AccessUs. The South West Sydney Legal Centre e- Newsletter

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1 AccessUs The South West Sydney Legal Centre e- Newsletter Welcome to the first issue of our e- newsletter. We aim to bring you updates and resources on legal issues that may help you better service your clients. Your feedback on the content of this newsletter and requests for information in upcoming issues is welcome. feedback or requests for articles to Feel free to share this newsletter with colleagues in your networks who may be interested. This newsletter is for information purposes only and may only be relevant in NSW. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. Call our Solicitors during our telephone advice times (see below) for specific legal advice. In this issue: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Family Dispute Resolution What happens when there is a dispute about children? Postponing/Writing Off Fines Financial, Medical, or domestic problems may make you eligible. Domestic Violence What is Domestic Violence? - Staying Home Leaving Violence a casework service for clients experiencing DV - SWSWDVCAS a DV court support and information service for women Employment Law Unfair Dismissal Claims. FAMILY DISPUTE RESOLUTION What happens when there is a dispute about children? The Law believes that it is best for parents to reach their own agreement on matters involving the care of their children. For this reason it is compulsory for parents to attend Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) and demonstrate a genuine commitment to reach an agreement before court action can be commenced. (There can be exceptions to this rule, such as domestic violence). There are two kinds of agreements that parents can enter into: Parenting Plans, or Consent Orders Parenting Plans are informal written agreements that each parent agrees to follow. Because these agreements are informal, they cannot be enforced by law. Consent Orders are formal agreements prepared by a solicitor that become Court Orders. This means parents can utilise the law to enforce their agreement. Page 5 Noticeboard Upcoming Events and useful links - Your feedback is welcome Parenting Plans and Consent Orders can deal with all the matters the Family Court can deal with (and more), such as where the child lives or how much time the child spends with each parent. Reaching an agreement is much faster, cheaper and less disruptive than going to court. South West Sydney Legal Centre Address: Level 2, Moore St, Liverpool, NSW 2170 Telephone: Fax: info@swslc.org.au Web: To add or delete your contact details from our mailing list please newsletter@swslc.org.au FREE PHONE LEGAL ADVICE: TUESDAYS pm and pm THURSDAYS pm

2 Continued For example, on average it takes two years and between $20,000 and $50,000 to finalise a contested family law court case. On the other hand, reaching an agreement and consent orders at FDR is free and can be achieved in a matter of months. SWSLC works in partnership with Fairfield and Bankstown Family Relationship Centres to provide legal advice and assistance to support parents in the FDR process reach an effective and workable agreement and obtain court endorsement of the orders so they are enforceable at law. If you would like to know more about family Dispute Resolution, contact us to request a copy of our brochure The Law and Family Dispute Resolution at info@swslc.org.au SWSLC Ph: Bankstown FRC Ph: Fairfield FRC Ph: FREE FAMILY LAW ADVICE NOW AVAILABLE IN BANKSTOWN Need to speak with a solicitor about a Family Law problem? Call us during our telephone legal advice times Our solicitors can make an appointment to see you in Bankstown In our next issue: How to get a divorce if you don t have a Marriage Certificate POSTPONING/WRITING OFF FINES People experiencing financial, medical or domestic problems are eligible to have their fine(s) postponed and even written off If a person fails to pay a Penalty Reminder Notice an Enforcement Order is issued by the SDRO. Once a person receives an Enforcement Order they can apply to the SDRO to have enforcement action postponed. Applicants will need to demonstrate that because of their financial, medical and/or domestic problems they either cannot pay the fine, or doing so will result in the Applicant and/or their immediate family suffering additional and unreasonable hardship and that this situation is unlikely to improve for the foreseeable future. If successful, the SDRO will suspend further enforcement action for five years. This means the Applicant is not required to pay the Enforcement Order fine(s) for five years. After five years the SDRO will contact the successful Applicant. If the Applicant s circumstances have not improved the SDRO will consider an application to write off the Enforcement Order debt. Read more about how to apply. Are you appearing in court for a driving offence? You should seek legal advice first. FREE Driving Offences Legal Service now available at Liverpool Court fortnightly on Wednesdays! If you have not been able to obtain proper legal advice, a court will usually adjourn a matter to allow you to do so. Speak to court staff about this. For free legal advice Call us during our legal advice times on or See the SWSLC solicitor at Liverpool Court fortnightly on Wednesdays 2

3 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WHAT IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE? When most people think of Domestic Violence, they think of physical abuse but DV is much more than physical abuse and the consequences to the victim are just as painful and humiliating. The following is a checklist you can use with your clients to make them think about their relationship. You don t have to leave home to leave the violence 4. longer term support for women and children and the prevention of further violence. targets women who want to escape a life of violence, but who do not want to become homeless. SHLV works in partnership with services that assist women in these situations. Does your partner: Embarrass you with bad names and put downs? Look at you or act in ways that scare you? Control what you do and where you go? Stop you from seeing or talking to friends or family? Take your money, make you ask for money, or refuse to give you money? Make all the decisions? Tell you you re a bad parent or threaten to take away or hurt your children? Act like the abuse is no big deal, it s your fault, or even deny doing it? Destroy your property or threaten to kill your pets? Intimidate you with guns, knives or other weapons? Shove, slap or hit you? Force you to drop charges? Threaten to commit suicide? Threaten to kill you? If your client checked even one, they may be in an abusive relationship SWSLC can assist women experiencing domestic violence by providing free legal advice. Call us during our free legal advice times. Read on for more useful DV support services for your clients. Staying Home, Leaving Violence (SHLV) aims to assist women and children who have experienced domestic violence to remain safely in their own homes, without the perpetrator of violence. SHLV Caseworkers work closely with women and children to develop personal safety and case management plans, with the goal of ensuring that women can remain safely and securely in their own homes and communities. In the Staying Home Leaving Violence program there are four key steps to ensuring a woman and her children can remain safely in their home: 1. removing the perpetrator from the home; 2. keeping the perpetrator out of the home over time; 3. taking steps immediately to make sure that women and their children are safe; and If you feel that your clients would benefit from the Staying Home Leaving Violence Service, please contact us to discuss how we can work together to assist your clients. SHLV staff are proficient in Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Liverpool Service: Phone: Fax: shlv@swslc.org.au Fairfield Service: Phone: Fax: shlv@swslc.org.au Other DV casework services available in our local area include: Green Valley Liverpool Domestic Violence Service Phone: In our next issue: DV is a crime. Changes to Victims of Crime legislation and what it means for your clients. 3

