News

Hawkesbury Nepean CLC - Aboriginal Legal Access Service Program delivers services such as outreach programs, CLE, casework and community development. The worker has provided a weekly outreach service in the community, CLE, served on management committees to promote legal rights and responsibilities, and supported NAIDOC celebrations. Work in collaboration with the Arts Law Centre of Australia on a Wills workshop has started.

Northern Rivers CLC - Mirrung Ngu Wanjarri Program focuses on family violence work, engaging in community consultations, legal advice and CLE outreaches, and developing improved service delivery strategies. The project has completed 5 community consultations, outreach work by a solicitor face to face and by phone in 4 communities; 2 workshops for young women; consultation with elders and preparation of a cultural awareness resource document.

Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre - Creating Spaces Program supports Aboriginal women and their children in accessing their legal, social and cultural rights to be free of sexual abuse and violence. The project has undertaken CLE in rural areas such as Wallaga Lake, Narooma, Dubbo and Wellington, as well as in La Perouse and Redfern. A Corroborree event had 200-300 participants and the project distributed information about child sexual abuse and violence. Materials such as pencil cases and fridge magnets were distributed. Other agencies collaborated to provide legal information andadvice on the day.

Illawarra Legal Centre - Aboriginal Legal Access Worker increases the Illawarra Legal Centre’s ability to meet the needs of Aboriginal clients and builds on consultations and planning already completed. The project was originally established to have a credit and debt focus however community consultation and CLE indicated that networking and raising the profile of the CLC to establish relationships was a priority. Work to investigate outreach services and advocacy has also been completed.

Macarthur Legal Centre - Indigenous Legal Outreach Project is developing an appropriate legal service delivery model for local Aboriginal People and provides legal advice and CLE to Aboriginal people in the Macarthur region. This project was significantly delayed in starting due to difficulties recruiting a worker. It has now completed a comprehensive demographic profile and baseline data for the area and established an Indigenous Consultative Group to drive the development of an Aboriginal Legal Access Plan.

Shoalcoast Community Legal Centre - Indigenous Legal Access and Violence Prevention provides education about legal issues relevant to both violence prevention and redress for victims. The project has completed extensive networking and consultations and run CLE in Mogo, Eden, Bega, Narooma, Moruya, Batemans Bayand Wallaga Lake. Child protection resources have been updated with a Koori-friendly design. The Worker has also contributed to Community steering committees on Women’s Safe Communities and made submissions to DOCS and Senate inquiries.

Kingsford Legal Centre - La Perouse Outreach Service provides legal advice and information via an Outreach Clinic for the Aboriginal Community who live in their catchment area. This is a weekly outreach service and although numbers of attendees have not been high, the CLC believes that it has been important in building presence in the community and has contributed to invitations to provide CLE and meet with local workers.

Environmental Defender’s Office Ltd (NSW) - Caring for Country: Improving delivery of Environmental Law Services to Aboriginal Clients in NSW. This project sees the continuation and expansion of the EDO’s existing Caring for Country program with the purpose of improving the delivery of environmental law services to Aboriginal people in NSW. A range of seminars and workshops have been provided in Walgett, Dubbo, Deniliquin, Wagga Wagga and Moree. 1,000copies of the report “Environmental Law for Aboriginal Communities” have been distributed. The EDO has seen the numbers of Aboriginal clients to whom they provide advice and representation increase; in the 6 month reporting period to June 2008 10 advices were provided to people who identified as Aboriginal, 5 new matters were opened to bring the total to 8 active case files.

Redfern Legal Centre – Helping Women Through is a community education program to raise awareness of the assistance available for Aboriginal women going through court processes in relation to domestic and family violence. The project has facilitated a community event attended by over 60 women and children to highlight the issues and solutions with advice available on the day. It has also developed a practical tool to assist with the complexity of paperwork faced by clients helping them to organise key documents in folder.

Macquarie Legal Centre – Identifying Broken Bridges. Community consultation/needs analysis into providing a Children’s Court Assistance scheme in Dubbo. It has also mapped need in Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Casino, Bourke and Tamworth.

NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre –a scoping project looking at Northern Rivers Indigenous disability. The original project intended to 

• To bring together indigenous people with disability and their advocates to a community event
• Develop CLE – What is Disability Discrimination & Your Rights
• To educate Aboriginal communities in Northern Rivers region about their rights under disability discrimination laws
• Develop blueprint for replication in other Indigenous communities.
• A key finding of the project was that communities were over-exposed to consultations, and that it is essential to focus on relationship building.

ArtsLaw Centre of Australia – an ALAP grant has funded the evaluation of ‘Artists in the Black’ (AITB) Education Program (which is funded through the Australia Council). Arts Law has seen significant growth in delivery to Indigenous clients since the start of the AITB service when we had almost no Indigenous clients through to today where Indigenous people comprise about 15% of client base.