Talking Vision Now: Your Story Disability Support Service

Your Story Disability Legal Support is a national service specifically established to offer free legal advice to people wishing to make a submission Royal Commission into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission).

 

We chat with lawyer, Michelle Bowler and the specific ways the service can assist people. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

S1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Stella Glory, and this is a talking vision now,
a podcast which takes a look at a talking vision
interview of the week for you to listen to now.
National legal aid has established your story. Disability legal support

(00:27):
for people who are thinking about or would like to
for want of a better word and make a submission
into the royal commission into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation
of people with disability. And now I'm speaking with Michelle Bowler,
who is a lawyer with the Victoria Legal Aid and

(00:49):
is also currently working for the Your Story disability legal support.
Thanks so much for your time today, Michelle, and welcome
to Talking Vision.

S2 (00:59):
Thanks very much for having me, Stella.

S1 (01:01):
So very quickly. What is national legal aid?

S2 (01:06):
So national legal aid is made up of all the
different legal aid commissions around Australia. So every state and
territory is part of national legal aid and are working
to together to deliver your story. Disability legal support.

S1 (01:24):
Now, from what I know, I understand it is a
free service.

S2 (01:29):
Yes, so in Victoria, there are three of us working
as lawyers for your story, disability legal support. Dale and
I work at Victoria Legal Aid and our colleague Anna
works at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. So way we're
delivering the service really in Victoria, and we do provide

(01:50):
free and confidential advice to people that need it.

S1 (01:54):
So what is the aim of your story? Disability legal support?

S2 (02:00):
So it's to give people advice if they're interested in
sharing their story with the disability royal commission, and that
means we can talk directly to people with disability, but
we can also talk to family members or work is
anyone that might potentially want to share their story and
want advice about ways to do that safely. The, you know,

(02:23):
kind of navigating the different ways that you can share
your story

S1 (02:26):
because I said in the beginning, for people who would
like to now, I can't imagine anybody who would actually
like to. But I think you've summed it up correctly,
like maybe willing. But within that, so that's a scary proposition.
But then to talk to a lawyer or getting legal
support for many people who have probably never done this before.

(02:48):
Can you tell us a little bit about what type
of legal support would there your story be giving to people?

S2 (02:58):
Yeah, that's a good question, still, so there are. And
we can talk about, I guess, why you might want
to tell your story. So as you say, it's not
probably something that you know, people would undertake lightly. They
can be lots of things to consider if you're, you know,
taking that step to maybe come forward and she a story.

(03:20):
So we don't force people to do that. We can
help them weigh up the pros and cons, perhaps of
sharing your story and the the different risks, I guess,
with the different ways you can tell your story.

S1 (03:33):
So what might some of the pros and cons be
or some of the risks be for people?

S2 (03:41):
So one of the big issues is with the different
ways you can tell your story. You know, I'll give
you a couple of examples is that they come with
different levels of privacy, so there are ways to share
your story that can be quite public. And people might
worry then about when they run naming names. You know,
what are the repercussions for me? Does it mean, you know,

(04:03):
if I'm a worker, does it mean I'm putting my
job at risk? If I receiving services and I'm going
to name names and it's a service provider in a
small town? Does it mean that there will be payback
or I won't be able to receive services anymore? So
I guess the other thing too, is to to most

(04:23):
at royal commissions, and this one is no different are
about ultimately making recommendations to government. So there's no guarantee
that you'll get a particular outcome if you choose to
share your story, but it's more that hopefully it will,
you know, be included in the Disability Royal Commission's recommendations
for changes to government.

S1 (04:44):
Now, has it already started the this particular legal support
was there.

S2 (04:50):
So we've we know so we've been around probably not
quite as long as the Disability Royal Commission, but yeah,
we've been going for well over, I think, probably 18
months and we should also be here until the end
of the commission. So at the moment, the commission is
working until April 2022, but it has asked for an

(05:11):
extension so more time to do its work. And if
the government approves that, then it will go to September 2023.

S1 (05:21):
Would you be encouraging people to contact the your story
disability legal support, so let's just have a hypothetical here that, yes,
I've decided I'm going to make a submission. I hadn't
thought about contacting your story, disability legal support. Why would
you encourage someone to maybe contact you first?

S2 (05:44):
Hmm. I think even though it can be quite daunting
that the prospect of contacting a lawyer, I would definitely
encourage people to use our services. And perhaps even just
as an initial contact to call out info line where
you can get a lot of information. But I think
to to have that information and weigh it up about

(06:07):
the ways to share your story and the kind of
risks or implications. It's just it's a good thing to do.
Calling us does not mean you're in trouble and calling
us and have a having a conversation with us or
getting advice from us is free and it's private.

S1 (06:23):
And now, would you have an example, maybe a bit
of a case study that you could talk to us
about about somebody who has contacted you about making a submission?