4 Want the violence to stop? Advice about DV and help at court is available South West Sydney Women s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service assists women and children seeking help and information about how to get protection from the court from domestic violence. How they can help: Information about AVOs and other services Information about what will happen at court if you have a DV matter listed Make sure you have a safe place to sit at court Help you understand what is happening at court and help you get an Order that is best for your situation Keep you informed about the progress of your matter through the court including future dates when you need to attend court Refer you to other services for housing, income support, children s needs, family law and counselling Information about what to do if the abuse continues Our WDVCAS service now has an Aboriginal Specialist worker! Tammy Parker will be at Liverpool court on Tuesdays to support clients. Call us to discuss your client s needs or refer your client directly South West Sydney Women s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service: Phone: Mobile: Fax: swswdvcas@clc.net.au Other useful DV Resources and support services: 24 hour DV Hotline Legal Aid have many free publications s/factsheets- and- resources/are- you- experiencing- domestic- violence Law Access provide free resources and phone advice Phone: Law Assist has information and practical guides to assist self represented people EMPLOYMENT LAW Want to fight an unfair dismissal? Did you know that time limits apply! What is an unfair dismissal? The Fair Work Act defines a dismissal as unfair if: the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable; and the dismissal was not a case of genuine redundancy A resignation can be a dismissal! What is harsh, unjust or unreasonable Read more An application for an Unfair Dismissal must be lodged with the Fair Work Commission within 21 days after an employee receives a notice of termination. The notice can be verbal or written. Time limits are strictly enforced. Can Casual employees claim for unfair dismissal? Yes, casual employees can claim for unfair dismissal if: a. They worked on a regular and systemic basis; and b. During the period of casual employment, the employee had an expectation of continuing employment on a regular and systemic basis; and c. They satisfy the minimum employment periods For example, a casual employee who works regular set days and shifts from week to week may fall within this definition. 4

5 There are minimum employment periods before a claim for unfair dismissal can be made read more Remedies If the Fair Work Commission finds that that an employee was unfairly dismissed, it can award: a. Reinstatement This involves the employee being reappointed to the position he/she was employed immediately before the dismissal or to another position on terms and conditions no less favourable than the previous position. Together with reinstatement, the Fair Work Commission can order compensation for the amount of pay lost by the employee because of the dismissal. Usually this is back pay for the loss of income between the dismissal and the reinstatement order. b. Compensation If reinstatement is not reasonable, the Fair Work Commission can order the employer to pay compensation. How much compensation? The maximum compensation that can be awarded is 26 weeks of the employee s pay. When deciding how much compensation to award, the Fair Work Commission will consider all the circumstances of the case, including: the length of the employee s service with the employer the pay the employee would have received if the employee was not dismissed the efforts of the employee to find other work the amount of income the employee earned from other employment between the dismissal date and the Fair Work Commission order for compensation There is no compensation for shock, distress or pain and suffering caused by the dismissal. How long does the Unfair Dismissal process take? The conciliation stage can take up to 3 months. If the matter goes to an arbitration hearing this can take several more months. How much does the Unfair dismissal claim cost? There is an application fee, currently $ Whilst possible, it is unlikely an unsuccessful applicant will be ordered to pay the employer s legal costs. For more comprehensive information about Unfair Dismissal Claims go to the fact sheet on our website In our next issue: The new Anti- Bullying legislation. What does it mean for your workplace. NOTICEBOARD On 13 March 2014 from and 1.00pm, our Solicitor, Sarah Reid will be speaking on Community Radio Station 2BACR s (100.9FM) The Way Life is program on the topic of Family Law. The program will be repeated in Arabic at the same time on 20 March. Perhaps your clients would be interested in listening in! Our Solicitor, Sarah Reid, will be speaking at a free workshop Understanding Family Law, Child Support and Care and Protection in the context of Domestic and Family Violence on 27 March at Fairfield RSL. To book or for more information Suzanne Sivieng at crimeprevention@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au. South West Sydney Legal Centre is very proud to be the winner of the Zest Award for Exceptional Community Partnership Across a Region for our Student Connect Program! Our Solicitors can come to your premises and provide free legal education to your staff or clients. Call us on to discuss your needs. Is there a particular legal topic you would like us to cover in our next issue? us at newsletter@swslc.org.au and let us know! What do you think of our newsletter? We aim to make it relevant for staff in local community organisations. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. newsletter@swslc.org.au or call Effi on Unsubscribe by ing newsletter@swslc.org.au and typing Unsubscribe in the subject line. 5