A community legal centre (CLC) is the Australian term for an independent

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

organisation providing legal aid services, that is, provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford

legal representation In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat a ...

and access to the

court system The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. They provide

legal advice Legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation. The provision of legal advice will often involve analyzing a set of facts and advising a p ...

and traditional casework for free, primarily funded by federal, state and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. Working with clients who are mostly the most

disadvantaged The "disadvantaged" is a generic term for individuals or groups of people who: * Face special problems such as physical disability, physical or mental disorder, mental disability * Lack money or economic supportKingdom of Nepal: Economic and Soc ...

and vulnerable people in Australian society, they also work with other agencies to address related problems, including financial, social and health issues. Their functions may include campaigning for

law reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or Law Commission, ...

and developing community education programs. The peak body is Community Legal Centres Australia. CLCs are the equivalent of

law centre A law centre is a specific type of not-for-profit legal practice in the United Kingdom which provides legal aid to people otherwise not able to access commercial legal support. Law centres are independent and directly accountable to the communi ...

s in the UK and community law centres in New Zealand. There are eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS), with similar characteristics to CLCs. There are also eight Legal Aid Commissions (LACs), which are state and territory government agencies, such as Victoria Legal Aid, which administers Commonwealth and state government funding of CLCs.

History

The

Aboriginal Legal Service The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) (ALS), known also as Aboriginal Legal Service, is a community-run organisation in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, founded in 1970 to provide legal services to Aboriginal Australians a ...

was founded in 1970 in Redfern, Sydney, to provide services to

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, and was the first free legal service in Australia. CLCs were subsequently established in Victoria in the early 1970s and spread quite rapidly to other states and territories. Although from the outset they shared some similarities with the already established American "neighbourhood law offices" and British

s, in their insistence upon effecting

systemic change A structural fix refers to solving a problem or resolving a conflict by bringing about structural changes that change the underlying structures that provoked or sustain these problems. According to Thomas Heberlein such changes modify human behav ...

and their largely voluntary support base they had characteristics distinct from each. They grew out of broader concerns for

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

that gained momentum in the 1960s and which found expression in the

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

and

women's movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...

s, Aboriginal rights campaigns, and other pushes for far-reaching

social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at a larger scale, it may lead to social transformation or societal transformat ...

in both the Australian and global contexts. However, CLCs are a unique expression of these social justice and protest movements and do not claim particular ties to any other campaigns. Throughout their history different CLCs have usually held common platforms in only general, rather than specific, terms. When the first Victorian CLCs were established, they were often resisted by a legal establishment that was defensive about CLCs' criticisms of the

elitism Elitism is the notion that individuals who form an elite — a select group with desirable qualities such as intellect, wealth, power, physical attractiveness, notability, special skills, experience, lineage — are more likely to be construc ...

or inaccessibility of the legal professions, suspicious of CLCs' aims and methods, and concerned about protecting profits. However, soon after the

Fraser government The Fraser government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. It was made up of members of a Liberal–Country party coalition in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Init ...

came to power in December 1975, some members of the wider

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first pass a bar examination after obtaining a law degree or some other form of l ...

had begun to acknowledge the importance of CLCs in improving the public's access to the law. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, CLCs consolidated their position in the Victorian and wider Australian legal landscape, forging ties with different government and legal organisations (such as various state legal aid commissions).

Today

CLCs are independent, not-for-profit, community-based organisations providing a range of services to people in Australia, including people experiencing discrimination and disadvantage. , there are about 180 CLCs. Community Legal Centres Australia is the umbrella organisation for eight state and territory CLC associations. While some CLCs have developed close links with others, centres, for the most part, serve their own particular geographic or special interest communities, such as

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

and

family violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

, credit and debt,

consumer law Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent businesse ...

social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, tenancy law, discrimination,

employment law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

and

child protection Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...