S2 (06:37):
Mm-Hmm. So we've definitely been contacted by clients who want
to share, I guess, negative experiences. So problems they've had
accessing services or problems with the quality of the service
that they've provided and the way they've been treated by
a service provider. And so that really brings up the

(06:58):
issue of wanting to name names. So wanting, I guess
people to be held accountable. And you know, the way
to do that is to name them. So the advice
they would generally focus on one of the perhaps the
safest and most private ways to share your story is
to request a private session with the Disability Royal Commission.

(07:20):
So that's where you get about an hour like a
meeting with the disability royal commissioner and other support staff.
And that's doing happenings recovered. So it's moved from being
something that would happen in person to something that would
happen online. So that's probably common advice. We would give
someone to consider a private session, but also really to

(07:45):
prepare for that session. You know, to make the most
of that hour, you would need to think in advance
what you want to get across to the commission, but
also then to kind of have the privacy protections that
come in a private session. We'd remind people that, you know,
you generally you would stick to the truth, be as

(08:05):
clear as you can about the facts, as you remember them.
And then also don't go and repeat your story, that
story that you've shared privately to other people. So don't go,
you know, for example, and put on Facebook. This is
what I shared with the with the Disability Royal Commission
at my private session.

S1 (08:23):
What would they do if somebody did some something like that?
Would that we can? This story will empower, you know,
what's the outcome of someone doing that?

S2 (08:33):
A good question. So it's probably not so much that
it would weaken the submission, but it's like the risk
in sharing something publicly really depends on the organization and
how they feel about what you're saying about them. So
if we say maybe, for example, at someone in a

(08:53):
small town and they're complaining about the only service provider
in town and that becomes public, you know, it could
obviously affect their relationship, affect that person's ability to access
services without difficulty. It could also possibly open up, you know,
the threat of being sued for defamation.

S1 (09:16):
So as part of your role, so if I was
to ring out and say, Look, I'm going to make
an absurd submission, am I then telling the your story
disability legal support the person on the other end of
the line, or maybe face to face or via Zoom,
whichever way it works? Am I telling you my story?

S2 (09:41):
A little bit, I mean, it's we can get it.
We can certainly get into what is the story you
want to watch to tell? What is it that you
want to achieve by telling your story? But it's more,
I guess we're giving advice about whatever the legal issues
might be and helping you weigh up. How am I
going to share my story? Ultimately, your story is actually

(10:01):
shared with the Disability Royal Commission.

S1 (10:04):
This could be quite a traumatic exercise to do, or
at least distressing. What type of support to people receive
or can people receive when they make contact with your story,
both in terms of accessibility and other support? So, for example,

(10:24):
emotional support?

S2 (10:26):
Hmm. Another good question. So a couple of things I
would say about that. I mean, I definitely would agree
that you agree with you that it can be traumatic
for people that identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
We have staff that are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders themselves,
so you can ask to speak specifically to those, to

(10:48):
those lawyers or those staff members. We can. We'll do
everything we can in terms of accessibility. So that could be,
you know, involving interpreters. If you have a support worker
and you want them to be included in the in
the advice appointment, we're very happy to do that. The
other really good thing is that as well as legal

(11:10):
support being funded, advocacy advocacy providers and counselling have also
been funded and we've got really good relationships with with
the advocates and the counsellors. So we would do everything
we can to kind of make warm referrals to those
services so that people get counselling if that's something that

(11:31):
they need.

S1 (11:32):
Thank you so much for bringing up Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people because it was something I was going
to touch on as well. So that's fantastic. So the
million dollar question, how can what's the best way of
people finding out more information about your story, disability legal

(11:54):
support and for getting in touch?

S2 (11:58):
Hmm. So I'll I'll go through our website and and
our phone number. So we have a website which is
your story, disability legal dot org dot IU.

S1 (12:09):
I'll get you to give that again.

S2 (12:11):
Yes, your story. Disability legal? Yep. Dot org dot a--you.
And on the website, as well as our contact details,
there are a lot of fact sheets on on things
like naming names or the way to share your story.
And then we have a national info line, which is

(12:32):
really the way to to make contact. One of the
main ways, sorry, and that's 8500 double seven 8500. Eight.
Double seven, eight.

S1 (12:47):
Now, something that is taking place with the Disability Royal
Commission that would be of particular interest to our listeners
or to my listeners is taking place in April and May,
where there's going to be two weeks of public hearings
around the NDIS. Michelle, will you come back on the

(13:08):
program before April to have a chat with us about
that and about the Disability Royal Commission in general?

S2 (13:17):
I would love to Cilla,

S1 (13:18):
right, we look forward to hearing from you again. And
I have been speaking to Michelle Bhola from Victoria Legal
Aid as part of the Your Story disability legal support.
Thank you so much for your time today, Michelle.

S2 (13:35):
Thanks very much for having me.

S1 (13:45):
I'm Stella Glory, and this is talking vision now, and
if you enjoyed the interview, remember you can listen to
the full talking vision program each week on Vision Australia
radio associated stations of our Change the community radio network.
You can find talking vision on iTunes Pod Bain and

(14:07):
through the Vision Australia Library. You can also find and
follow us on Twitter Josko and Find Talking Vision one
that's numero one talking vision one and I'll see you
next time.