This year, Allens was awarded the Salvation Army Pro Bono Initiative Award for our work on the Gaagal Wanggaan (South Beach) National Park matter at the Lawyers Weekly Icon Awards.
In March 2010, Allens and its pro bono clients Nambucca Heads Local Aboriginal Land Council and Unkya Local Aboriginal Land Council (the LALCs) reached a milestone.
After several years of settlement negotiations with the NSW Government, agreements were executed to facilitate the establishment of the Aboriginal-owned and jointly managed Gaagal Wanggaan (South Beach) National Park, over South Beach near Nambucca Heads in northern NSW.
Allens' team has worked extensively with the LALCs and the Gumbaynggirr people over the past three years – and for more than 2000 hours – to give effect to land rights claims settled in December 2002. The matter has involved a wide range of advice, spanning protection of Indigenous rights in intellectual property and cultural heritage, to preferential contracting arrangements for Indigenous suppliers to service the National Park.
The settlement has provided a foundation for real, practical improvements in the lives of the Gumbaynggirr people and creates an opportunity for lasting positive impact on the community. The settlement terms provided, in addition to rental from the NSW Government, the creation of specified employment positions, training programs and provision of capital equipment.
- Australian Indigenous Education Foundation
- The Tooth Mob
- Northern Territory Compulsory Acquisition Matter
- PILCH Secondment
- Daydawn Advocacy Centre and ALSWA
- Child, Carer and Country
Australian Indigenous Education Foundation
The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) Scholarship Program is a $40 million project to provide scholarships for Indigenous children to board at some of the leading schools in the country; schools that give students high expectations and a world-class education to equip them for life in the 21st century.
This is coupled with a unique, complementary AIEF Post-School Pathways Program, to assist Indigenous school leavers to move into tertiary study and meaningful careers at leading companies. Last year was a pivotal year for AIEF, as it completed a contract confirming a $20 million investment by the Australian Government, the official establishment and staffing of the organisation, and the first year of the scholarship program.
Allens lawyers have been involved with advising AIEF since its establishment. Recently, Allens has provided advice on issues ranging from employment law and privacy law, to reviewing AIEF's scholarship agreement with partner schools and negotiating the lease for the foundation's new offices.
AIEF is very grateful to have the generous pro bono support of Allens. AIEF
strives to meet and define best practice in the sector and prides itself on its
strong corporate DNA – this means we set high benchmarks of excellence and
expertise in the quality of everything we do. We have been extremely fortunate
to have one of Australia's leading law firms to assist us through our
establishment and development stages and to position AIEF so strongly through
the support of Allens' world class advice. The Allens work ethic,
professionalism, expertise and reputation are second to none. These are the very
qualities that we seek to emulate in the work we do at AIEF, reflected in our
corporate ethic: 'hard heads, soft hearts and capable hands. 
Andrew Penfold, CEO of AIEF
The Tooth Mob
The Tooth Mob provides free dental treatment and oral health programs in the remote Indigenous communities of the eastern Katherine region of the Northern Territory.
Established by former Allens lawyer Sophie Ryan, in conjunction with the Charlie Perkins Trust for Children and Students, The Tooth Mob sends volunteer dentists and dental assistants to the communities to live and work for two-week periods.
Although dental facilities, operating clinics and equipment are available, there is a critical lack of dental staff in the communities. Responding to this need, volunteers for The Tooth Mob travel from around Australia to the Northern Territory to provide treatment.
As the project continues to operate, The Tooth Mob will train local residents in the provision of oral health services, with a view to creating a sustainable oral health service in the region.
To help facilitate the project's delivery, Allens prepared a memorandum of understanding between the Charlie Perkins Trust for Children and Students, Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation and the Northern Territory Government Department of Health and Families. One of the commitments in the memorandum is that the parties will work together to build a project that is not only capable of facilitating effective oral health programs but also addresses the underlying causes of health inequity, in an effort to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Allens has also provided advice in relation to insurance and employment issues associated with the project.
The Tooth Mob clinics have been inundated with patients
and over 250 patients have already been treated. In one
community, the treatment provided in five days by the
volunteer teams would have taken 10 years to be provided
under the previous arrangement.
Photo: Sophie Ryan
Northern Territory Compulsory Acquisition Matter
In July 2009, the firm assisted the Human Rights Law Resource Centre (HRLRC) of Victoria to act for a number of residents of Alice Springs town camps in proceedings challenging actions of the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin.
Tangentyere Council is an Aboriginal representative body for 18 'town camps' in the heart of Alice Springs. It is a major service delivery agency in the area and assists with a wide range of social needs, including housing, family, youth, aged care and the arts.
In 2009, ongoing negotiations between the Council and the Minister in relation to subleases for the town camps broke down.
The Minister insisted on compulsory acquisition if the Council refused to sign 40-year sub-leases that were linked to a $40 million housing and infrastructure grant. The Council insisted adequate negotiation be undertaken prior to entry into the leases. The Commonwealth threatened to use its compulsory acquisition power if the leases were not executed by July 2009. Negotiations reached an impasse and the Minister issued a compulsory acquisition notice.
