Entries by AusPBC

Story 11: Relieving an Unfair Financial Burden on a Refugee

2020: South Australia Angelique* first came to The Accessible Justice Project (AJP) in November 2020 on the recommendation of her disability support worker. Angelique came from a refugee background and had some difficulty understanding English. She was unemployed and living with a disability. She was financially supporting her two children with her only income being […]

Story 10: Sexual Assault Communications Privilege Project 

2009: New South Wales The SACP Project was a collaborative effort between Clayton Utz, Blake Dawson (now Ashurst) and Freehills (now HSF), the Women’s Legal Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the NSW Bar Association. In 2009, the protection of sexual assault communications privilege was an area where victims’ rights […]

Story 9: Queensland Law Students Fight for Abortion Law Reform

2014-2021: Queensland Through partnerships with the not-for-profit sector, the UQ Pro Bono Centre (PBC) inspires law students to graduate with a lifelong commitment to pro bono legal service. With 500 law students on our roster, the UQ PBC provides assistance through voluntary student placements, projects, and law reform activities. The impact of this work is […]

Story 8: Helping Maggie to Avoid Eviction

2017: Victoria Since 2014, Justice Connect has delivered the Women’s Homelessness Prevention Project in partnership with pro bono member law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills. The project keeps women and children safely housed through integrated legal representation and social work supports, breaking the links between homelessness, family violence, and financial insecurity. The Women’s Homelessness Prevention Project […]

Trent Wallace

Passionate about platforming diversity within First Nations communities, Trent is Co-Chair of the Legal Profession Reconciliation Network and is on the Executive Committee of Just Reinvest NSW. Trent is also a Director of Metro Arts QLD, Director of Independent Indigenous Tourism Operators of Queensland, Advisor to the Starlight Children’s Foundation and Advisor to the Board […]

Corey Smith

Corey Smith is a Ngemba man and lawyer. He has worked in corporate, NGOs and academia including at the Centre for Social Impact. He currently coordinates Towards Truth, a first of its kind truth-telling project that maps laws and policies that have impacted First Nations people since 1788. Corey is deeply committed and passionate about […]

Story 6: #RaiseTheAge

2021: Australian Capital Territory Wotton & Kearney (W+K) assisted Change the Record (CTR) with pro bono research aimed at addressing a major obstacle to raising the age of criminal responsibility in Australia, with Attorneys General (AGs) concerned about the prospect of children aged 10 to 14 being left without any consequences or interventions if they commit […]

Gemma McKinnon

Gemma McKinnon is a Barkindji woman from Wilcannia in far west NSW. Gemma is the Responsible Business Manager (APAC) at Herbert Smith Freehills. Gemma was a Technical Advisor at the Referendum Council’s regional dialogues and the Constitutional Convention at Uluru.  Why the Voice Matters The question of why the Voice matters is deeply personal to […]

Ruby Langton-Batty

with Wyatt Revell-Cook Ruby is a Lawyer in the Ashurst Pro Bono team. She is a proud descendant of the Bidjara and Iman peoples of Central Queensland. Ruby was born in Alice Springs and grew up in the Northern Territory and Melbourne. She has now lived in Sydney for over ten years. Holding a Juris […]

Kishaya Delaney

Kishaya Delaney is a proud Wiradjuri woman, Pro Bono Solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, and member of the Uluru Statement Youth Dialogue. Kishaya previously worked as Project Officer for the Towards Truth project, leading a team of researchers to develop a legislation and policy mapping database to support truth-telling under the third reform of the […]

Bridget Cama

Bridget Cama is a Wiradjuri and iTaukei Fijian woman who was born and raised in Lithgow NSW with connections to Wellington and the Cudgegong in NSW. Bridget graduated from UNSW in 2019 with a Bachelor of Laws/Arts (majoring in Indigenous Studies with distinction and a minor in politics) and worked as a paralegal and on […]

Story 2: Copyright in the Aboriginal Flag

2020-2022: National There is no symbol of Aboriginal identity in this country more powerful than the Australian Aboriginal Flag. Corrs had the great privilege of acting for Mr Harold Thomas, its creator, on the deal to assign copyright in the Flag to the Commonwealth. When Corrs started acting for Mr Thomas in 2020, it was […]

Story 1: Empowering our Elderly

2021: New South Wales In late 2020, Justice Connect sought the assistance of Makinson d’Apice (Makdap) for a client – George – who was experiencing elder abuse. George had suddenly disappeared from his usual social outings and was located by police in a locked dementia ward. This made no sense to those who knew George […]