Multi-Disciplinary Practice Health Justice Partnerships - Working Ethically to Ensure Reach to the Most in Need

This article examines the emergence of Health Justice Partnerships (HJP) in Australia, ethical dilemmas and resolutions of dilemmas that have emerged during the research and from practice. A Health Justice Partnerships (HJP) sees a partnership between a legal assistance (or legal aid) service and health services (including allied health services). Non-legal professionals such as allied health and health professionals work alongside a lawyer on site in a health care setting such as a hospital or a community health centre with a focus on reaching clients who would otherwise not gain assistance with legal problems. The article explores how HJP have found ways to, not just work ethically, but build a mutual capacity and an awareness of ethical boundaries as well as 'work arounds' that ensure ethical practice with the central focus on client outcomes.