The recommendations of the recently released McMillian Report into enhancing the efficiency and minimizing the duration of judicial review proceedings commenced by offshore asylum seekers are out of date.

While PILCH NSW welcomes the long-awaited release of the McMillian Report:

Regulating Migration Litigation after Plaintiff M61, unfortunately, delays in releasing the report make its recommendations largely irrelevant. While the inquiry was announced in January 2011 and Professor McMillian was only given a short time to prepare the report, it was not released until 25 November 2011.

In his report, Professor McMillian states:

“Many of the potential problems discussed in this report would be lessened or overcome if an offshore entry applicant detained in a remote detention facility was legally represented in judicial review proceedings.”

Inaction by the Federal Government in helping asylum seekers with their rights to access judicial review has lead to the legal community across Australia shouldering the burden of ensuring asylum seekers are provided with legal assistance. PILCH NSW, PILCH Victoria and CASE have coordinated a national response through their Offshore Asylum Seeker Project. To date PILCH has funded the coordination of the Project and referral of matters.

This is not a burden that should be carried by the legal community alone. PILCH NSW calls on the Federal Government to provide immediate funding to coordinate legal assistance for asylum seekers affected by poor quality decisions made by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

In NSW alone, 91 barristers and 23 law firms have registered with the Project to take on these matters and have already generated nearly half a million dollars in pro bono assistance.

Of the legal advices obtained through the Project, approximately 95 per cent have merit for judicial review, indicating that the DIAC assessments are unsound.

PILCH has a thriving discrimination practice within the Clearing House, which is ably and generously supported by our bar members.  PILCH has referred a number of requests for assistance from vulnerable clients for much-needed advice and assistance through the Australian Human Rights Commission conciliation process.  PILCH has also referred a discrimination test case relating to citizenship status, which is currently before the Federal Magistrates Court. 

PILCH casework in discrimination tends to suggest that there is a gap in legal services for discrimination matters that do not fall within another area of industrial law, notwithstanding the clear public interest in strengthening access to justice in this area of the law.

Keep an eye on our website to view PILCH’s Submission to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Division: Consolidation of Anti-Discrimination Laws.

Over 29 days, we were referred 40 new clients for our Off Shore Asylum Seeker Project.  These individuals, located all across Australia are seeking judicial review of their negative administrative decisions which has denied them refugee status in Australia.

PILCH is grateful to the numerous barristers and solicitors who have assisted and continue to assist with the project. The numbers are reflective of the success of the project and PILCH hopes to continue to provide assistance to these vulnerable people. Thank you for your continued support!

In addition, we have been contacted by 21 not-for-profit organisations seeking advice on Deductible Gift Recipient [DGR] status, constitutional issues and governance as well as assistance in addressing misleading and deceptive practices. PILCH continues to lend a hand to organisations that support marginalised, disadvantaged and vulnerable people or address matters of broad public concern.  We are in the process of reviewing NGO Works, our project that provides assistance to not-for-profit organisations. Please keep an eye on our website for updates.

During February, 28 individual clients have contacted us for legal assistance.  Of these, 9 were assessed as meeting PILCH’s public interest criteria for referral to our members. The other 19 matters were triaged by the PILCH intake team as eligible for alternative government-funded legal services. PILCH coordinated referrals to Legal Aid NSW, Law Access, Community Legal Centres and the Office of the Legal Services Commissioners to ensure the best outcome for each client, and to avoid replicating the services of these organisations.

PILCH has noted large numbers of tenancy issues, workplace/employment conflicts and insurance matters in our recent casework.  The PILCH team, our board and partner organisations are working to develop strategic and systemic interventions across these areas of law – watch this space!

This year’s Walk for Justice will take place on Tuesday 15 May 2012 from 7.30 am. The Walk for Justice is a reminder of the need for free, quality legal services and a valuable fundraising opportunity for PILCH. Since the first walk in 2008, the event has grown from a small fun walk to a nation-wide event.  While we walk  for justice in a scenic loop through Sydney’s green belt, PILCH Victoria, QPILCH and JusticeNet (SA) will be leading simultaneous walks through the CBD of Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. To participate in another state click here.

There will also be a walk held in Newcastle, celebrating the regional engagement with PILCH NSW. To register in Newcastle click here.

This year’s Law Week theme is particularly appropriate to PILCH’s values, work and client base: ‘Law and Justice in your community’. PILCH hopes to see a strong turn out from its members, partners and supporters, their friends, families, colleagues and communities – we are keeping our fingers crossed for a bright autumn morning!

