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

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

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 A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

. 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 public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

. 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 or mental disability * Lack money or economic supportKingdom of Nepal: Economic and Social Inclusion of the Disadvantaged Poo ...

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 commissions, ...

and developing community education programs. The peak body is Community Legal Centres Australia. CLCs are the equivalent of law centres 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 Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), formerly the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria, is an organisation that provides information, legal advice and education with a focus on the prevention and early resolution of legal problems. They prioritise intensive l ...

, 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 Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney located 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills is a locality on the border with Surry Hills. The are ...

, to provide services to

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Island ...

, and was the first free legal service in Australia. CLCs were subsequently established in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

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 law centres, 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 Heberlein such changes modify human behavior by r ...

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 terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

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

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

and

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

Aboriginal rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (inc ...

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. Definition Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or sociocult ...

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 belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be constructiv ...

or inaccessibility of the legal professions, suspicious of CLCs' aims and methods, and concerned about protecting profits. However, soon after the Fraser government 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 obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult to ...

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: * Marriage ...

and

family violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

, 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 business ...

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, 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 specifical ...

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 A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a ...

, discrimination,

employment law Labour laws (also known as labor laws 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 between employee, ...

and

child protection Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

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

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s and

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...

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, se ...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

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 (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

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 law centres 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: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

) 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 or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

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, a "unified administrative mechanism that provides guaranteed and quarantined funding to LACs, CLCs and ATSILS". 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 an Australian government strategy that aims to reduce disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, based on seven targets. From adoption in 2008, after meetings with the Close the Gap social ...

Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.

National CLCs

*Arts Law (formerly Arts Law Centre of Australia) is the only national community legal centre for the arts. 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 Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is an Australian law centre that encourages and enables litigation, law reform, and community engagement on environmental issues. EDO formed in late 2019 with the merger of eight separate state and territor ...

(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 law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

matters. and has offices in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, Darwin,

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

By state and territory

Australian Capital Territory

Community legal centres in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

include: *The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) was Australia's first free legal service when its first office was established in

, 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, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, s ...

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

New South Wales

Community law centres in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , e ...

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), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, 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 American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

. *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 Redfern Legal Centre (RLC) is an independent, non-profit community legal centre established in 1977 and located in the Sydney inner-city of Redfern, New South Wales. It is part of a network of four inner-Sydney region community legal centres, ...

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 village A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socializ ...

s and strata living. *The Tenants' Union of NSW was established in 1976 and is the peak

non-government organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

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 in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

and discrimination law.

Northern Territory

CLCs serving the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aus ...

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 other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Chri ...

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western term ...

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a township that is the sixth largest population centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Nhulunbuy was created on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and a deep water port were established ...

and

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

. 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 ra ...

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 ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

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 The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...

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 processes, ...

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 or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

, 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 economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

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 state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for ...

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 Aboriginal deaths in custody is a political and social issue in Australia. It rose in prominence in the early 1980s, with Aboriginal activists campaigning following the death of 16-year-old John Peter Pat in 1983. Subsequent deaths in custod ...

. The move was welcomed by ALRM, which had been lobbying for it for years. ALRM also represents families at

coronial inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

s and runs an Aboriginal Visitors Scheme (AVS) in response to the

Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) (1987–1991), also known as the Muirhead Commission, was a Royal Commission appointed by the Australian Government in October 1987 to Federal Court judge James Henry Muirhead, ...

recommendation, to support Aboriginal people who have been taken into

police custody 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 into custody, the person can be questi ...

Tasmania

Statewide CLCs in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

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

, the peak body is the Federation of Community Legal Centres. Statewide specialist CLCs include: *Djirra – Aboriginal family violence *LGBTIQ 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 (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 (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

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 Punishment in Australia arises when an individual has been accused or convicted of breaking the law through the Australian criminal justice system. Australia uses prisons, as well as community corrections (various non-custodial punishments suc ...

. The

Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represents mo ...

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, CC-BY icon

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) A community legal centre (CLC) is the Australian term for an independent not-for-profit organisation providing legal aid services, that is, provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court ...

(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); * 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). NATSILS, established in 2007, has close links with the Coalition of Peaks, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services, Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), and the Law Council of Australia. Its chair is Priscilla Atkins, who is CEO of NAAJA. Jamie McConnachie is executive officer. 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

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 Australia ...

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

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 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 assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help. Canada In Canada, means tests are use ...

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 * Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania * Legal Aid New South Wales * Legal Aid Queensland * Legal Aid Western Australia * Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission *

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. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...

, 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