Media release
Monday 15 June 2010
ATTENTION NEWS EDITORS, BUSHFIRE REPORTERS, LEGAL REPORTERS
Please note call 1800 113 432 for free bushfire legal information.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE PART OF EMERGENCY PLANS
Legal assistance needs to be part of emergency plans and community recovery when natural disasters such as Black Saturday occur, says a new report.
Despite the plethora of legal issues that arise from a state of emergency, legal services remain absent from emergency management policies and plans at both the state and national level.
In the immediate aftermath of Black Saturday people required assistance with identification, wills, estates, housing and tenancy, insurance, property law and family issues.
The call for recognition of the need for emergency legal services at such times is made in the just released Bushfire Legal Help report.
The report also calls for the legal and human rights of individuals at inquiries such as the Bushfire Royal Commission to be strengthened and protected.
Bushfire Legal Help, a partnership of six Victorian legal agencies, was formed within days of Black Saturday. It responded to over 2165 enquiries and provided ongoing legal assistance and resources to more than 800 Victorians affected by the bushfires.
The six agencies are the Federation of Community Legal Centres, the Public Interest Law Clearing House, the Victorian Bar, the Law Institute of Victoria, the Victoria Law Foundation and Victoria Legal Aid.
The 40 page report describes the contributions of each of the agencies, including personal stories of the legal issues and harrowing experiences faced by victims of Black Saturday.
Bushfire Legal Help lawyers at the Kinglake relief centre, for example, were able to help a young couple whose home had been destroyed.
‘The lawyers helped us with all our paperwork – right from getting a birth certificate for our little baby, who was only four days old, to sorting out issues with our landlord. The lawyers worked around our needs and even called us out of hours. We are so grateful.’
The Bushfire Legal Help report concludes with three broad recommendations:
- that legal assistance be recognised as a vital component of natural disaster emergency services
- that emergency health, housing, counselling and legal services be co-located in times of a natural disaster recovery
- that the legal assistance sector inform governments and planning bodies of the longer-term legal problems created by major emergencies.
For further information see the full Bushfire Legal Help report 
PDF, 897kb or call Rachna Muddagouni on (03) 9269 0256.