Community legal

AED Legal Centre is a legal advocacy program established by the Association of Employees with Disability Inc. (AED). The Centre provides free legal advocacy to people with a disability in the areas of employment, education and training. The Centre is a member of the Federation of Community Legal Centres of Victoria.

Legal advocacy is conducted by Kairsty Wilson, solicitor and manager of the Centre who is supported by paralegal staff. We also have a Wednesday night service staffed by volunteer law students and pro-bono legal practitioners and supervised by Kairsty.

Why we exist:

AED’s main objective is to protect and advance the rights of people with disability who experience difficulties and/or discrimination in employment or education because of their disability.

What we do:

• Advocate workplace solutions on behalf of employees with disability;
• Educate employees with disability about their rights and employment law – so that they can make better informed decisions;
• Draft complaints of discrimination or unlawful dismissal;
• Provide legal representation at the Australian Human Rights Commission, Federal Court of Australia, Federal Magistrates Court, Fair Work Commission,
• Assist employees on how to disclose their disability to employers.

Students will work under supervision of the legal staff as well as under supervision of the Legal Manager and Legal Practitioner at all times. The range of work students can expect include client interviews, preparing documents and conducting research. There will also be other opportunities for students to gain legal experience, such as attending conciliations, mediations and hearings. However, this will largely depend on the needs of our clients at the time of your placement.

For students considering their professional placement with us, an interest in working with people with disability is essential.

Duties of the placement might include:

• Taking notes during client initial interviews;
• Ensure introductory materials are provided and client instructions are recorded;
• Summarizing client issues;
• Taking a chronology or client statement;
• Attending and taking notes at client meetings;
• Filing paperwork for various files;
• Attend court to file documents or instruct;
• Drafting applications to FWA under guidance of staff and lawyers;
• Drafting letters, using precedents and own initiative.

2020 was also instrumental in showing all of us how quickly we needed to be able to adapt and respond with our service delivery during the intense periods of lockdown as a result of the pandemic of COVID-19. Community lawyers experienced first hand how the pandemic forced health professionals to work closely with lawyers to refer, manage and advise people who had very complex health needs to plan and determine end of life or substituted decision making documents because of the high risk and vulnerable population groups they both served.

This clinic is designed to address many of the health harming legal needs faced by people who live with chronic health problems. Students will work closely with a senior lawyer and health professionals to assist, advise and advocate for clients with a range of legal issues such as debt, family violence, advanced care directives, enduring powers of attorney, medical treatment decision maker documents, wills, housing and tenancy issues and social security.

In this clinic, students will play an integral role in legal advice, case management, file work, correspondence, preparation of legal documents, brief Counsel, and possibly undertake court advocacy work. In other words, students will become part of a team to assist the clients to take action to protect their rights, choice and control and relieve them of the challenges legal problems create so they can focus on their wellbeing.

About cohealth

cohealth is a large not-for-profit community health organisation that has numerous community health sites across Melbourne. They run a variety of programs across these sites, and are leaders in the goals to improve health and wellbeing for all and lead the way in reducing health inequity in partnership with people and the communities in which they live.

Learn more at https://www.cohealth.org.au/.

Djirra is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) that works towards a future where all Aboriginal women are strong, safe, independent, healthy and positive in their lives, culture and communities. All Djirra’s work is designed by and for Aboriginal women and is deeply respectful of and connected to community. Self-determination is the foundation of everything we do: it is Our Cultural Way. Djirra’s vision is to provide high quality culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal women in Victoria who have experienced or are experiencing family violence.

We are committed to ending family violence against Aboriginal women and their children through holistic and culturally safe specialist services, prevention programs and advocacy for change. Our services have state-wide reach.

The Aboriginal Family Violence Legal Service (AFVLS) is a program of Djirra. AFVLS provides legal and non-legal assistance and facilitates access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have experienced family violence or sexual assault.

AFVLS operates a culturally safe, trauma informed, holistic and intensive client service model. Clients are assisted by Lawyers and Paralegal Support Workers to access a variety of legal, social, psychological, cultural, health and other support services to address their complex needs and issues.

Lawyers provide legal services including advice, representation and advocacy in the areas of:

• Child protection;
• Family violence intervention orders;
• Family law; and
• Victims of crime assistance.

