms are directed to Justice Connect.

Registration and access to Justice Connect’s Pro Bono Portal to provide assistance to those affected by the bushfires is available to non-member firms and is free. Justice Connect will provide a single point for requests for pro bono assistance, and will triage requests and allocate matters to firms via the Pro Bono Portal.

Justice Connect and Victoria Legal Aid will be working with CLCs in Victoria to assist them in engaging volunteer solicitors as the need arises.

Individual Solicitor Volunteers:

Individual solicitors seeking to volunteer are asked to register their interest by completing this form maintained by Disaster Legal Help Victoria.

Barristers:

Barristers seeking to volunteer are asked to register their interest by completing this form maintained by Disaster Legal Help Victoria. Barristers will be contacted by Justice Connect when a need for contributions from the NSW Bar arises.

VOLUNTEERING IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Legal practitioners who wish to volunteer their services can register with the Law Society via the link at the bottom of their ‘Disaster Relief & Recovery’ page.

VOLUNTEERING IN THE ACT

Legal practitioners wishing to volunteer should consult this page set up by the ACT Law Society.

VOLUNTEERING IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Should it become necessary for the WA Disaster Legal Response Plan to be activated, it will be through WA Legal Aid and the email is naturaldisasters@legalaid.wa.gov.au. To provide pro bono support please also consult the websites of Law Access WA, Legal Aid WA, Law Society of Western Australia, and the Western Australian Bar Association.

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It is important to look after yourself when providing pro bono assistance to others. For tips on self-care while undertaking pro bono work, please see our resource Client Management and Self-Care: A guide for pro bono lawyers.