. Some centres focus on providing services for particular segments of the population, such as women,

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s and

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A per ...

s, older persons, children and youth,

people with disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

people. Centres provide various legal services, including

and traditional casework, to individuals at little or no cost, as well as undertaking early intervention and preventative strategies, such as community education and development in legal skills, and engaging in advocacy for policy and

. They emphasise the demystification of the law and the empowerment of communities in their relation to the law, particularly by encouraging communities to be involved in their activities. They develop and facilitate partnerships between providers of legal assistance and legal and non-legal services (such as

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

organisations, community health organisations, housing services, drug and alcohol services). They may also undertake

test case In software engineering, a test case is a specification of the inputs, execution conditions, testing procedure, and expected results that define a single test to be executed to achieve a particular software testing objective, such as to exercise ...

litigation, critique police powers and behaviours, and monitor prisons systems and conditions. Equivalent services are provided in the UK by

s and in New Zealand they are called community law centres.

Funding

Community legal centres are partly funded by a complex and variable mix of state and federal government monies, offered both directly (such as through

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

) and indirectly. They are also funded by the proceeds of casework. However, they rely heavily upon the efforts and support of extensive volunteer networks, both lawyers and non-lawyers, to staff them without payment, without whom they would not survive. Reviews of the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services 2015-2020 (NPA) and the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program (ILAP) were undertaken in 2018. On 2 April 2019 the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Christian Porter Charles Christian Porter (born 11 July 1970) is an Australian former politician and lawyer who served as the 37th Attorney-General of Australia from 2017 to 2021 in the Turnbull government and the subsequent Morrison government. He was a Mem ...

, said that "guaranteeing stable and long-term funding certainty for legal services delivered by Legal Aid Commissions (LACs), Community Legal Centres (CLCs) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) was part of the orrisonGovernment's plan for a stronger economy" and baseline funding would be increased from in 2019-20 to (indexed) ongoing from 1 July 2020. The announcement included plans for a single national mechanism to deliver legal assistance funding from 1 July 2020. The 2018 reviews informed the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) 2020-25, which supports the "National Strategic Framework for Legal Assistance", published in 2019. This document outlines six guiding principles, and also states: "The principles of the National Strategic Framework should be applied consistently in a manner which supports self-determination and the National Partnership on

Closing the Gap The Closing the Gap framework is a strategy by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments of Australia that aims to reduce disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians on key health, ...

". Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence. NLAP, a national partnership agreement between the Australian Government and all states and territories for all legal assistance funded by the federal government, provides funding for services delivered by: LACs, CLCs, and ATSILS. An independent review of NLAP has been undertaken, with the final review to be published on 29 February 2024.

National CLCs

*Arts Law (formerly Arts Law Centre of Australia) is the only national community legal centre for

the arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

. It provides free or low-cost legal advice, education and resources to Australian artists and arts organisations on a wide range of arts-related legal and business matters. Its "Artists in the Black" program delivers services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across Australia. * Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is the largest environmental legal centre in the Australia-Pacific, founded in 1985. It provides free initial legal advice on planning and

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

matters. and has offices in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, Darwin,

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

By state and territory

Australian Capital Territory

Community legal centres in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

include: *The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) was Australia's first free legal service when its first office was established in Redfern, Sydney, and it was also first to provide a Custody Notification Service in 2000. *Legal Aid ACT was established in 1977 and provides legal information and advice to ACT residents on such issues as criminal law, family law and some civil law matters. Its Youth Law Centre (YLC) provides free legal advice to youth aged between 12 and 25. It provides advice on many areas some of which include family law, employment and apprenticeships, criminal law and traffic offences. *Canberra Community Law provides free legal advice and representation on matters of social security and tenancy, street law and discrimination and

disability law Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

. *The Women's Legal Centre provides services to women.

New South Wales

Community law centres in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

include: *The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) − see above under ACT. *The Kingsford Legal Centre has operated since 1981 at

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, Kingsford as part of their

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

. *Marrickville Legal Centre is a non-profit community legal centre based in south-west Sydney but serving the whole of NSW, established in 1979. *The Redfern Legal Centre was the first Community Legal Centre in New South Wales and the second in Australia, established in March 1977. *Seniors Rights Service provides free, confidential advocacy, advice, education and legal services to older people in New South Wales, including advice on retirement villages and strata living. *The Tenants' Union of NSW was established in 1976 and is the peak non-government organisation representing the interests of tenants, including boarders, lodgers and other marginal tenants; Aboriginal tentants; public and community housing tenants and renters under other types of lease arrangements. It is the resourcing body for the statewide network of Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services (TAASs), and specialises in NSW residential tenancies law. * Women's Legal Services NSW promotes women's human rights by providing free and confidential legal advice and referral, creating publications and running training workshops for community and support workers, and pursuing law and policy reform. The organisation specialises in domestic violence, family law,

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

and discrimination law.