Students will be encouraged and invited to participate in various tasks, including but not limited to drafting Court documents (and other correspondence), attending Court (both online and in-person) and engaging in general case and client management, during the course of their placement.

Students will work with Monash Law Clinics to support litigants in divorce proceedings before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, including clients referred by the Court.

Students will provide oral and written advice, and prepare court documents including applications and affidavits. Students will engage with processes including the engagement of process servers, and court hearings.

This placement will be located at Monash Law Clinics Melbourne, Level 11 555 Lonsdale street Melbourne

South-East Monash Legal Service (SMLS) has been operating since 1973 and is an independent not-for-profit community legal service that  provides free legal advice and assistance to individuals experiencing disadvantage.

From Monday to Friday SMLS provide advice,  some limited court representation, assistance with documentation and legal help to clients who are affected by domestic and family violence and have a family law issue at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia 305 William Street Melbourne Vic 3001.

Student will provide administration support by completing intake forms, liaising with court, clients and legal representatives.  Students will also shadow lawyers during appointments and hearings.

There are two placements per week, with each student attending court one day each week.

Students will be asked to provide their preference for which day they would like to attend the clinic. SMLS will do their best to accommodate the student preferences.  Attendance at the court is between 8.50 am and 5 pm.  There will be a day of training day prior to attending the court at the Springvale office of SMLS.

Family Violence Student Clinic

South East Monash Legal Service (SMLS) have been operating since 1973 and is an independent not-for-profit community legal centre who provides free legal advice and assistance to individuals experiencing disadvantage.

From Monday to Thursday SMLS delivers family violence duty lawyer services at the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court where we provide legal advice and representation to parties who are appearing at Court in family violence and personal safety intervention order matters.

Students provide administrative support by completing intake forms, liaising with the court, police, clients and legal representatives. Students will also shadow lawyers during appointments and hearings.

Students will be asked to provide their preference for which day they would like to attend clinic. SMLS will do their best to accommodate and balance student preferences. Attendance is between 8:50am to when court is finished (usually by 4pm). There will be one training day prior to attending court on a Friday at the SMLS Narre Warren (Suite 1, Level 2, 64 Victor Crescent, Narre Warren) and Dandenong Magistrates’ Court.

Pre-requisite Units:  LAW4328 (or LAW5216), LAW4330 (or LAW5218) or LAW5050.

In this placement, students are based at Jobwatch, a community legal centre located in central Melbourne. Staff at JobWatch specialise in providing legal advice and ongoing casework to people with employment law problems, including unfair dismissal, workpace harassment and discrimination claims and other general protection claims. Students receive extensive training and support to give advice on the telephone advice line in relation to various employment law issues, and assist with legal education materials, preparation of cases and legal research.

Activities may include:

• Provision of legal information and support to people with employment law issues; -
• Assisting legal practitioners at JobWatch in the preparation of applications to the Fair Work Ombudsman and/or Fair WorkCommission;
• Undertaking detailed legal research in support of legal practitioners preparing cases; and Other administrative duties as directed.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are encouraged to apply for this internship  Students who have studied Employment Law or Anti Discriminatory Law are also encouraged to apply.

Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) is a type of mediation which helps separated parents resolve disputes about parenting arrangements and property division with the assistance of an impartial mediator called a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP).

In this clinic, each student will assist the supervising lawyer from Monash Law Clinics in a lawyer-assisted FDR (LAFDR) session and represent one of the parents during mediation. The other parent will be represented by another lawyer from another Community Legal Centre (CLC).

Lawyer Assisted Family Dispute Resolution (LAFDR) sessions are conducted by experienced FDRPs from Sunshine Family Relationship Centre and other Family Relationship Centres.

In addition, students will conduct interviews under supervision with clients who are either preparing to participate in the FDR process or have additional legal needs after their FDR sessions have concluded. Students may also be providing outreach legal services at local dispute resolution centres.

Activities may include:

• Taking instructions from clients under supervision;
• Writing file notes;
• Reviewing court or any other documents relevant to the case;
• Shadowing the supervising lawyer during negotiations with the other party's lawyer
• Observing the LAFDR process;
• Drafting parenting plans and proposed consent orders
• Learning about intersections of family violence, child safety, post-separation conflict and family law issues;
• Conducting research on family law, dispute resolution, access to justice and wider policy issues.

