Court Link is the Queensland Courts integrated court assessment, referral and support program. As part of this program, Synapse is delivering the pilot Court Link Community Support Service (CLCS) in Cairns Queensland.

This support service will see our team assisting eligible individuals in Cairns and Queensland’s Far North with transport, outreach, information, advice, and referrals. The goal of the pilot is to improve the outcomes for those in the program over a 12-week period.

• Transportation to court and community appointments
• Attending court with participants
• Checking in with those taking part both in person and over the phone
• Connecting participants with relevant services in the area
• Providing advice, information, and general support to individuals.

Who we’re supporting

Many of the participants are experiencing multiple complexities beyond their offending including living with a disability, in domestic violence situations or homelessness, as well as with mental health or battling with drug and alcohol abuse.

As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are overrepresented in the court system in Cairns (at an approximate 62% of Court Link participants), Synapse believes culturally informed practices are required to achieve success and produce a positive impact at sentencing. Critical to such support is a person, family, culture and community -centred focus supporting the individual to meet court requirements, prior to sentencing decisions. For Synapse this means bringing participants and the CLCS team members together based on culture and language group preferences, age, and gender or personal and lived experiences.