Justice Project: Pro Bono Tool
Children and Young People
More information about this project can be found here.This project has been endorsed by the Law Council of Australia.
Priorities identified in the Justice Project Final Report
Priorities Identified in the Justice Project Final Report[i]:
- Commitment by state and territory governments to long-term, stable investment in specialist, joined-up legal services for children and young people, especially in RRR areas and jurisdictions where no specialist service exists.
- Investment in better exit strategies, including wraparound supports, transition services, throughcare and appropriate, safe and affordable accommodation, to prevent youth homelessness and avoid contact with the criminal justice system for children and young people exiting government institutions, including the child protection systems and youth detention.
- State and territory governments should support the expansion and evaluation of communication intermediary schemes across Australian jurisdictions, involving appropriately qualified, trained and remunerated communication intermediaries who provide impartial and independent advice to the judicial system regarding the communication needs of the child or young person.
- Australian governments should increase the age of criminal responsibility to at least 12 years of age, subject to doli incapax being in place, and not detain children under 14 years of age, except in the most serious of cases.
- Commonwealth, state and territory governments should (respectively, as appropriate) consider review of and reforms to improve the child protection systems.
- Consideration should be given to the intersections between the child protection systems and the family violence protection systems and juvenile justice systems.
- Particular regard should be had to measures that prioritise early intervention; adopt trauma-informed and culturally appropriate practice; and are developed in consultation with children and young people with lived experience of the child care and protection systems.
- Priority should be given to reviewing and addressing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children in out-of-home care, including through:
- a national review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in child protection, and associated state and territory laws and practices, in line with the Australian Law Reform Commission’s recent recommendations;
- development of a national target to eliminate the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care as part of the Closing the Gap Framework; and
- addressing the barriers to the full implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle.
- Commitment by state and territory governments, supported by the Commonwealth Government, to improving the juvenile detention systems through implementing evidence-based policy and practice, having particular regard to:
- the recommendations made by the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory relating to juvenile detention facilities, the child care and protection system, bail and bail support and accommodation services, and courts; and
- the Australian Commissioners and Guardians’ Statement on Conditions and Treatment in Youth Justice Detention to ‘guide improvements in each jurisdiction and promote national consistency regarding the conditions and treatment in youth justice detention’.[1]
- Governments should support the role of independent statutory officers who have a mandate to promote the best interests and uphold the rights of children and young people generally and in particular, children and young people in the care systems and in the youth justice systems.
[1] Australian Commissioners and Guardians, Statement on Conditions and Treatment, 7.
Justice Project: Pro Bono Tool Summaries
Directory of Organisations
Quick links to tables by location:
National
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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Youth Law Australia – Youth Law Australia is a national community legal service that is dedicated to helping children and young people in Australia and their supporters to find a legal solution to their problems. – YLA provides free and confidential legal advice, assistance and referrals to young people and their advocates. Anyone under 25 (and their advocate) can request and receive free and confidential legal advice through their innovative online service that is available 24/7. – The YLA also monitors and advocates for the rights and best interests of young people in Australia. Being a member of the Child Rights Taskforce, they assist in drafting and reviewing reports made to the UN on the state of children’s rights observance in Australia. – The centre leads research, law reform and school-based legal education to empower young people. Their research and education has led to positive legal and policy changes on issues such as child marriage, cyberbullying, intimate image-based abuse and child protection information-sharing. | For volunteering opportunities see here. | ✔ | ✔ |
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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Youth Law Centre – The Youth Law Centre is Canberra’s free legal service dedicated to young people aged 12-25. The YLC operates as a walk-in centre in Canberra weekdays between 10am to 4pm. They provide free and confidential legal advice in person or over the phone by appointment. | For volunteering opportunities see here | ✔ | |
Young Workers Centre – The Young Workers Centre offers support to all workers in the ACT aged under 25 years. The Centre provides advice and support on issues of wages, health & safety, and employment conditions. This includes free briefings and presentations at schools and colleges. The Centre campaigns for law reform for young workers. The Centre does not offer direct legal services but does give referrals to specialist law firms. | For volunteering opportunities see here | ✔ |
New South Wales (NSW)
Pro bono providers are encouraged to contact the Pro Bono Referral Schemes and Organisations to source pro bono matters. In New South Wales, please contact Justice Connect.
