Corrective Services NSW

Private Legal and Medical Professional self-service bookings for telephone, video, and in-person visits

AVL visits

What is AVL?

AVL stands for audio-visual link which includes telephone and video visits.

When do we use audio-visual visits?

AVL visits can be used to provide for:

  • police, expert, civilian and vulnerable witnesses to remotely provide testimony to courtrooms
  • persons in custody to appear in court from a correctional or Youth Justice centre or police station
  • legal professionals, including Legal Aid, Aboriginal Legal Services and private practitioners, to consult with clients detained in a correctional or Youth Justice centre
  • medical professionals to conduct clinical assessments of detained persons when physical examination is not possible
  • family or friends to communicate with their loved ones in a correctional or Youth Justice centre
  • communication between government employees

Video visits can be used from any location that has video conferencing equipment. Alternatively, you can video conference from a personal device (e.g. from office or home) if you have permission to do so.

JUST Connect

JUST Connect is an online scheduling system used to make video and in-person appointments with inmates.

Private Legal and Medical Professionals

As a Professional user, you can use JUST Connect to:

  • Schedule your own appointments with inmates online
  • Use your own device such as desktop, laptop, or phone
  • Receive important reminders about your upcoming visit

JUST Connect accounts can also be created for office administration staff to make bookings on behalf of legal and medical professionals.

Note: Medico-Legal firms currently do not qualify for JUST Connect access.

How do I get an account?

Step 1

Complete the online form: Private legal & medical professionals JUST Connect access form.

Step 2

E-mail justconnectid@dcj.nsw.gov.au a copy of:

Legal professionals

1.       A signed letter of request is required from any of the following individuals, outlining the necessity for a JUST Connect account:

  • The Principal Lawyer or;
  • Partner or;
  • Managing Director

(Signed authority must have a current legal practising certificate)

2.      Driver Licence/Photo Card (digital or physical) or Passport.

3.     Current Australian Legal Practicing Certificate/Card.

Legal Administrative staff

1.       A signed letter of request is required from any of the following individuals, outlining the necessity for a JUST Connect account:

  • The Principal Lawyer or;
  • Partner or;
  • Managing Director

(Signed authority must have a current legal practising certificate)

2.      Driver Licence/Photo Card (digital or physical) or Passport.

Medical professionals

1.       A signed letter of request is required, outlining the necessity for a JUST Connect account

2.      Driver Licence/Photo Card (digital or physical) or Passport.

3.     Current Ahpra Registration

Medical Administrative staff

1.       A signed letter of request is required from the Practice Owner, outlining the necessity for a JUST Connect account.

2.      Driver Licence/Photo Card (digital or physical) or Passport.

Note: Administrative staff are only able to book Legal/Medical professionals into appointments, they are not permitted to book themselves into appointments. If an administrative staff member is required to attend an appointment to assist a legal practitioner, the legal practitioner must schedule the appointment and provide correctional centre staff with a valid letter of introduction for the administrative staff member on the official letter of their firm. The legal practitioner must also attend the appointment.

Step 3

You will receive an e-mail to schedule a time for a video call via Webex to verify your identification.

 

Information for JUST Connect users

Technologies and AVL in Courts

Youth Justice and AVL

Legal Aid and AVL

Office of Director of Public Prosecutions and AVL

Corrective Services and AVL

Scheduled telephone access to offenders

Corrective Services NSW offers scheduled telephone calls in various centres, which all JUST Connect users can access. This makes it easier for legal practitioners to contact offenders in custody via a scheduled audio link. The scheduling allows staff to have offenders ready at the appointed time.

You can use JUST Connect to see when scheduled phone calls are available and then make a booking. Professionals without JUST Connect access must complete a Request for Professional Appointment with Inmate or Detainee Form (DOCX, 296.3 KB) and send it to the video conferencing area of the centre that houses the inmate. Please note that not all centres have a scheduled phone facility.

All professionals who wish to meet with an inmate must have a Visiting Inmate Number (VIN). If you do not have one, please fill in the VIN application form and forward a copy to visits.reviewunit@justice.nsw.gov.au

Using your own device to hold a video conference if you are a legal practitioner

Representatives from the Communities and Justice Agencies, the Law Society of NSW and the New South Wales Bar Association have worked together to launch a new videoconferencing trial. It will allow select legal practitioners to interview clients housed in nominated NSW Correctional Centres without having to invest in expensive video conferencing equipment. Currently, the pilot trial is at maximum capacity. However, if you wish to inquire about possible future participation, please email vcenquiries@dcs.nsw.gov.au

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We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future. 

Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.

You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.

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