Highlighting our commitment to ensuring people are heard in the legal process

We are proud to be putting the spotlight on early intervention and early resolution services, as well as the importance of taking a client-first approach, in three separate presentations to the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) conference.

This year’s conference theme is ‘Putting families at the centre’ which closely aligns to our focus on listening and learning from people with a lived experience as we continuously look to improve our services.

‘All three of our presentations highlight a different initiative we’ve taken in recent years to provide services which meet the individual needs of people with family violence, family law or child protection legal issues,’ said Joanna Fletcher, Executive Director, Family, Youth and Children’s Law.

‘We have taken a proactive approach to piloting initiatives which better account for the complex dynamics of family violence and put the client, rather than the needs of the legal system, at the centre of our work.'

Supporting families to recover after separation

Our Family Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) will share the benefits of providing legal assistance to separating couples with small assets or debts to divide.

‘For many people it is costly and difficult to pursue a property settlement through the family law system,' said FDRS Manager, Freia Carlton.

‘This is particularly true for our clients who are often facing acute challenges, including family violence or mental health issues.'

Our small claims property pilot, first launched in 2020, has helped people to access legal representation for mediation, and litigation if required.

‘Ensuring people can access a legally assisted mediation service like FDRS means power imbalances can be addressed, and couples can fairly divide their property, often without needing to go to a court hearing,' said Freia.

Client-first at the specialist family violence courts

Our project to design and deliver legal services at Victoria’s five initial Specialist Family Violence Courts has taken an innovative and trauma-informed approach to engaging with and considering the views of people with a lived experience.

‘We’ve seen how working with people with a lived experience, at every stage of this project, can lead to better outcomes for clients,' said Associate Director Family Violence Response, Leanne Sinclair.

‘People who have been through the system understand how hard it is and sometimes it’s the simple things, like knowing what to expect at court, that can make a big difference.'

Leanne and Steering Committee member and victim-survivor advocate Cathy Oddie are presenting to the conference on the ways in which people with a lived experience have been engaged in the project.

‘Understanding what works and what doesn’t means we can create meaningful change for people with family violence legal needs who are navigating the complex and sometimes traumatic experience of going to court,' said Leanne.

An independent voice for people in the child protection system

Client participation is also central to the model of our Independent Family Advocacy and Support (IFAS) service.

IFAS is a non-legal advocacy service for parents and carers in the early stages of the child protection system.

IFAS Manager, Helen Makregiorgos, Sherrie Thomas from Shared Experience and Support (SEaS) our IFAS lived experience advisory group and RMIT’s Dr Chris Maylea are presenting the findings of the independent evaluation of IFAS.

‘The evaluation found that IFAS diverts about 20 per cent of families from court and recommended it be expanded to a state-wide service,' said Helen.

‘Crucially, it promotes the parents or carer’s voice as central in the decision-making process and acknowledges parents as experts on their family.'

IFAS prioritises Aboriginal families and parents with an intellectual disability, ensuring those who are often most marginalised within the child protection system are supported to understand their options and participate in the process to ensure the best outcomes for their families.

‘We’re continuing to advocate for IFAS to be expanded as it would create more equitable access to this important service and support all families that need it to navigate and engage with the child protection system,' said Helen.

More information

Read more about the AIFS 2022 conference.