Legal Assistance for Families: Partnership Agreement (LAFPA)

What is LAFPA

The Legal Assistance for Families Partnership Agreement (LAFPA) is an agreement that has been executed by the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) and Legal Aid NSW.

LAFPA sets out a different way for the three agencies to work with families who have come into contact with child protection.

All three agencies are committed to working collaboratively towards achieving a reduction in the amount of children and young people entering out of home care.

For more information, see the Legal Assistance for Families: Partnership Agreement.

How LAFPA works

All three agencies are committed to making sure families can obtain independent legal advice when they first come into contact with DCJ. This advice can be for parents, young people, family, kin, community and anyone else who has a genuine interest in the care, welfare and development of a child or young person.

DCJ will make sure that families know that free legal advice is available by providing families with a copy of the brochure Is DCJ talking to you about your kids? and will refer families directly to ALS or Legal Aid NSW where families want this referral to be made.

Families can also contact ALS or Legal Aid NSW at any time without the assistance or direct involvement of DCJ.

The ALS and Legal Aid NSW will make sure families receive independent and timely advice about their involvement with DCJ.

If you are an organisation working with a family who is working with DCJ, you can also make referrals to ALS or Legal Aid NSW using the Schedule 1 - Early intervention referral form. 

For information to be provided by DCJ to Legal Aid NSW and ALS, use the Schedule 4 - Information to be provided by DCJ to Legal Aid NSW and ALS.

You can view key referral points using Schedule 2.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Legal Aid NSW has also developed an early intervention lawyer assisted ADR model to assist families at an earlier stage, before there are any Court proceedings. These are matters that are not yet in the child protection jurisdiction of the Children's Court, but where DCJ have identified risks to children.

This mediation model is designed to support families to develop plans, with input from DCJ, that keep children safe and at home rather than entering out of home care.

This means families have choice about whether they go to a Family Group Conference (FGC) convened by DCJ and which is not attended by lawyers, or an ADR where families initially receive legal advice and then are supported by a lawyer at the mediation.

Early resolution assistance (ERA) is available for families where they meet the means and merit test.

For more information, see Mediation.

For further information, see the factsheet for practitioners Care and Protection, Early Intervention Mediation.

Panel Practitioners will be able to access the care and protection early intervention ADR model upon the Children and Young Persons Amendment (Family is Culture) Bill 2022 being proclaimed on 15 November 2023.

For more information, contact ADR@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

Contact us

For more information, email carechildrepresentation@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.