Public Interest Law Activities

Maurice Blackburn is conducting public interest litigation on behalf of refugees, an unlawfully detained Australian resident, and persons with adverse security assessments.

Maurice Blackburn seeks to extend the scope of its public interest litigation to include human rights, climate change and the environment.

How do we select cases?

Cases will be selected on the basis that they:

• seek to further a particular public good
• correct a perceived injustice, or
• otherwise address issues that are of broad community concern.

Applications for assistance should be forwarded to Anne Gooley, the Public Interest Litigation Principal. The Board of Maurice Blackburn will then determine which cases are taken on.

Who will conduct the cases?

Many of our employees are committed to participating in public interest litigation. While primary responsibility for public interest litigation rests with our dedicated Public Interest Litigation Principal, Anne Gooley, we encourage and support the involvement of other employees.

Costs

We undertake public interest cases for no cost or reduced cost to the client. Where a matter is litigious, we enter into a conditional costs agreement with the client so that the firm can recover costs if the proceedings are successful. Barristers are engaged on the same terms. Maurice Blackburn will generally bear the costs of disbursements.

Public Interest cases that Maurice Blackburn have taken on

Scott Parkin Case

American peace activist Scott Parkin entered Australia on a six-month tourist visa in June 2005. On 10 September 2005, officers of the Department of Immigration took Parkin into immigration detention and informed him that his visa was to be revoked because he posed a risk to national security. After being removed from Australia on 17 September 2005, he was presented with a bill for $11,688.34 to the Commonwealth of Australia for the costs of his detention and removal. Maurice Blackburn represented Parkin in his legal challenge for the cancellation of his visa and negotiated that his removal from the country would not affect his appeal rights. Maurice Blackburn took the case on in the public interest and fought for Parkin to be given access to the documents from ASIO that indicate why he was held without any charge and was then removed from the country without giving him an opportunity to know why, let alone respond to the reasons. On 3 November 2006, the Federal Court declared that Parkin and two Iraqi refugees, Faisal and Sagar, do have the right to know why the Government declared them to be a security risk.

Muhammad Faisal Case

Muhammad Faisal was held on Nauru and was one of the last two asylum seekers left there (with Mohammed Sagar). Faisal suffered from high levels of anxiety, bad vision, took medication daily, and tried to take his own life. After five years in detention Faisal was moved to a psychiatric facility in Brisbane. ASIO had deemed Faisal to be a security risk, and denied him a visa. On 1 February 2007 ASIO reversed that decision and Faisal has now been granted a visa. Public Interest Litigation Principal, Anne Gooley, continues to work on accessing discovery documents that led to the decision by ASIO to assess Parkin, Faisal and Sagar as a threat to our national security.

Badraie Case

The Federal Government agreed to settle the case of 11-year-old Iranian refugee Shayan Badraie in a landmark case in the NSW Supreme Court. Shayan developed post-traumatic stress disorder, which resulted in numerous hospitalisations when he refused to eat, drink or talk, after witnessing traumatic events such as suicide attempts, self harm and abuse in detention centres, a lack of adequate care and the harsh conditions of detention. This public interest case was run by Rebecca Gilsenan and is the first time the Federal Government has conceded that a child has been psychologically damaged while in mandatory detention. The settlement is an acceptance of responsibility for the psychiatric injuries suffered by Shayan as a result of the shocking circumstances in which he was detained. Shayan was in detention between the ages of five and seven. He and his family have now been granted their permanent protection visas.

Baby Ahmed Case

Eugene Arocca took a case on pro bono terms supporting the father of a deceased baby lost by the Royal Women's Hospital. Rafi Ahmed sought legal advice from Maurice Blackburn because he was desperate to do anything he could to have his baby's body returned immediately for burial. Mr Ahmed said he and his wife wanted to bury their baby and get on with life and didn't want any other family to go through the same thing. The hospital later confirmed that it was prepared to hand over the baby's body, before the results of the DNA test were finalised.

Child Care Workers Case

Maurice Blackburn and barristers ran a case pro bono for child care workers. An application was filed to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission seeking wage parity for childcare workers in the local government sector. Historically childcare workers skills had been undervalued and underpaid. Extensive evidence was filed to support the claim including expert evidence. As a result, childcare workers won significant pay rises of up to $150 a week in an agreement between the union and local government employers accepted by the AIRC. The consent agreement sees the base rate for entry-level childcare workers in local government centres jump from $455.60 to $492.00 a week. At the highest level, degree qualified childcare workers rates will jump from $601.10 to $755.50. The results of this case provided significant pay rises for about 1300 staff in Victorian local government childcare centres, and means for the first time childcare workers will receive parity with other local government workers.