PILCH will commence registration for the Walk for Justice in March.  We encourage teams, themes and even costumes, and welcome individual walkers to join the PILCH team, get to know us and get to know what we do.  Don’t miss out!

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN NOW!! Please Register  online by clicking here.

Donate to or Sponsor a Team or Individual Here.

Download your 2012 PILCH Walk for Justice Sponsorship Form to collect your sponsorship.

We would like to thank the following Sponsors for contributing to the Walk for Justice:

- The Law Society of NSW

- LitSupport

- Fraser & Hughes Pty Ltd

- Sydney Institute of TAFE NSW, Ultimo College

Animal law is an emerging area of law which tests the formal, ethical and imagined boundaries of the current regulatory system around animal cruelty.  Each year, PILCH hosts up to 20 students from the University of Sydney Law School to conduct cutting edge research for the PALS@PILCH project.  In the past, the project has also attracted secondees and skilled volunteers, who are eager to practice in an untested area of law.

PALS@PILCH Managing Solicitor Jillian Field takes a strategic, innovative and scholarly approach to animal advocacy. “Animal law raises important ethical issues and seeks to challenge the law as it currently stands.  This makes it an ideal subject for academic inquiry, as well as being an important and interesting area of legal practice.”

The winners of the 2011 Animal Law Essay Competition are published on the NSW Young Lawyers Animal Law Committee website.

Savi will be responsible for managing general referrals to PILCH members and supervising junior staff, secondees and PLT placements. 

Coordinator and Principal Solicitor Katrina Ironside drew on PILCH NSW’s extensive experience in pro bono referral and public interest litigation to contribute a “New South Wales perspective” to the joint recommendations.  The cost of disbursements in public interest matters has been burdensome to many of PILCH’s disadvantaged clients, and often becomes an additional hurdle to access to justice.   It is also an issue that PILCH members have frequently raised with the Clearing House team.  

The ten recommendations of the joint submission include adopting a flexible and inclusive definition of disbursements; allowing retrospective grants of funding in exceptional circumstances; and abolishing application fees for funding assistance for disbursements in pro bono, public interest and community legal centre-assisted matters.

Keep an eye on our website to view Pro Bono Access Australia’s Submission to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Division: Consolidation of Financial Assistance.

The last twenty years have seen significant changes in the operating environment of public interest legal services.  Since the PILCHs were first established in NSW and Victoria, the Australian legal profession has enthusiastically embraced pro bono work, and many medium and large firms have committed internal resources to coordinating pro bono services.  Firms have also expanded nationally, which means that PILCH members are no longer state-bound – among the major firms, many are members of both PILCH Victoria and PILCH NSW, who would benefit from improved consistency between the PILCHs.  Due to specialisation in the community legal sector and increases in the direct provision of pro bono services by a number of firms, PILCH NSW now receives and refers a higher proportion of complex, national or cross-jurisdictional public interest matters than any other point in our history.

PILCH NSW, PILCH Victoria, QPILCH (Queensland) and JusticeNet (South Australia) have jointly identified the need for a “joined-up” approach to carrying out referrals and project work and are open to opportunities for partnership, collaboration and mutual support.

PILCH is committed to legal education.  In addition to the PIPI project, PILCH partners with the University of Sydney Law School to host a number of students in Social Justice research placements at PILCH’s office throughout first and second semester of the academic year. 

For Coordinator and Principal Solicitor Katrina Ironside, PILCH’s commitment to providing opportunities for students is an extension of the organisation’s core work of promoting public interest law.  “Currently a career in social justice is promoted as an alternative to corporate law. It is still not promoted as a legitimate career path in and of itself.  At PILCH, we introduce passionate and principled young people to practical issues in social justice, and equip them with the opportunities and information to pursue public interest work in the future.”

PILCH is a dynamic and nurturing workplace, and former PIPI and Social Justice students enjoy their experience so much that a number have returned to the organisation as volunteers, interns, PLT placements and staff.

 Staff and interns at Animal Liberation NSW and PILCH conducted significant scientific and legal research into the treatment of commercially farmed ducks in 2011, particularly the implications of water deprivation on water birds.  PALS@PILCH Managing Solicitor Jillian Field has some clear goals in mind for the project. “We need to raise public awareness about the cruelty of duck farming, in the same way that the community are now aware of the plight of boiler chickens and hens that produce eggs.”

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the Voiceless Awards in December 2011.  The full article is available on the Sydney Morning Herald website.