legal help lawyers

the means test is the test we apply to work out whether someone is eligible for legal aid funding for their legal problem, which means that they can get a lawyer to help them with it. the national disability insurance scheme and the trial site down here in barwon, i was told that ndia will not

fund anything considered medical, which was physio and chiropractic were being classed as. twenty-five per cent of australians need a lawyer to help them with a legal problem. fourteen per cent of australians live below the poverty line. only eight per cent of australians are covered by legal aid. a lot of research has been done about the extent of legal need. we know that thousands of people

who have legal problems don’t get the assistance that they need to resolve those problems. often the first time a person comes in contact with the legal system - or needs a lawyer - is when they’re going through a family law problem or they’re experiencing family violence. these are areas that legal aid works in. we’ve had clients miss out on legal help

because they might have been able to get work for the first time in months or years. but because they’re working - and because of their income - they’re not eligible. if they don’t qualify for legal aid, but they just miss out - they’re just earning a little bit too much money - they find it really hard to be able to fund a case.

so that’s why we need to broaden the base of victorians that can qualify for legal aid and have some discretion and flexibility in the system to allow them to be funded. what happens if someone isn’t granted legal aid? you can feel completely lost, you feel completely empty. sort of like you don’t know what direction you’re going, you don’t know what you’re doing.

you just walk in there like a schoolboy - like a little schoolboy - lost at school for the first time. you’re just confused, don’t know who to look to, who to ask for advice, and you don’t know what you’re actually doing. you’re just there. you’re very scary - it’s a scary moment, yeah. just to have had anyone who

could have been there in my corner. they could have been walking me through that process, to know what to expect. it just would have changed everything on that day for me. it’s a fundamental right to be able to be represented. that’s so important that a person can access a lawyer and have a voice in court.

well, without the help of legal aid representation i doubt if my - i doubt from my experiences - i don’t think i would be where i am right now. without their support and their generosity i wouldn’t be the person i am, and i wouldn’t have the lifestyle that i have right now. just off drugs, being out of trouble, and my own family and staying clean. a bit stuffed without legal aid really.

did you or someone you know miss out on legal aid. tell us your story, share your ideas.