Our Impact

NDIS assistance for young child:
Jackson McDonald accepted a Law Access referral to act for a family with a young child with severe disabilities (May 2022). The family sought a review of an NDIS funding decision, on the basis that it did not provide their child with sufficient funding to enable proper care. When they accepted the referral, the family had been dealing with AAT proceedings for more than a year. Jackson McDonald and pro bono barrister Cobey Taggart (referred in Dec 2022) helped the family negotiate an outcome with the NDIS which provided the family with sufficient funding to care for their daughter’s high needs. Jackson McDonald partner Erica Thuijs said: “It was a real pleasure and a privilege to be able to help the family achieve such a life changing outcome and see the real impact that it will have on their daily life.”

Homelessness crisis averted for vulnerable applicant:
SCALES (Community Legal Centre) referred the applicant to Law Access for urgent pro bono property law advice (January 2023). The applicant was on a disability support pension and was facing imminent eviction from her family home. The home had been purchased with funds contributed primarily by the applicant and their adult child but was registered in the adult child’s name only. The adult child sought to evict the applicant as a “tenant” and had obtained enforcement orders after default judgment for failure to lodge a defence in Magistrates Court proceedings. The applicant needed to urgently assert their equitable interest in the property to avoid homelessness. Clayton Utz made an urgent ex-parte Supreme Court application to suspend enforcement of the eviction orders (which was successful) and then commenced substantive proceedings. In a Supreme Court mediation (March 2023) Clayton Utz helped the applicant achieve a negotiated outcome that recognised the applicant’s considerable financial interest and allowed the applicant to remain in the family home until an agreed property sale date.