Out in our Ipswich office, Regional Manager Kevin Rose invites local elders & respected persons to speak to our Ipswich team at the end of every staff meeting.
Making sure the local community has a voice and staying in touch with grassroots people is vital to informing our cultural proficiency and ensuring our legal service delivery is responsive to local community needs.
Well done Kevin and all the team in Ipswich.
Sorry Business and other cultural activities are very important. But it is more important to keep Elders — and others who are already ill — safe by following the restrictions around gatherings.
For the latest information and guidelines please visit: https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/coronavirus/sorry-business-funerals
It was great to have students from QUT’s Indigenous Pre Law and Justice Program visit our Brisbane office this week. These bright and deadly ones spent time with our team to learn more about the important role of ATSILS in the function of the justice system and our work in protecting and advancing the legal & human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The students were welcomed by our Director of Sector Engagement and Communications – Graham White, and members of our Legal, Court Support and Prevention, Intervention and Community Legal Education teams enjoyed sharing insight into the key roles they undertake in delivering legal services to the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Increased representation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the legal sector is an important element in addressing the ongoing disadvantage our people experience in the justice system. AT ATSILS we are committed to fostering partnerships with progressive academic institutions like QUT (Queensland University of Technology) and welcome the opportunity to play our part in inspiring the next generation of legal practitioners along their career paths.
Photo Credit: (QUT Indigenous Pre Law and Justice Program)
Congratulations to Rayna (pictured right) for taking out the 2017 Ricky Webcke Memorial Award at the ATSILS Annual Staff Awards.
This Award is presented each year to our Organisation’s most outstanding Court Support or Field Officer. It bears the name of a truly remarkable man, the late and great Ricky Webke (known to some as George Appleton-Smith) – who was coincidentally, the inaugural recipient of this award when such were introduced on an annual basis in 2006.
Like Ricky, Rayna is a dedicated Court Support Officer, has performed her role with distinction and is passionate about doing her bit to enhance the lives of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members who come in contact with the justice system.
Court Support Officers perform a vital role, they are the frontline of our culturally competent service delivery with strong connections to community. They are experienced in assisting clients navigate the justice system and enhance communication between our clients and legal practitioners.
Hear from some of our dedicated team working to change Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives for the better. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service provides innovative, professional and culturally competent legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Queensland.
When delivering our innovative, professional and culturally competent legal services across Queensland we always seek feedback on the assistance provided to clients. Client feedback is captured periodically to ensure we are delivering quality assistance in line with needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families, and that meet the requirements of our funding body (Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department). Below are the collated responses and data analysis for our Client Satisfaction Survey Annual Report 2015/2016.
Table 1: Summary of Client Satisfaction Surveys (2015-16)
| Number of Clients Surveyed: 1,188 Criminal Law: 1125 Civil Law: 21 Family Law: 42 | ||||||||
| Part A: satisfaction level of legal representation | ||||||||
| Very satisfied | 835 | 70.29% | ||||||
| More than satisfied | 128 | 10.77% | ||||||
| Satisfied | 216 | 18.18% | ||||||
| Unsatisfied | 3 | 0.25% | ||||||
| Very unsatisfied | 6 | 0.51% | ||||||
| Part B: General Observations | ||||||||
| Was it easy to locate our office? | Yes 791 | No 11 | N/A 386 | |||||
| How quickly seen? | Quickly 909 | Fairly Quickly 269 | Too Slowly 10 | |||||
| How treated by staff? | V. Well 958 | Well 169 | Adequately 60 | Poorly 1 | ||||
| Comprehensible explanation? | Yes 1180 | No 8 | ||||||
| Satisfied with staff handling? | Yes 1184 | No 4 | ||||||
| Culturally sensitive? | Yes 1171 | No 17 | ||||||
Conclusion: An excellent outcome – with in excess of 81% of clients being either very satisfied or more than satisfied with the service provision received – with less than 1% of clients being unsatisfied.
