People with mental illness often have an invisible or diminished role in our community, not least when it comes to accessing justice. From an inability to find a lawyer when needed through to not knowing their legal rights, people with mental illness face significant and unacceptable barriers to justice.

Since 2008, PIAC has investigated models to improve access to justice for people with mental illness. Four Mental Health Legal Service (MHLSP) pilot projects demonstrated innovative ways to apply a multi-disciplinary approach to meeting needs. In June 2011, the pilot projects came to an end. During the two years of their operation, more than 250 clients had their legal needs attended to, resulting in not only improved legal outcomes but also improvements in clients’ mental health, and in many cases, their related social and economic circumstances.

The pilots were implemented within existing legal, health or community services, thereby providing a multidisciplinary approach to address unmet legal needs for four of the most chronically disadvantaged groups in NSW:

• Young homeless people who are mentally ill (at the Shopfront Youth Legal Centre);
• Refugees who, as a result of trauma, are mentally ill (at NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS));
• People from non-English speaking backgrounds  who are mentally ill (at Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association (MDAA));
• Indigenous men who, as a result of trauma, are mentally ill (in partnership with the Gamarada Men’s Healing Program).

Each of the MHLSP pilots had different settings and client groups. However, they each shared a common purpose, and each has had significant impacts for clients and services. PIAC is now working with partner organisations to secure further funding to enable this excellent work to proceed.