All First Nations clients deserve access to culturally appropriate legal services that make them feel safe, respected and listened to.
Our justice system has its origins in colonialism. It continues to disempower and dispossess First Nations people. The Yoorrook Justice Commission hearings and recent coronial recommendations have highlighted the devastating impacts of such systems and practices on First Nations people, families and communities and the urgent need to improve the way lawyers work.
As a profession, it is our responsibility to ensure that legal services are as culturally safe as possible and informed by the voices of First Nations clients and communities.
We are collaborating with the Law Institute of Victoria to develop a First Nations Cultural Capability Framework. This to support Victorian legal practitioners in meeting their responsibilities to First Nations clients. This commitment reflects their organisational roles and responsibilities to prescribe practice standards for legally aided services. It also promotes professional practice and set specialisation standards respectively.
We are working with Aboriginal community-controlled legal organisations and First Nations networks to ensure First Nations voices are centred in the framework.
Implementation of the First Nations Cultural Capability Framework will lead to better outcomes for First Nations clients in the justice system and promote culturally safe workplace practices.
What the First Nations Cultural Capability Framework will do
The framework will support a continuous learning journey for legal professionals that better provides for legal representation that:
- is culturally informed
- is culturally safe
- achieves the best outcomes for First Nations clients.
The framework will establish standards of practice that identify the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for lawyers to provide culturally safe and responsive legal services to First Nations clients. The framework will also inform culturally safe workplace practices in relation to First Nations colleagues and organisations.
The framework is a foundational step, which will be embedded within legal practitioners’ existing obligations. Once developed, it will provide a consistent structure for implementation across the sector through, for example, best practice guidelines, continuing professional development (CPD)/legal training, quality measures and standards, our panel entry and the Law Institute of Victoria specialist accreditation. The Law Institute of Victoria will promote adoption of the framework by the sector. We will incorporate the framework into practice standards for all lawyers providing legal aid services.
Why we need a First Nations Cultural Capability Framework
Culturally safe and responsive assistance is essential in providing competent and professional services which empower First Nations clients to make informed choices about legal options. Many legal practitioners are not adequately equipped to do this.
The colonial structure of the Victorian legal system fails to recognise and respect First Nations law/lore that has governed all aspects of First Nations people’s life for millennia and continues today through the strength of culture and community.
Working to improve cultural awareness and safety across the legal sector also aligns with a national commitment to achieve all three tenets of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which we support, as does the Law Institute of Victoria.
How the First Nations Cultural Capability Framework is being developed
The obligation to develop these capabilities lies with the legal profession. Our collaboration with the Law Institure of Victoria recognises our institutional responsibility to ensure that the provision of legal services is informed by the voices of First Nations clients and communities.
The framework is being developed through a process founded on principles of respect, accountability and collaboration, and prioritises First Nations voices and expertise.
Our working group includes representatives from:
- Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
- Djirra
- Commission for Children and Young People
- Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner
- Indigenous Law and Justice Hub, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne.
This project is supported and funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board. It is occurring in the context of other sector initiatives led by Community Legal Centres, the Judicial College, the Victorian Bar and others to uplift the capability of lawyers to deliver culturally safe services.
Joint project overview
Contact
Victoria Legal Aid contact
Kimberley Ison, Project Manager, First Nations Cultural Capability Framework – kimberley.ison@vla.vic.gov.au
Law Institute of Victoria contact
Keren Murray, (Keren Murray Consulting) Project Lead – keren@kmurrayconsulting.com.au
Disclaimer: The material in this print-out relates to the law as it applies in the state of Victoria. It is intended as a general guide only. Readers should not act on the basis of any material in this print-out without getting legal advice about their own particular situations. Victoria Legal Aid disclaims any liability howsoever caused to any person in respect of any action taken in reliance on the contents of the publication.
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Reviewed 02 August 2023