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Client
Information How can the Centre help me? When you attend the It is necessary for us to collect most of
this information so that we can provide you with a service. If you choose not
to provide this information then we cannot provide you with a service. Our funders also require us to collect
other information for statistical and evaluation purposes (nb: information identifying clients is not provided to
funders or evaluators). You do not
have to provide this information. When you seek assistance from the Centre
an initial assessment will be made of the services we can provide. If the Centre can assist, you will be
referred to either the Centre’s Core Service, Disability
Discrimination Legal Service (DDLS) or Seniors
Legal and Support Service (SLASS). If the Centre
cannot assist, you will be referred to another service where possible. What are my rights when I
access the Centre? When you seek
assistance from the Centre you are entitled to: · quality services
regardless of your ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, sexual identity,
social status , health status or disability · be treated with
courtesy, respect and consideration · receive accurate
information /advice based on information you provide · ask questions to
make informed choices and your own decisions about your matter · be given
reasonable time to consider the information and advice you have been given · ask for an
interpreter · privacy and
confidentiality of your personal information unless disclosure is authorised
or required by law (See: Centre’s separate Privacy Notice for more
information) · ask to have
access to your information · a second opinion · have your file to
be transferred to another legal service · appropriately and privately
give a compliment or make a complaint.
Complaints may be raised directly with the person concerned or you may
ask to speak with the Centre’s Complaints Handler. What about my own
responsibilities? ·
Let the Centre know if you have any particular
problems or needs ·
Information and advice provided by the Centre is
based on what information you give us.
It is therefore important that you provide complete, relevant, honest
and accurate information ·
Let the Centre know if you want to cancel or
reschedule. Your time slot can be
given to someone else ·
Be on time for your appointment. Late arrivals may not be seen ·
Come prepared for your appointment, ask questions (eg: have details of your problem ready, bring relevant
documents and written information, what questions you want to ask) and if you
want talk to people you trust before making decisions ·
Be prepared to go to another service if that is
appropriate ·
You must provide details of where you can be
contacted and let the Centre know if you change your contact details. If you don’t do this we may not be able to pass important
information onto you ·
Where necessary special arrangements might be able to
be made if you are concerned that your partner (or others) might find out
that you have been to the Centre ·
Co operate with workers at the Centre ·
You are expected not to bully, intimidate or harass
anyone (workers, clients and others) at the Centre and you are to otherwise
treat everyone at the Centre with courtesy, respect and consideration ·
Remember we are trying to help you and that most
Centre workers are volunteers giving their own time to help you · The Centre
generally operates on an appointment only basis Other useful information · Sometimes work
experience students may ask if they can “sit in” on your appointment /
interview. It is up to you whether you
want this to happen · Your appointment /
interview may last up to 30 minutes (with the Core Centre) or an hour (with
the Centre’s other services). All of
your questions may not be answered in this time. You may have to come back to see us again
or you may be referred to another service · In all cases any
further work by the Centre beyond any first interview is by agreement
only. Unless expressly agreed, you can
assume that the Centre will not take any further steps on your behalf beyond
your first interview · The Centre does
not usually provide court representation · Where volunteer
workers provide assistance to you following your interview at the Centre, you should note
that they are no longer providing that follow up work to you in their
capacity as a Centre worker · One of the
objectives of the Centre is to provide clients with self-help
strategies. You may therefore be given
a “shopping list” of things that you can do to solve your problem · While our
services are generally free, there are some limited occasions when you may be
asked to pay a contribution fee or have to pay for out of pockets expenses,
outlays or other costs. If applicable
these will be discussed with you · The Centre has
limited resources. This restricts the
services that can be provided and may mean that changes to our services may
occur without notice · There are some
areas of law that we do not do regardless of a person’s social or financial
circumstances. Referrals will be made
where possible · Client records
are usually destroyed after 7 years. What a solicitor can and can’t
do for you A solicitor CAN: ·
listen to you ·
make sure they understand what you mean ·
tell you what the law says in a way that you
understand ·
give you choices about what you can do ·
help you decide what you want to do ·
tell you about other services ·
tell you what is happening with your
case but only if they are involved on an ongoing basis. A solicitor CAN’T: ·
fix every problem you have ·
spend all their time on your problem ·
do everything right away ·
always say for sure what will happen ·
always do what you want to do ·
always make other
people do the right thing. Funding The Centre’s Core
(General) Service is funded by State and Federal Governments. The Centre’s Disability
Discrimination Legal Service is funded by the Federal Government. The Centre’s Seniors Legal and Support Service
is funded by the Department of Communities. Updated: June 2010 |