Read our response to the joint media release published yesterday by Attorney General, George Brandis and Minister for Women, Michaela Cash “Coalition to deliver $30 million for legal assistance services” here – Cuts to services still planned despite funding announcement.

Originally published 13 May 2016

 

Thanks to some successful lobbying  we have seen increased funding for the NSW side of our service this year.  We are pleased to announce the appointment of another NSW lawyer, Janet Osborne, to join long-standing and highly experienced NSW Outreach lawyer, Karen Bowley and an expansion of our NSW outreach services. Our traditional delivery areas of Deniliquin, Finley and Corowa will now have two visits a month, rather than one.

These expanded services are being complemented by brand-new services to be provided in Henty and Holbrook, where a once a month legal appointment clinics will be held in each of the towns’ libraries.  As much as is possible, we believe it’s important to take services to the people, rather than expecting them to come to us.   Appointments will be available on the first Wednesday of the month in Henty and the third Wednesday of the month in Holbrook.

Unmet legal needs amongst the region’s youth has also been identified as an area of concern. To address this, we have launched a free legal advice clinic run from The Hub in Macauley Street, Albury. The Hub incorporates YES- Youth and Employment Services, Homes Out West, South West Tenants Advice and Albury Supported Accommodation Service.  The provision of onsite free legal advice services means that youth in need will receive quick and effective assistance.  Free legal advice appointments are available on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 2.30-4.30pm.

Originally published 12 May 2016

 

 

We were pleased to be a part of the Access to Justice Review in Victoria. As community lawyers we are passionate about ensuring that the law is accessible to everyone in our society and that people are not disadvantaged because of their poverty, lack of education or their postcode, or any other reason. You can read our submission here.

Originally published 12 May 2016

We continue to be extremely concerned about cuts to funding for Community Legal Centres (CLCs) originally revealed during the 2015 Budget.

The Hume Riverina Community Legal Service is uniquely positioned as a cross-border community legal centre, providing free legal services to a vast catchment area of 21 Local Government Areas in North East Victoria and the Southern Riverina of NSW.  In the 2013/14 year our 4 lawyers gave nearly 1800 advices, provided legal education to over 1300 people and provided intensive casework to more than 200 people.  We are the only free legal service within a 2 hour radius in both states. The need is greater than we can currently meet.

The Productivity Commission Report released in December 2014 recommended that the Government urgently increase funding for legal assistance services (such as CLCs and Legal Aid) by $200million per year. This underfunding has an even greater impact in regional communities where disadvantaged people simply have no other option. Despite this, cuts of 28.7% to funding for CLCs are now expected next year (2017/18).   This means that even more disadvantaged people in need of free legal help in North East Victoria and Southern Riverina NSW may miss out.

Community Legal Centres are campaigning under the hashtag #FundEqualJustice to raise awareness of the critically important work CLCs do but also the impact of these impending cuts on the most vulnerable.

For our community, these cuts may mean less free legal advice services in places such as Wangaratta, Benalla and Myrtleford in Victoria and Deniliquin, Finley, Henty, Holbrook and Corowa in NSW.  We certainly won’t be in a position to expand our service and attempt to meet the growing need of our community.

We urge you to make contact with your local federal MP and let them know the impact that this will have. Please be assured of our ongoing desire to provide free legal advice and assistance to the people of our community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged in their access to justice.

Originally published 12 May 2016

We are pleased to release our Annual Report for 2014/15.  The full report is available here: HRCLS 2014-15 Annual Report

We are incredibly proud of all we have managed to achieve, particularly in the current climate of impending funding cuts.  We are grateful for all our supporters, including our volunteers and pro bono lawyers/firms; without you we would not be able to provide such an extensive and quality service to the people of North-East Victoria and the Riverina of NSW.

Here are some of our highlights:

here

Originally published 22 December 2015

Our Principal Lawyer is in Melbourne this week at the National Association of Community Legal Centres Annual Conference. She spoke yesterday about “Piecing together the puzzle: the perspective of community organisations about legal need”, a project undertaken by HRCLS in two stages, about legal need in North East Victoria and Southern Riverina NSW. One of our fabulous students, Tessa, was employed as a Projects Officer earlier this year to survey community organisations in our catchment area, analyse the results and compile this report.

Community organisations provided a key insight into their perception of legal need, when and where they are likely to refer their clients, and what barriers they face in doing so. This paper aims to use these findings constructively, to suggest prospective solutions that will help to build sustainable community partnerships between legal and non-legal service providers and further, help provide supported pathways for clients to ensure they can access legal services.

To read this report, click here.

 

Originally published 26 August 2015

A busy week for us at the National CLC conference in Melbourne today. Our Principal Lawyer, Sarah, is today releasing our Legal Needs Analysis Report: Piecing together the puzzle: the perspective of community organisations about legal need with thanks to our hardworking student Tessa.  We look forward to the community consultation that will come soon, to go through the report’s recommendations and look at building better partnerships and pathways to assist clients access the legal help they need. You can read the full report here.

Our famous Ukelegals also took front stage this morning with a short, but lively, talk about telling stories through song; “community legal education with a melody” as one tweet said. The passion they bring to both the law and their music is contagious!

Ukelegals_Karen_Sarah_Ali_NACLC conference 2015    Ukelegals_Karen_Sarah_Ali_on stage NACLC conference 2015

Our NSW Outreach lawyer, Karen, will join with our friends at Barwon Community Legal Service, Central Highlands Community Legal Centre and Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre tomorrow to talk about the origins and subsequent journey of Effie the Elephant and the success of the “Elephant in your room? Family Violence is against the law” campaign. You can read more about this here.  Thanks Barwon CLS!

elephant in the room_NACLC conference 2015 blog

Originally published 26 August 2015

We were pleased to be able to make a submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence highlighting regional issues including chronic underfunding for free legal services that are needed by women experiencing family violence, and cross border issues. Please read our submission here.

Originally published 9 June, 2015