Other Contact with the Legal System

If a person with dementia has contact with the legal system they may be able to gain special assistance due to a dementia diagnosis. This may include contact with civil or criminal courts, or the police. It is very important that the legal representative is informed of a dementia diagnosis. 1 The table below shows the contacts available in each state and territory within Australia to gain assistance for legal matters. Users from outside Australia should contact their local legal aid or community legal centre.

StateDepartment (Click for website)Phone Number
ACT Legal Aid Commission Women's Legal Centre 1300 654 314 1800 634 669
New South Wales Mental Health Advocacy Service 1300 888 529 TTY: 1300 889 529
Northern Territory Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission 1800 019 343
Queensland Legal Aid Queensland 1300 651 188
South Australia Legal Services Commission of South Australia 1300 366 424 TTY: 08 8463 3691
Tasmania Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania 1300 366 611
Victoria Victoria Disability Discrimination Legal Service 03 9654 8644 1300 882 872 TTY: 03 9654 6817
Western Australia Legal Aid Western Australia 1300 656 419 TTY: 1800 620 241

References and recommended reading

  1. Alzheimer's Australia (2005). Legal Planning and Dementia, Position Paper 5. Available from http://www.alzheimers.org.au/upload/LegalPlanning.pdf
  2. Office of the Public Advocate. (2006). Powers of Attorney. Available from http://www.publicadvocate.vic.gov.au/Powers-of-attorney.html 
  3. Alzheimers Australia. (2005). Legal Planning and Dementia. Available from http://www.alzheimers.org.au/legal
  4. Alzheimer's Australia (2001). Driving and Dementia: A Background Paper. Available from http://www.alzheimers.org.au/upload/DrivingBackground.pdf
  5. O'Neill, D., Neubauer, K., Boyle, M., Gerrard, J., & Surmon, D. (1992). Dementia and driving. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 85, 199-202.