This clinic is run from our office on Level 11, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, with some travel to other local service providers as required. The clinic runs one full day each week, with additional half days as required.

Monash Tax Clinic is a partnership between Monash Law Clinics and the Australian Taxation Office, under the National Tax Clinic program.

The clinic provides a comprehensive service which includes:

• Providing advice to clients to better understand the tax system, including advising clients on lodging tax returns, negotiating with the Australian Taxation Office, drafting and lodging objections to assessments, applying for reviews of audit outcomes, providing advice to clients, and assisting unrepresented taxpayers and small businesses when they need to interact with the ATO;
• Undertaking educational activities to better inform taxpayers and the broader community on matters of interest and concern Advocating on behalf of clients when systemic taxation related issues are identified in their dealings with regulatory or government agencies;
• The experience for students selected for this new clinic may involve a mixture of developmental work (finding and creating appropriate resources for potential clients) along with direct client work.

Monash Law/ARC Justice - Regional Clinic

In collaboration with ARC Justice, Monash University's Regional Clinic provides students an opportunity to engage in legal service for rural and regional clients at a well respected community legal centre and at the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court.

ARC Justice is a leading regional Victorian community organisation, delivering assistance to disadvantaged members of communities throughout Central and Northern Victoria. ARC Justice has offices in Bendigo (Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre) and Shepparton (Goulburn Valley Community Legal Centre), and delivers outreach services across its catchment, as well as providing specialised services in areas of law including family violence and child protection.

This placement is onsite in Bendigo 1 day per week. Accommodation will be provided for the night before placement.

While on placement activities may include:

• Shadowing ARC Justice staff at the Specialist Family Violence Court.
• If allocated to a specialised infringement clinic, taking instructions from clients under supervision, drafting documents especially in relation to the fines appeals processes, and assisting in the management of client case work.
• If allocated to our onsite generalist team, shadowing lawyers in client interviews involving a range of legal matters, and completing legal writing and research.
• Assisting ARC Justice’s Strategy and Implementation Team in advocacy work from time to time.
• Receiving training seminars provided by lawyers.

Join us and make a real difference in rural and regional communities.

Tenants Victoria is the specialist rental law community legal centre in Victoria. We provide legal advice, casework support, and other services to renters experiencing hardship or disadvantage. We also provide community organisations with training, information and support in relation to the rental law, and advocate to make legal and housing systems fairer for renters in Victoria.

Through our VCAT Lawyer Program we provide advocacy support for renters who have an upcoming VCAT hearing at which they are at risk of losing their home, or where the hearing relates to safety issues (i.e. family violence or urgent repairs). In this clinic, each student will support the VCAT Lawyer to assist renters at a VCAT hearing (usually held by telephone, using Teams), or assist the VCAT Lawyer in other aspects of file management.

Activities may include:

• Taking instructions from clients under supervision;
• Writing file notes;
• Reviewing documents relevant to the case;
• Shadowing the VCAT Lawyer during negotiations;
• Drafting correspondence or VCAT documents;
• Conducting research on rental law, access to justice and wider policy issues.

Unfair Dismissal Experts is a specialist industrial relations firm that operates exclusively in the Fair Work Commission’s jurisdiction. We support employees around Australia who have experienced unfair dismissal or adverse actions in their workplace. We do this by preparing applications on their behalf and attending conciliations to negotiate outcomes with their former employers, or representing them at hearings where matters become litigious. We have a team of experienced lawyers and industrial relations consultants who help hundreds of clients each year navigate through the complex Fair Work Commission framework. We embrace flexibility, automation and technology and, as such, all of our staff work remotely.

Activities will include the following:

• Speaking to clients to take instructions for preparation of their unfair dismissal or general protections application, and also provide general guidance or status updates about Fair Work Commission processes;
• Preparing submissions and speaking notes for our consultants prior to a conciliation or hearing;
• Drafting and sending correspondence to clients, the respondent’s representatives and the Fair Work Commission;
• Attending Fair Work Commission conciliations (either as an observer or as an advocate) to advocate for clients against their former employer;
• Negotiating, drafting and finalising settlement deeds and agreements;
• Undertaking research on emerging Fair Work Commission cases or changes in law to help us maintain precedent documents and publish articles on our website.