Done By Law

Betia Shakiba is an Iranian refugee, human rights advocate and a solicitor at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Betia has long advocated for an improvement in the treatment of asylum seekers, calling for reduced barriers to seeking asylum in Australia. For Iranians like Betia Shakiba, the recent conflict between Iran and Israel is more than just a news headline and strikes at the heart of her lived experience, and the concerns she has for her family still in Iran. Betia joins us tonight to discuss the developing situation in Iran and what that means for the Iranian community both overseas and in Australia. Information for Iranians in Australia: Refugee Council of Australia : https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/support-for-people-fleeing-iran-gaza/ Refugee Advice and Casework Service - Info sheet: https://www.racs.org.au/legal-information - See ‘emerging legal issues’

Here on Done By Law we are typically talking to people who work in the law. But in this episode, we’re gaining insight from a man who has been subject to it.Earlier this year, Ronin was released from prison. His experiences both inside and out have been a cause for reflection and he is getting busy using the written word to share his insights and advice for those going through it themselves. He is putting the finishing touches on his book ‘Pri-Zen’, a reflection on his journey through the system and how he found peace in a place where people are punished. He has also recently written for the magazine (and our former guests) ‘About Time’ in an article called ‘Back on the Path of Freedom - Tips and reflections from someone who just came out’. He joins us on the show to share some of these reflections. 

Protective Services Officers, or PSOs have existed in Australia since the late 1980s. Their role was significantly expanded in 2012.As many of our listeners will be aware, PSO are armed, uniformed officers who pop up at train stations, protests, and at public buildings like parliament and courts. They are part of Victoria Police, but what are their powers? And what are your rights when interacting with them? To help us understand these issues we’re joined tonight by Rory Hudson, a Managing Lawyer at Inner Melbourne Community Legal in their criminal law team. Rory has been a criminal lawyer for almost a decade and has worked in private practice, as well as for legal aid.Further resources:Both VLA and YouthLaw have useful Resources regarding PSOs:https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/protective-services-officershttps://youthlaw.asn.au/learn-about-the-law/protective-services-officers-psos/Inner Melbourne Community Legal have a dedicated Police Accountability Project, you can contact them for more information (03) 9328

This episode discusses gender-affirming care for transgender young people. We might mention suicide and self-harm. Listeners are advised.At the end of January this year, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler announced a review into healthcare for trans and gender-diverse children.   The review will be conducted by the National Health and Medical Research Council. The rights of transgender people, and in particular the rights of trangender youth and their access to life-saving, gender-affirming care has become a political football worldwide. To help us unpack what this review might mean, and to help us understand this issue more broadly, we’re joined by Matthew Mitchell, a lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University, and an expert in LGBTQ people and the law.Matthew’s research focuses on LGBTQ people’s interactions with legal systems, media representations of gendered and sexual harm, and technology-facilitated violence. Matthew is currently writing a book on the legal regulatio

Jimi is joined by two researchers at Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project, Britney Aguirre & Denham Sadler. They join the show to discuss their recently published report 'Unreasonable Grounds: Reforming Victoria Police’s stop and search powers'.You can find the full report here: https://www.rightsadvocacyproject.org/stop-and-searchIf you wish to contribute to Rights Advocacy Project, learn more and apply here: https://www.rightsadvocacyproject.org/apply-for-rap

Jimi is joined by Sanmati Verma, Principal Lawyer of Human Rights Law Centre, to discuss recent developments in migration law in Australia and the harsh legislative regimes imposed upon refugees, asylum seekers and stateless peoples in this country. Sanmati and her team at the Human Rights Law Centre have been at the forefront of this space and are eager to share with our listeners the radical policies being implemented in our own backyard. Sanmati Verma joined the Human Rights Law Centre in 2022 to lead the Centre’s work upholding the rights of people who migrate and seek asylum. She is an LIV accredited specialist in immigration law and has worked exclusively in the area for over a decade. Sanmati also works as an advisor to the United Workers Union, serves on the board of the Migrant Workers Centre and is the deputy chair of the national Visa Cancellation Working Group. 

This episode Jimi and Britt chat with Rosie Heselev from About Time Media who publish a fantastic newspaper written almost entirely by incarcerated people called About Time. Rosie is the Managing Director of About Time. She previously worked as a lawyer at Fitzroy Legal Service and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. She’s also DBL alumni.This episode, Rosie shares some history on About Time, and reads some letters and articles from recent issues.You can read About Time at the website: https://www.abouttime.org.au/    

Jimi is joined by Eric Hayward to unpack his submission, on behalf of the West Australian Greens First Nations Committee, to the Senate Standing Committee on Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System; an ongoing inquiry which is due for final report in February 2025. Eric  is an experienced and passionate social justice advocate and agent of change, with decades of experience in law & education. He is currently a Law School Guest Lecturer and confirmed PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia. Eric was the first Noongar to complete a UWA Law Degree in 1991 and was awarded the WA NAIDOC Aboriginal student of the year. After working as a WA and Federal public servant, Eric graduated from Edith Cowan University to work as a primary school teacher in difficult to staff schools throughout regional Western Australia from 2003-2018. Eric has since re-entered the legal profession as a Solicitor in a variety of roles. His highlights included delivering community legal education to school aged stud

Jimi and Aurora are joined by barrister Adam Chernock from Melbourne Activist Legal Service. They discuss legal protections for activists and police powers in light of the recent Disrupt Land Forces anti-war protests.

