Criminal justice
What’s on this page
Learn about our Justice Support Program (JSP), which helps people with disability navigate the criminal justice system, and our Advocacy Inside service, which supports people with disability in custody at Woodford or Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre to access their rights, supports and services.
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Justice Support Program
Overview
The Justice Support Program (JSP) supports people over the age of 10 with cognitive impairments (e.g. intellectual disability, brain injury, or foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)), who are involved in the criminal justice system. We work to ensure their disability and individual circumstances are fully understood, promoting fair treatment and access to the right supports.
Our primary goal is to connect you with legal services, advocate for your needs, and help clarify important information like bail conditions and court processes. We work closely with you to ensure police, lawyers, and courts fully understand your disability.
We can also support you in making informed decisions, expressing your views, and advocating for your interests in education, employment, health services, housing, and the NDIS.
We are not lawyers.
What we do
Justice Support Program advocates can:
- Arrange a referral to an appropriate legal service for advice or representation
- Advocate for the appropriate cognitive or psychiatric assessments, to make sure you’re fit for trial, and your needs are properly understood.
- Support you to communicate your disability needs to police, lawyers and others in the criminal justice system
- Help you understand your court directions (e.g. bail, curfew, appearance dates, appointments, etc.)
- Advocate with service systems to get you appropriate and responsive supports (e.g. personal assistance, counselling, restorative justice, etc.)
- Work with you to try and get the right support you need after court (e.g. education, employment, health services, housing, and the NDIS.)
Who we assist
We assist people who meet all the below criteria:
- You have a cognitive impairment (e.g. intellectual disability, acquired brain injury, FASD)
- You are over 10 years old
- You are involved in the criminal justice system as a suspect, defendant, victim or witness.
- Your disability is a significant factor to your involvement in the criminal justice system
- There is no other more appropriate service available to advocate for you
How to get help
JSP has limited resources and may not be able to assist everyone who contacts us. If JSP is unable to assist you, we will always attempt to refer you to another service.
You can contact QAI on 07 3844 4200 or 1300 130 582 or use the contact form below.
You do not need to provide evidence of cognitive impairment to get help from JSP. You will be required to provide some personal details JSP needs to deliver services. As with all QAI services, all personal information is treated as strictly confidential.
Advocacy Inside
Overview
We work alongside people with disability who are in custody at Woodford and Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centres to ensure their rights are respected and their support needs are recognised.
Through advocacy, information and coordination with services, we help people access disability supports, reasonable adjustments and community connections both while in custody and as they transition back into the community. Our approach is informed by lived experience, human rights and trauma-informed practice.
What we do
Our advocates can:
- Advocate for your rights while you are in custody.
- Help identify and communicate your disability support needs.
- Support you to access disability services, including the NDIS where appropriate.
- Advocate for reasonable adjustments within the correctional environment.
- Work with correctional staff and community services to improve coordination of supports.
- Help you plan for release by connecting you with housing, health, disability and community services.
- Provide information so you can make informed decisions and understand your options.
Who we assist
We support people who:
- Have disability or disability-related support needs.
- Are in custody at Woodford Correctional Centre or Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre.
- Need advocacy to access supports, reasonable adjustments or services while in custody.
How to get help
You, your family members, carers, support workers and professionals can contact QAI to discuss a referral or find out whether this service is the right fit.
If we are unable to assist, we will do our best to connect you with another appropriate service.
You can contact QAI on 07 3844 4200 or 1300 130 582 or use the contact form below.
“I was extremely happy about the Justice Support Program which was a very big help to me. I don’t know where I would have been without Liz, she was a great help in every way possible. Thank you very much.”
Gary, JSP Client
“Very grateful for the help,
it was also very empowering.“
JSP client
Get in touch with us
If you have any questions or would like to find out more, contact us on (07) 3844 4200 or qai@qai.org.au or use the form below to send us a message.