Key developments
- New CEO of Legal Aid NSW
- Criminal Legislation Amendment (Organised Crime and Public Safety) Act 2016: safeguards to protect vulnerable persons
- Breastfeeding facilities and parenting rooms
- Consultation on legislative amendments to implement the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme
- Farm Debt Mediation Act 1994 Review
- Parliamentary inquiry into a better family law system to support and protect those affected by family violence
- First review of the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme
- Personal liability of solicitors for hearing allocation fees and hearing fees
- Refund of hearing allocation fees and hearing fees
New CEO of Legal Aid NSW
The Law Society wrote and congratulated Mr Brendan Thomas, former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Justice, on his appointment as the new Chief Executive Officer of Legal Aid NSW, and as the first Aboriginal person to be appointed to this position.
Criminal Legislation Amendment (Organised Crime and Public Safety) Act 2016: safeguards to protect vulnerable persons
The Criminal Law Committee wrote to the Attorney General raising concerns about the impact on vulnerable persons of Schedule 5 of the Criminal Legislation Amendment (Organised Crime and Public Safety) Act 2016.
Schedule 5 of the Act introduced a new Part 6B to the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 which enables senior police officers to make a public safety order (‘PSO’) prohibiting a person from being present at public events, premises or other areas if the officer believes their presence poses a serious risk to public safety or security, and the PSO is reasonably necessary to mitigate this risk.
The new police power to make PSOs applies to vulnerable persons, including children and persons with impaired intellectual functioning. The Committee requested that the Government use its new regulation-making power to provide for further safeguards for vulnerable persons who may be subject to a PSO.
