Natural Disaster Legal Support

ACT Legal Aid 

• Contact the ACT Legal Aid Helpline at 1300 654 314 for assistance with connecting to the appropriate legal service for your emergency. 

Justice Connect 

• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster can be found here. 
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response can be found here.
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters can be found here.

The ACT Law Society 

• The ACT Law Society coordinates voluntary legal assistance from the private and public sectors in preparation for and following large scale disasters in the Territory. Members of the ACT Law Society who wish to provide legal assistance should call (02) 6274 0300 or write to mail@actlawsociety.asn.au to offer their services.

Justice Connect 

• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues can be found here. 

Legal Aid 

• Contact the Disaster Response Legal Service hotline on 1800 801 529, open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday. 
• Law Access NSW: LawAccess NSW provides legal information and identifies services that can help through webchat or their hotline on 1300 888 529. 
• Service NSW’s Disaster Assistance Finder Questionnaire: provides a personalised list of available programs and services. 
• Disaster Recovery Centre: use this website to see if there is a recovery centre open near you. 

Community legal centres

• Community Legal Centres NSW: Legal help for disaster affected communities. 
• CLC NSW Find legal help: Online questionnaire to identify legal support. 

Justice Connect

• Online application for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.
• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response.
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters.

Law Society of NSW’s Pro Bono Scheme 

• Any person ineligible or otherwise unable to access assistance from Legal Aid can be referred to volunteer solicitors who provide pro bono legal assistance (or assistance on a substantially reduced fee basis). Assistance can be requested online via this form. 

Justice Connect

• Register to provide pro bono assistance for disaster-affected communities.   
• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues.  

NSW Bar Association

• Any solicitor or referral provider (eg a social worker) is welcome to apply for assistance by a NSW barrister via this form. It should ideally be used for matters requiring counsel, eg complex legal issues or if litigation is afoot. 

Northern Territory Legal Aid 

• Contact the NT Legal Aid Helpline at 1300 019 343 for assistance with connecting to the appropriate legal service for your emergency.

Justice Connect

• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.  
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response.    
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters. 

The Law Society Northern Territory 

• The Law Society NT coordinates legal assistance from individual practitioners and firms in preparation for a response following large scale disasters in this territory. Members of the Northern Territory Law Society who wish to provide legal assistance should call (08) 8981 5104 to offer their services. 

Justice Connect

• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues. 

Legal Aid

• Legal Aid Queensland has a dedicated natural disaster helpline on 1300 527 700. More details can be found here.

Justice Connect

• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.  
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response.
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters.  

Law Right

Firms are invited to join a “flood panel” to receive specific referrals from LawRight’s Pro Bono Connect team. Enquirers are encouraged to email LawRight at probonoconnect@lawright.org.au.

Justice Connect

• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues.

Legal Services Commission of South Australia  

• The Legal Services Commission of South Australia provides a free Legal Helpline for those affected by a natural disaster: 1300 366 424.  

Community Justice Services SA 

• Community Justices Services SA operates a Disaster Legal Support Program to provide free legal assistance and referrals for South Australians impacted by disasters. Contact the Disaster Legal Support Program on 1300 850 650 or email dlsp@communityjustice.org.au for assistance.  

Justice Connect

• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.  
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response.    
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters. 

The Law Society of South Australia  

• The Law Society of South Australia coordinates legal assistance from individual practitioners and firms in preparation for a response following large scale disasters in this state. Members of the South Australian Law Society who wish to provide legal assistance should call (08) 8229 0200 or visit Disaster Relief & Recovery Assistance to register their offer of services.

Justice Connect

• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues.

Legal Aid Tasmania  

• Legal Aid Tasmania provides legal advice and assistance to individuals experiencing or recovering from natural disasters. Call the Infoline on 1300 366 611 or view the Legal Aid Tasmania Disaster Fact Sheet for more information.  

The Law Society of Tasmania  

• Contact the Law Society of Tasmania at (03) 6234 4133 for a Directory of Community Legal Centres or to access the Law Society’s Pro Bono Referral Service.  

Justice Connect

• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.  
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response.
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters. 

The Law Society of Tasmania  

• Contact the Law Society of Tasmania on (03) 6234 4133, if you are interested in becoming a panel member of the Pro Bono Referral Service. Inclusion on the Pro Bono Panel means that the Society will, from time to time, contact you to ask whether you are able to offer pro bono assistance.  

Justice Connect

• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues.

Disaster Legal Help Victoria 

• Disaster Legal Help Victoria co-ordinates legal assistance for people impacted by disaster and provides community legal education to build resilience. Call 1800 113 432 or visit Disaster Legal Help Victoria for legal information and referrals.  

Federation of Community Legal Centres VIC  

• Call (03) 9652 1501 or visit the Find a Community Legal Centre page to access a contact information for a community legal centre near you.  

Justice Connect

• Online application for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.    
• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response.    
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters.

Justice Connect

• Register to provide pro bono assistance for disaster-affected communities.
• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues. 

Disaster Legal Help Victoria and the Law Institute Victoria 

• (Law Institute Victoria) Lawyers can complete an online form to express interest in assisting Disaster Legal Help Victoria with disaster responses and be included on a contact list for future disasters.  

Legal Aid 

• Legal Aid WA provides legal advice and assistance to individuals experiencing or recovering from natural disasters. Call the Infoline on 1300 650 579 or visit Legal Aid WA for more information.  

Justice Connect

• Information for individuals and small business owners affected by a disaster.
• Information for people working on the frontline of disaster response.    
• Self-help tool to legally prepare for disasters.

Law Access – The Law Society of Western Australia in the Community 

• Lawyers wishing to provide pro bono services in the wake of a disaster are encouraged to register with Law Access’s Pro Bono Lawyer’s Portal which lists all the matters Law Access is seeking to refer for pro bono assistance.   

Justice Connect

• Information for community lawyers supporting clients with disaster-related legal issues.