Community Legal Centres or CLCs have formed a critical part of Australia’s legal assistance landscape since before the state legal aid offices even existed. Yet they regularly have had to battle for sufficient funding to continue to provide their important community embedded services.As CLCs once again enter a funding crisis, we chat with CEO Louisa Gibbs from Victorian peak body, the Federation of Community Legal Centres, about this and the national #SaveCommunityLegalCentres campaign. For more information, see: https://www.savecommunitylegalcentres.com/take-action. 

Jimi is joined by Afifeh Saeidavi, an Iranian Arab woman who came to Australia in 2012 with her family. Afifeh is one of more than 10,000 refugees who have been ignored and left in indefinite limbo for over 10 years due to Australia's failed 'fast track' system. For the last 51 days, refugees have been campaigning 24/7 for permanent visas through protests and encampments outside the offices of former immigration Minister Claire O’Neil and more recently the Department of Home Affairs in Docklands, as well as in other cities across the country. These protests call for an end to the limbo faced by thousands of asylum seekers in Australia. Afifeh gives an insight of her experience of the protests so far, as well as the suffering caused by the fast track system.   

On this episode, Aurora & Jimi are joined by Amity Mara, Manager of Policy in the Social Action and Public Interest Law team at Fitzroy Legal Service. Amity joins us to discuss drug driving offences for medical cannabis patients. Under current Victorian law, someone can be found guilty of drug driving by having trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol chemicals in their system while driving, despite having a legal prescription and not being impaired by the drug. Fitzroy Legal Service argues this law is discriminatory. They believe everybody deserves to be able to take their prescribed medication without fear of unfair punishment. Tune in to see the law reform Fitzroy Legal Service and others are pushing for in this space. Fitzroy Legal Service are able to asisst with legal matters relating to today's topic. See more at their website: www.fls.org.au

 We’re talking about the Dingo! Aurora & Jimi are joined by Mera Sivanesan from Environmental Justice Australia to discuss the cultural and ecological significance of dingoes, and the efforts EJA are undertaking to protect them. 

On this episode, we speak with Laura Dreyfus and Danya Jacobs of the Ecosystem team from Environmental Justice Australia. Among many legal battles, they are currently putting their efforts into assisting the Dungallaba Kulumbirigin clan of the Larrakia people in the fight to protect their country from a large development project at Binybara, also known as Lee Point north of Darwin - a place of both cultural and environmental significance. Laura Dreyfus is a lawyer at Environmental Justice Australia who works with communities in the Northern Territory to protect nature and advocate for stronger legal protections for our ecosystems. Before joining EJA, Laura worked as a civil lawyer at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in the Northern Territory and as a medical negligence lawyer at a plaintiff law firm in Melbourne. Laura holds a Juris Doctor (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts (Hons).Danya Jacobs also joins us in the studio. Danya is a skilled litigator, advisor and legal commentator who focuses on protec

***A warning to our listeners, this episode discusses family violence, family violence intervention orders, and gendered violence.*** This week Northern Community Legal Centre released two research reports examining the use of different online technologies in the family violence intervention order process. To discuss the reports and their findings we are joined by Northern Community Legal Centre’s, Partnerships & Community Development Manager, Tania McKenna. Regarding language we will be talking about women who have experienced family violence and referring to them as victim/survivors acknowledging there are different preferences for women.You can find out more about the Northern Community Legal Centre here: https://www.northernclc.org.au/.

Co-hosts Jimi & Lizzie are joined by Jess de Vries, Director of Legal Services at Women's Legal Service Victoria, to discuss a number of the incredible efforts undertaken by the WLSV team across the State. Whether discussing family law, criminal law, VOCAT, child protection or social work, Jess provides some fascinating insights into what her team are doing to support some of Victoria's most vulnerable communities. 

Jimi & Liz are joined by Jo Parkin & Shifrah Blustein of the Infringements Working Group to give us the lay of the legal land for those finding themselves in a sticky situation when it comes to fines and infringements.  A community legal centre or financial counsellor may be able to help you with your fines, especially if you have multiple fines and you have an experience of family violence, homelessness, mental health issues or disability, or drug and alcohol misuse.Find your local community legal centre: https://www.fclc.org.au/find_a_community_legal_centreFind your local financial counsellor: 1800 007 007 Information about the fines system that may help you self-manage your fine is available here:Law HandbookJustice Connect Homeless Law

​​​​​In this episode of Done By Law we discuss the decriminalisation of public intoxication legislation in Victoria and the implementation of the new alternative health-based response.  First recommended by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody over 30 years ago, being intoxicated in public was finally decriminalised in Victoria on 7 November 2023. A key driver of this historic and long overdue reform was the tireless advocacy by the family of proud Yorta Yorta woman Aunty Tanya Day, who tragically died after being detained by police as a result of public intoxication laws in December 2017.  Following the Coroner’s findings on 9 April 2020, the government’s appointment of an Expert Reference Group, who reported to the Attorney-General with extensive recommendations in August 2020, and further effective advocacy by Aunty Tanya Day’s family and others, on 8 December 2020 the Victorian government introduced into parliament laws decriminalising public intoxication. Those laws came into effect on

Lauren Levin of Financial Counselling Australia joins Jimi & Britt to discuss the hidden epidemic of gambling harm in Australia. 

Listeners please be advised that in this episode we discuss topics including family and domestic violence, sexual assault, and mental ill health. In this episode we hear about Health Justice Partnership from CEO of Health Justice Australia, Tessa Boyd-Caine. This important justice movement creates opportunities for lawyers and health care and other providers to assist their clients and communities with overlapping justice needs. Health Justice Australia was formed in 2016 and work to support the Health Justice Partnership movement across Australia.To learn more visit: https://healthjustice.org.au/