Allens'
responsiveness, technical expertise and capacity enable
us to take on important human rights cases that we
simply could not run on our own. The support and
commitment of the Allens pro bono program is essential
for small organisations like ours to be able to initiate
important human rights cases and facilitate access to
justice for many of Australia's most vulnerable and
disadvantaged communities'.
Ben Schokman, Director – International Human Rights Advocacy of HRLRC.
The Allens team worked to assist the HRLRC in Federal Court proceedings to have this initial notice set aside and require the Minister to give adequate notice to the 2000 town residents before issuing a second notice. The Minister also made $5.3 million available immediately for urgent upgrades and committed $500 million over the next five years. The Council considered, that with our assistance, they were allowed to 'negotiate the best option available at the time' and agreed to sign the subleases.
According to HRLRC, this case had wider ramifications, both in assisting other Aboriginal representative bodies to obtain more favourable terms in their lease negotiations with the Minister, and in engendering a sense of empowerment in the community.
PILCH Secondment
The Aboriginal Credit and Debt Clinic (ACDC) pilot program was launched in May 2010 by the Victorian Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.
The program was established to provide free legal and financial counselling advice regarding credit and debt problems to members of Victoria's regional Indigenous communities. There is a great need for these sorts of targeted services, given that credit and debt problems are among the most prevalent civil law issues for many Indigenous communities. Also, there is a significant link between credit and debt problems and financial disadvantage and social exclusion. Free legal assistance can help clients to resolve debt and credit legal problems, and improve their legal literacy in order to help them navigate these issues in future.
ACDC seeks to provide free and culturally appropriate services at its day-long clinics taking place in Shepparton, Ballarat, Morwell and Mildura.
In addition to providing assistance to the clients who present at the four clinics, the program also produces meaningful data in relation to the need for legal services, which assists in lobbying government for further resources to fund culturally appropriate legal services for the regional Aboriginal communities of Victoria.
A team of Allens lawyers, together with lawyers from other firms, are seconded to PILCH on a pro bono basis to attend each clinic. The lawyers see clients at the regional clinic, either giving on-the-spot advice or taking instructions and working on the matter back at Allens. Legal issues that arise at ACDC include infringements and fines, Centrelink debts, debts to utilities companies and disputes with credit providers. Many of these legal issues represent significant obligations on the part of ACDC clients, and helping them resolve these issues has the potential to greatly change their lives and those of their families and others in their communities.
Photo: Allens lawyers, Christine Lui, John Leung, Jessica O'Brien and Tanya Thomas, at the Aboriginal Credit and Debt Clinic.
Daydawn Advocacy Centre and ALSWA
Allens assisted the Daydawn Advocacy Centre and the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA (ALSWA) to challenge the eviction of two tenants from their state housing homes.
In the first case, the Department of Housing sought to evict a 52-year-old Indigenous female tenant for breaching her tenancy agreement, on the basis of court orders it had obtained in the tenant's absence.
The tenant suffers from advanced diabetes and has nine children, some of whom are severely disabled. She could not attend court on the hearing date due to illness. Allens filed an urgent ex parte application in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and successfully obtained an order that prevented the eviction until a full review of the tenant's circumstances could take place.
In the second case, the firm assisted ALSWA to challenge the scope of the Department of Housing's authority to evict a tenant without grounds.
The Department of Housing sought to terminate the tenancy of an Indigenous man who suffered from cognitive impairment due to an assault. The man was a long-term tenant of the Department. His two sons were living with him and successfully completing apprenticeships. The tenant had been complying with an Intellectual Disability Diversion program put in place by the Department of Corrective Services to help him to address his physical and mental health issues and to combat his marijuana and alcohol dependency. Allens had the support of the Department of Corrective Services in challenging his eviction.
A magistrate heard the matter over a number of days. Allens marshalled evidence to establish that the tenant would be homeless and a suicide risk if he were evicted, and that both he and his children would suffer severe hardship. The case turned on its facts and we were not ultimately successful. However, the magistrate accepted submissions on key matters of legal principle, and in his reasons for decision set out a number of factors that may allow other state housing tenants to challenge evictions.
Child, Carer and Country
Child, Carer and Country is an action research project that has been working to establish high-quality and culturally relevant services for young Indigenous children from remote communities in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The project is run jointly by the Kimberley College TAFE in Broome, and the Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, a research centre in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. The project team has been tackling some of the challenges faced by young Indigenous children in remote communities, through a mix of grassroots consultation and specialised academic support.
They have aided the local community, early childhood staff and other key stakeholders through the organisation of a number of bush meetings, small learning circle meetings and conferences. They have also helped establish a web-based e-learning resource and exchange. Allens assisted Child, Carer and Country become incorporated and advised them on applying for deductible gift recipient status.