Table 2: Satisfaction by Remoteness Index (all law types)
| OfficeLocation | VerySatisfied | More thanSatisfied | Satisfied | Unsatisfied | VeryUnsatisfied | PercentageSatisfied + |
| Metropolitan | 159 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 98.99% |
| Regional | 475 | 80 | 150 | 2 | 2 | 99.44% |
| Remote | 201 | 26 | 51 | 0 | 3 | 98.93% |
| Totals: | 835 | 128 | 216 | 3 | 6 | 99.24% |
Table 3: Satisfaction by Law Type
| Law Type | VerySatisfied | More thanSatisfied | Satisfied | Unsatisfied | VeryUnsatisfied | PercentageSatisfied + |
| Criminal | 785 | 117 | 215 | 3 | 5 | 99.29% |
| Civil | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Family | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 97.62% |
| Totals: | 835 | 128 | 216 | 3 | 6 | 99.24% |
Note: Office by office figures are also analysed (albeit not contained within this report)
Beenleigh Comments:-
Brisbane Comments:-
Bundaberg Comments:-
Charleville / Cunnamulla / Roma Comments:-
Hervey Bay Comments:-
Ipswich Comments:-
Mackay Comments:-
Maroochydore Comments:-
Murgon Comments:-
Normanton Comments:-
Rockhampton Comments:-
Southport Comments:-
Thursday Island:-
Toowoomba / Dalby / Goondiwindi / St George / Warwick / Chinchilla Comments:-
Townsville Comments:-
Hear from some of our dedicated team working to change Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives for the better.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service provides innovative, professional and culturally competent legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Queensland.
In his role as Co – Chair – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services & Change The Record Coalition, our CEO Shane Duffy speaks to Australasian Lawyer about the call for a new approach to Indigenous incarceration.
“The policing methodology in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country has been more about ‘lock them up and throw away the key’. We continuously see governments winning elections based off law and order agendas and incarcerations. What we need to do is look at a new, smarter approach to ensuring we have safer communities across the country.” – Shane Duffy, Co – Chair – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services & Change The Record Coalition
Read Full Article Here:
http://www.australasianlawyer.com.au/news/experts-call-for-new-approach-to-indigenous-incarceration-207789.aspx#.VjgTOnE73mI.twitter
See Lateline’s full interview with ATSILS CEO Shane Duffy at the link below.
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2015/s4344050.htm
These are the smarter solutions we are campaigning for:
https://changetherecord.org.au/solutions
Pledge your support to #ChangeTheRecord on violence and imprisonment rates today –> http://www.changetherecord.org.au/pledge
Sharing our Experience of Service Delivery
Yesterday members of our Executive management team in Brisbane hosted a delegation from the Legal Aid Foundation Taiwan – including their Secretary-General.
The delegation was on a fact-finding mission to get insight on how we deliver our specialised legal services. Of particular interest were things such as the cultural competency of our staff, our quality controls and Murri Court – (given the Indigenous population in Taiwan).
With the help of an interpreter the meeting proved to be great cross cultural exchange. The delegation was clearly grateful for our time and feedback, which included the provision of casework standards.
As a mark of appreciation the ATSILS team was presented with a special gift, a “Limpidwing Flying Fish” (“sosowowon”) crafted by a father and son team of Indigenous Taiwanese artists.
The amazing piece of artwork heralds from the Tao Indigenous peoples on Orchid Island (Pongso no Tao) – the only marine ethnic group of Taiwan. The flying fish is an important symbol of the Tao indigenous peoples. “The first catch in the open season will only be shared by family members of the fishermen. All of the family members shall eat the first catch”.
Their delegation consisted of:
1. Attorney Mr. Wei-Shyang Chen, Secretary-General, Legal Aid Foundation, Taiwan
2. Mr. Chih-Wei, Tsai, Board Member, Legal Aid Foundation, Taiwan
3. Attorney Ms. Tsai-Yi Chen, Executive Secretary, Taitung Branch, Legal Aid Foundation, Taiwan
4. Mr. Te-Yen Chou, Deputy- Director, Department of Legal Affairs, Legal Aid Foundation, Taiwan
5. Ms. Si-Wei Huang, Deputy- Director, Department of Business & Management, Legal Aid Foundation, Taiwan
6.Ms. Yu-Shan Chang, PHD Candidate, University College, London (translator)
The Change the Record Coalition today welcomed Prime Minister Turnbull’s announcement of $100 million of funding targeted at addressing family and domestic violence, but expressed disappointment that the package fails to prioritise essential legal services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s safety.