Northern Territory

CLCs serving the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

include: * Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU) * Central Australian Women's Legal Service (CAWLS) *The Darwin Community Legal Service (DCLS) * Katherine Women's Information and Legal Service (KWILS) *The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) is the largest legal service in the Northern Territory, with offices in Darwin,

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek () is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the Northern Territory#Cities and towns, seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with ...

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...

and

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. It also operates the Custody Notification Service (since January 2019). *The

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...

Women's Legal Service (TEWLS) was founded in 1996, following a recommendation of the

Australian Law Reform Commission The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australian independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia. The reviews, also called inquiries or references, are referred to the ALRC by ...

(ALRC). It provides free legal advice, community legal education and advocacy on issues of importance to women across the Greater Darwin area.

Queensland

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

has a large number of CLCs, many of which provide services to their local area. Some of those which provide services statewide include: *Basic Rights Queensland; *Caxton Legal Centre; *LawRight (formally known as QPILCH); *LGBTI Legal Service provides legal services to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex community. It was officially launched in July 2010 by former Australian High Court Judge The Hon. Michael Kirby ; *My Community Legal, Gold Coast; *Prisoners' Legal Service. *Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS); *Tenants Queensland Inc.; and *Women's Legal Service Queensland. The

peak body A peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an advocacy group or trade association, an association of industries or groups with allied interests. They are generally established for the purposes of developing standards and processe ...

for CLCs in Queensland is Community Legal Centres Queensland (CLCQ).

South Australia

Community Legal Centres South Australian Inc. (CLCSA) is the peak body for all Community Legal Centres in South Australia. There is a network of centres which are allocated to different zones across the state, as well as specialist services which focus on areas such as

homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

, Aboriginal family violence, asylum seekers, women, consumer credit and other areas. The Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM), founded as the result of a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

movement in 1972, is an independent Aboriginal community-controlled organisation governed by an all-Aboriginal Board, which provides legal services as well as acting as an advocacy and lobby group for Aboriginal people across the state. It has also operated the state's Custody Notification Service informally for some time, but the change in law to make it compulsory for

SAPOL South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Po ...

to notify ALRM only took effect on 2 July 2020, after the Black Lives Matter protests had highlighted the issue of Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The move was welcomed by ALRM, which had been lobbying for it for years. ALRM also represents families at coronial inquests and runs an Aboriginal Visitors Scheme (AVS) in response to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommendation, to support Aboriginal people who have been taken into

police custody Police custody may refer to: * Arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken in ...

Tasmania

Statewide CLCs in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

include: *The Tenants' Union of Tasmania provides information, legal advice and representation to residential tenants in matters arising from their tenancy. *The Women's Legal Service is a free community legal service based in

but providing legal services for women throughout Tasmania. *Refugee Legal Service Tasmania is a volunteer legal service dedicated to providing advice to refugees, asylum seekers and other humanitarian entrants who reside in Tasmania. *Worker Assist Tasmania is a free service for injured workers in Tasmania. The service provides information, assistance and advice relating to Workers Compensation, Return to Work and Rehabilitation following a workplace injury and the Asbestos Related Diseases Compensation Fund. There are also regional CLCs in Hobart, Launceston and

North West Tasmania North West Tasmania is one of the regions of Tasmania in Australia. The region comprises the whole of the north west, including the ''North West Coast'' and the northern reaches of the ''West Coast''. It is usually accepted as extending as fa ...

Victoria

In Victoria, the peak body is the Federation of Community Legal Centres. Statewide specialist CLCs include: *Djirra – Aboriginal family violence *Q+Law (state-wide LGBTIQA+ legal service) *Seniors Rights Victoria *The Tenants Union Victoria (TUV) *Women's Legal Service Victoria * Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), which operates the Custody Notification Scheme *Youthlaw There are also a number of local centres including the Fitzroy Legal Service which was established on 18 December 1972, making it Australia's first non-Aboriginal community legal centre. The

Consumer Action Law Centre The Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), also known as Consumer Action, is primarily a campaign-focused consumer advocacy organisation, but also acts as a community legal centre, providing free legal advice and pursuing litigation on behalf of vuln ...

