On Wednesday 29 May, the Melbourne Law School’s Law Apps Awards Night showcased the work student teams created over the course of the semester in the subject ‘Law Apps’.
Each team worked alongside a not-for-profit organisation to create legal applications designed to help promote access to justice. Each team presented their applications before a panel of judges. The judges were:
- Alan Peckham, Chief Administrative Officer, Herbert Smith Freehills
- John Lord, Group Chairman, Neota Logic
- Professor Pip Nicholson, Dean, Melbourne Law School
In deciding the winner, the judges took into consideration the following criteria: usefulness, completeness, design, ambition and creation, and presentation. In a unanimous decision, the Police Complaints Portal (‘POCO’) application created for Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre was announced the winner. POCO was also announced the winner of the Audience Choice Award. Further information on each of the applications is below:
Winner of Herbert Smith Freehills Award for Best Law App and Audience Choice Award
Police Complaints Portal (‘POCO’)
- Client: Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre (FKCLC)
- Purpose:
- Streamlines FKCLC’s process of intaking victims of police mistreatment by collecting relevant information and documents from the user, generating a report, which is emailed to the user and the FKCLC.
- Provides victims of police mistreatment the opportunity to anonymously document their story (without seeking assistance) so that FKCLC can monitor trends and use the information for advocacy purposes.
Other Applications
Child Safety Guide for Women
- Client: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Legal Service NQ (ATSIWLSNQ)
- Purpose:
- Educates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women about the child safety process and relevant court processes.
- Provides referrals to relevant support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women facing risks of mental health issues, debt, financial problems, family violence, disability and homelessness.
Asylum Seek
- Client: Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC)
- Purpose:
- Helps applicants navigate the refugee determination process, providing information about the relevant steps and what to expect at each stage of the process.
- Provides relevant information about follow-up assistance to eligible individuals.
The ‘Repair Logger’
- Client: Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights (ALRAR)
- Purpose:
- Streamlines the process for the volunteers collecting data from community members about the repairs needed in their houses.
- Generates various documents, all of which would otherwise be created one-at-a-time by an ALRAR lawyer.
Your Voice Your Treatment
- Client: Mental Health Legal Centre (MHLC)
- Purpose:
- Improves the efficiency and effectiveness of drafting advance statement for clients.
- Helps educate the user so that the MHLC lawyer may spend more time on expressing the client’s wishes and preferences in a way that is valuable and insightful to the treating teams and Mental Health Tribunal.
Young Renter’s Rights
- Client: Peninsula Community Legal Centre (PCLC)
- Purpose:
- Promotes and protects the rights of young renters by providing relevant legal and practical information concerning tenant rights and responsibilities in Victoria.
- Provides an online quiz in order to assess the user’s knowledge and understanding of relevant tenant rights and responsibilities, providing a certificate of completion to those who successfully pass.
Money Safety Map
- Client: West Heidelberg Community Legal Service (WHCLS)
- Purpose:
- Designed to target the subset of family violence clients dealing with financial and economic abuse.
- Creates a customised report and checklist for users so they can begin their journey to financial security and independence.
