The inclusion of a Solicitor Advocate on the HPLS team has been an overwhelming success.

The purpose of the Solicitor Advocate position is to establish a dedicated point of contact for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to access legal representation in minor criminal matters.

The role was established to overcome some of the barriers homeless people face accessing legal services, such as:

• a lack of knowledge of how to navigate the legal system
• the need for longer appointment times to obtain instructions
• the capacity to address complex legal and non-legal issues, such as mental health or addiction issues. 

The Solicitor Advocate’s representation of clients in court makes the process of criminal law referrals from the HPLS clinics much more effective. Not only has it meant that clients have a lawyer for their day in court, they also have a lawyer they have met before their court date and who has all the relevant medical and other reports on hand, so that, for example, an application for diversion under section 32 of the Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 (NSW) could be made on the first appearance.

To find more about HPLS Solicitor Advocate, Jeremy Rea, please click here.