The trap of punitive fines and a rigid court system that fails to make allowances for disability can lead to years of jail and homelessness, an inquiry has heard.
He was last sent to prison in 2004 and said another lawyer from Intellectual Disability Rights Service helped waive the fines that had built up to about $8,000. The service, helping people with disability deal with complex and stressful court proceedings, ran between 2017 and 2020 in NSW before funding was cut, the disability royal commission was told on Wednesday.More than 1,000 Australians with cognitive disability are detained indefinitely each year. It needs to stop
The CIDP ran as a pilot in two court jurisdictions, and NSW Department of Communities and Justice secretary Michael Coutts-Trotter told the hearing the aim was for it to lead to a diversion model that could be scaled up.
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