A Brimbank migrant who could not afford legal aid was pressured into pleading guilty to assault charges he says he did not commmit despite serious flaws in the police investigation.
It’s one example of the difficulties some local migrants face getting adequate legal representation revealed in a Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre report Justice Out West.
Charged with seven counts of assault, the young refugee did not quality for legal aid, however BMCLC lawyers found “significant deficiencies” in the police investigation and had failed to use an interpreter during an interview.
“(Police) failed to obtain CCTV footage that ‘Mr A’ had referred to during the interview as demonstrating his innocence,” the report found.
“After the first two mentions at court, the prosecution suggested withdrawing six charges if Mr A would plead to one. Mr A maintained his innocence however the pressure to plea was strong given that he would not qualify for a grant of legal assistance to fund his representation.”
The BMCLC represented the migrant so that he was not “pressured to plead guilty due to his financial resources” and the prosecution eventually dropped all charges.
Calling for Brimbank community legal service providers to work in partnership with other legal assistance providers and non-legal community organisations, Justice Out West revealed residents in Sunshine, St Albans, Deer park and Keilor the most in need.
It revealed a Liberian migrant was escorted from a Brimbank used car dealership by police when protesting the dealership’s refusal to acknowledge a warranty on his car.
Attempting to return the car under a statutory warranty, the BMCLC helped the man lodge a consumer complaint with Consumer Affairs Victoria.
A Vietnamese student was also given an inaccurate credit rating over a bill from a major phone company in an account she never held.
Another migrant who spoke limited English learnt his insurance provider had not taken “the appropriate steps it was obliged to” after a motor vehicle accident.
The female was being pursued for damages despite the fact she had already paid her insurance excess in full.
“It is not uncommon for initially minor credit/debt legal needs of Brimbank community members to quickly develop into substantial legal needs due to insufficient access to the legal system,” the report found.
The report found “there is extremely high demand for community legal assistance in Brimbank. The second highest number of calls to the VLA Legal Help Line for all Victorian LGAs was recorded from Brimbank.”
A majority of legal needs involve issues with family law, debt, rights and government enquiries.
A Community West survey found 54 per cent, or more than 135 people, said they were unaware of a legal centre in Brimbank.
