The final make-up of the NSW upper house was determined on Monday, 15 April when the NSW Electoral Commission 'pressed the button' to allocate final preferences. Community Legal Centre NSW's Advocacy & Communications Manager Mark Riboldi examines what the new Upper House means for the community legal sector.
A summary of Community Legal Centres NSW's submission to the Their Futures Matter Consultation (2019).
In this article, Community Legal Centres NSW's Mark Riboldi unpacks the 2019 NSW Election and what it means for the community legal sector.
Mid North Coast Community Legal Centre (MNCCLC) launched its first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) on 4 April. Since opening its doors in 2011, MNCCLC has worked hard on fostering positive relationships and meaningful engagement with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
In warmly welcoming the continuation of Mark Speakman as Attorney General of NSW, peak community law organisation Community Legal Centres NSW has outlined three key areas of reform for the new government to ensure that more people in NSW have access to justice. "The community law sector welcomes the opportunity to continue working with Attorney General Mark Speakman. A new four year term for the Liberal/National Coalition government presents a fresh opportunity for reforms which benefit people and communities, while taking pressure off the justice system and other public services," Community Legal Centres NSW Chairperson Katrina Ironside said.
Summary of joint submission to the Joint	Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Early independent legal advice in child protection matters is crucial to helping parents explore their options to prevent permanent child removal, write Charlotte Buckton and Karin Ness from Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre.
Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre has released a resource guide to help survivors of family violence resolve the negative impact of economic abuse and financial hardship.
Following extensive advocacy by Women's Legal Service NSW, the Tenants' Union of NSW, many community legal centres and many other community organisations, changes to NSW renting laws that provide greater protections for domestic violence victims-survivors will commence on 28 February 2019.
Improving access to justice for victim-survivors of sexual assault and eradicating discriminatory structural power imbalances that allow offenders to commit sexual assault with no repercussions are at the heart of twelve important recommendations made by Community Legal Centres NSW to the current NSW Law Reform Commission inquiry into consent in relation to sexual offences.
In Australia and overseas, alternative legal responses to sexual and domestic violence are increasingly being explored to better meet the needs of victims/survivors. One such alternative is restorative justice, which Thea Deakin-Greenwood and Jane Bolitho argue offers an opportunity to refocus an otherwise adversarial (and sometimes inaccessible) process on the needs and rights of victims.
Every Tuesday civil lawyer Matt Taylor packs his lunch and heads back to school, where he spends the day with young people talking about legal issues or questions they may have.
Community Legal Centres NSW recently contacted key members of parliament about our strong opposition to harsh new rules that make an 85% cut in the disability support pension suspension period for prisoners.