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About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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ISSUE NO. 5
November 2024
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Legal Corner

Legal Q&A: DSP After Prison

By
Al

Al writes from a prison in NSW.

To About Time staff,

Congratulations on your newspaper. I am writing to the legal corner as I have a concern about the length of the sentence (imprisonment) and the Disability Support Pension eligibility criteria.

Q1. What is the legal sentence period after which an inmate must reapply for the DSP?

NSW prison rumours say under two years and one is automatically reinstated onto the DSP, over two years, and one has to reapply and resubmit all the new paperwork for a new claim for the DSP.

As this issue would affect about 15% of the population, I figure it would be an important question to seek your help with. Thanks.

Regards,

Al

To About Time staff,

Congratulations on your newspaper. I am writing to the legal corner as I have a concern about the length of the sentence (imprisonment) and the Disability Support Pension eligibility criteria.

Q1. What is the legal sentence period after which an inmate must reapply for the DSP?

NSW prison rumours say under two years and one is automatically reinstated onto the DSP, over two years, and one has to reapply and resubmit all the new paperwork for a new claim for the DSP.

As this issue would affect about 15% of the population, I figure it would be an important question to seek your help with. Thanks.

Regards,

Al

Legal Q&A

Do you have a general legal query that you want answered?
Is  there an area of law that you think people inside should know more about? Submit your question in the provided form, and we might publish an answer in the paper.

Submit Your Question

Understanding Australia’s Legal System: How Legislation and Common Law Work Together

Understanding Australia’s Legal System: How Legislation and Common Law Work Together

Understanding Australia’s Legal System: How Legislation and Common Law Work Together

By Daniel Vansetten
By Daniel Vansetten

Australia has two sources of law: legislation and common law. Legislation is made by parliaments and is available in documents called acts. Common law is made by judges in court decisions and covers areas that have not been legislated.

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 11

4 MIN READ

How to Complain to the Ombudsman

How to Complain to the Ombudsman

How to Complain to the Ombudsman

By About Time
By About Time

The Ombudsman is an independent organisation that oversees complaints against government decisions and actions. Each state/territory has their own Ombudsman. The Ombudsman responds to a complaint by investigating from both sides what has happened and why.

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 2

8 MIN READ

Welcome to the Legal Corner

Welcome to the Legal Corner

Welcome to the Legal Corner

By About Time
By About Time

Through these articles, we provide information on relevant areas of law. This first article provides basic information to make it easier for family and friends to support you. There are differences in the ways the systems operate depending on where you’re located (VIC, NSW, ACT or TAS), so we hope this is useful and relevant to where you are.

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 1

7 MIN READ

Whistleblowing Laws: Protecting Those Who Speak Out

Whistleblowing Laws: Protecting Those Who Speak Out

Whistleblowing Laws: Protecting Those Who Speak Out

By Human Rights Law Centre lawyers Madeleine Howle and Kieran Pender
By Human Rights Law Centre lawyers Madeleine Howle and Kieran Pender

Wrongdoing thrives in the darkness. Too often, it is only because of brave people who speak out that the public learns what is happening in the shadows.

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 16

3 MIN READ

Open Air in Prison: Your Rights Explained

By Human Rights Law Centre and Prisoners’ Legal Service

With people in prisons across the country being subjected to an “epidemic of prison lockdowns”, it is important to note that bare minimum safeguards exist in law, in most jurisdictions, that purport to guarantee at least some time ‘in the open air’ each day for people behind bars.

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 22

5 MIN READ

Law and Healthcare: Why Can’t I Get My Usual Prescriptions From Prison?

By Prisoners' Legal Service Queensland

There is a lot of talk about human rights in prison – with things like ‘the Mandela Rules’, ‘the principle of equivalence’, and access to health care without discrimination.

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 21

2 MIN READ

Self-Advocacy from Prison: Procedural Fairness

By Dan Vansetten

Procedural fairness, often called “natural justice”, is a collection of rights, established under common law in Australia around the 1980s.

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 21

2 MIN READ

What Happens to Your Debts While You’re Inside?

By Prisoner Legal Service Queensland

Generally, debts can be put into two categories. First, there are private debts (e.g. from a bank, a landlord, a car dealer, or ‘Afterpay’). Second, there are debts owed to the State (e.g. unpaid fines).

Legal Corner

ISSUE NO. 20

2 MIN READ