(CALC) is primarily a "campaign-focused consumer advocacy organisation", but also acts as a CLC by providing free legal advice and pursuing litigation on behalf of "vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers" across Victoria.

Western Australia

*The Community Legal Centres Association of WA is the peak organisation representing the 28 CLCs operating in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

which provide free or low-cost legal help to the community. *The Woman's Law Centre is based in

and provides legal advice on such areas as family law, sexual harassment and sexual assault and divorce applications.

ATSILS

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) are independent, non-profit, non-government bodies that provide a range of culturally sensitive services to Indigenous Australians. Their main focus is criminal and family law, and eligibility is limited to those on low incomes. They also advocate for law and policy changes, such as those which have a bearing upon the high rate of Indigenous incarceration in Australian prisons. The Law Council of Australia is a strong ally. The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), established in 1970, was the first dedicated Aboriginal legal service, and can be regarded as the first ATSILS. The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (established 1973) has been providing legal services under contract in Victoria since April 2005, and the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia for WA. The system was expanded to Queensland that June, and to additional States and Territories thereafter. NATSILS (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services) is the peak body, Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence. representing: * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (Qld) (ATSILS (Qld); * Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) in

; * Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT); * Tasmanian Aboriginal Community Legal Service (TACLS); from 1 July 2020 Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service (TALS); stakeholders were alarmed by the announcement of the new single national mechanism for funding all legal services, to take effect from July 2020. The

Human Rights Law Centre The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) is an Australian human rights group, with locations in South Melbourne and Sydney. Activities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people In April 2019, the HRLC compiled data showing that Indigenous Australi ...

, the Law Council and others called upon the government to retain ILAP. * North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA); *

Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA) is an organisation in Western Australia, founded in the early 1970s, that provides legal services to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. It receives financial grants from t ...

(ALSWA); and * Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS). ATSILS and other stakeholders were alarmed by the announcement of the new single national mechanism for funding all legal services, to take effect from July 2020. The

, the Law Council and others called upon the government to retain ILAP.

NATSILS

NATSILS, established in 2007, has close links with the Coalition of Peaks, the SNAICC – National Voice for Our Children (formerly Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care), National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services, Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), and the Law Council of Australia. the chair is Karly Warner, CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), and deputy chair is Nerita Waight, CEO of VALS.

FVPLS

Australia has about 30 Indigenous Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS). The National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum (National FVPLS Forum), established in May 2012, represents thirteen Family Violence Prevention Legal Service (FVPLS) member organisations.

Legal Aid Commissions

Legal Aid Commissions (LACs) are state and territory independent

statutory bodies A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

which provide a range of services, including information, legal advice and representation in courts and tribunals. Information and services including telephone advice are often free of charge, but there is a

means test A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government benefits, assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do with less or none of that help. Means testing is ...

for eligibility for

. They often assist those who need help with serious criminal law matters, or child protection and family matters involving a child's welfare. Australia has eight Legal Aid Commissions: * Legal Aid ACT * Legal Services Commission of South Australia * Tasmania Legal Aid * Legal Aid New South Wales * Legal Aid Queensland * Legal Aid Western Australia * Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission * Victoria Legal Aid

References

* Chesterman, J. ''Poverty Law and Social Change: The Story of the Fitzroy Legal Service''. Melbourne:

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

, 1996. * Greenwood, K. ''It seemed like a good idea at the time: A history of the Springvale Legal Service 1973–1993''. Melbourne: Springvale Legal Service, 1994. * Jukes, J. and Spencer, P. 'Buying and Selling Justice: The Future of CLCs'. ''Reform'' 73 (Spring 1998), 5–10. * Nichols, David ''From the Roundabout to the Roundhouse – 25 Years of Kingsford Legal Centre''. Sydney: The University of

2006. * Noone, M. A. 'The Activist Origins of Australian Community Legal Centres'. ''Law in Context'' 19 (2001), 128–137. * Noone, M. A. and Tomsen, S. A. ''Lawyers in Conflict: Australian Lawyers and Legal Aid''. Sydney: The Federation Press, 2006.

External links

*{{official, https://clcs.org.au/, Community Legal Services Australia Legal organisations based in Australia