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre – The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre provides free legal assistance for homeless and disadvantaged young people aged 25 and under. They are based in inner Sydney but can also help young people outside this area. They provide legal advice and representation, legal education, and campaign for law reform for young people. | For volunteering opportunities see here | ✔ | ✔ |
Macarthur Legal Centre The MLC runs the Children’s Court Assistance Scheme (‘CCAS’) at Campbelltown Local Court. The Scheme provides information, referrals and non-legal assistance to children and young people appearing before the Children’s Court. The service runs every Monday morning, to assist children and young people appearing in the criminal matters list. | For volunteering opportunities see here For partnership opportunities see here | ✔ | |
Marrickville Legal Centre: Youth Legal Service – The Young Legal Service offers free legal information, advice and assistance to young people 25 years and younger across New South Wales. They offer advice on: • Employment law; • Debt recovery; • Criminal charges; • Victims’ support; • Consumer law; • Complaints about police; and • Domestic issues. The YLS also provides community legal education, which promotes justice and human rights. This includes training and education sessions on request for young people and youth workers. | For volunteering opportunities see here | ✔ | ✔ |
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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Youth Justice Coalition – The Youth Justice Coalition is a network of youth lawyers, children’s lawyers, policy workers and academics who work to promote the rights of children and young people in NSW and across Australia. The Coalition’s activities include: • Contributing to law reform and policy reform debate; • Undertaking research; • Lobbying government; • Consulting with children and young people; • Supporting and facilitating participation of young people in expressing their views; and • Engaging with the media. The Coalition holds network meetings bi-monthly. | For volunteering opportunities see here. | ✔ |
Queensland (QLD)
Pro bono providers are encouraged to contact the Pro Bono Referral Schemes and Organisations to source pro bono matters. In Queensland, please contact LawRight.
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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Youth Advocacy Centre – YAC provides legal services, youth support and family support assistance and services to young people generally aged 10 to 18 years who live in or around the greater Brisbane region, particularly those who are involved in, or are at risk of involvement in, the youth justice and/or the child protection systems; and/or are homeless or at risk of homelessness. They provide more limited support to those under 10 and over 18 years of age; and to young people outside of Brisbane via telephone, website and publications. | For volunteering opportunities see here. For partnership opportunities see here. | ✔ | ✔ |
Brisbane Youth Service – BYS supports homeless and vulnerable young people, and their children, to secure and maintain housing, address physical and mental health issues, establish successful relationship and support networks, and access pathways to education and employment. Volunteer lawyers visit the service weekly for free appointments with young people. Lawyers can provide ongoing legal casework for the young person, and offer practical help, working on their legal issues until they are resolved. | For partnership opportunities see here. Direct volunteering and partnership opportunities also exist through LawRight here. | ✔ | ✔ |
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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YFS Legal – YFS Legal specialises in providing legal assistance in criminal matters for young people in Logan. They offer free one-off appointments on family, civil, tenancy and criminal law matters. | For volunteering opportunities see here | ✔ | ✔ |
South Australia (SA)
Pro bono providers are encouraged to contact the Pro Bono Referral Schemes and Organisations to source pro bono matters. In South Australia, please contact JusticeNet SA.
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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Young Workers Legal Service – The Young Workers Legal Service is an initiative of SA Unions and provides free work-related advice to workers under the age of 30. The YWLS deals with a range of employment law issues, including: • Unfair dismissal; • Underpayment of wages; • Equal opportunity and discrimination; • Bullying and harassment; • Apprenticeships and traineeships; • Workplace dispute resolution; • Sexual harassment; and • Other employment related issues. | For volunteering opportunities see here | ✔ |
Victoria (VIC)
Pro bono providers are encouraged to contact the Pro Bono Referral Schemes and Organisations to source pro bono matters. In Victoria, please contact Justice Connect.
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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Youthlaw – Youthlaw works to address the legal issues facing young people through legal services, advocacy, law reform and preventative education programs, within a human rights and social justice framework. Youthlaw is based in Carlton and works closely with Frontyard Youth Services. They have a drop in clinic at Frontyard and a number of innovative outreach services including a Skype legal service to young people in regional and rural Victoria. Their services and programs include: • Legal advice by phone & email; • Drop in clinic at Frontyard; • Outreach services via frontline youth services including 5 Headspace centres and 5 youth centres.; • Policy & Advocacy Program; • Family Violence Program including support at Frontyard & duty lawyer service at Melbourne’s Children’s Court; • Fines clinic staffed by trained later year law students & supervised by a lawyer; • RMIT student service – online , appointments and by Skype to other campuses; • Legal Training partnership with the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria; • Legal Education program; and • Volunteer program. | For volunteer opportunities please see here. | ✔ | ✔ |
Young Workers Centre – YWC is a one-stop-shop for young workers who want to learn more about their rights at work or who need assistance in resolving workplace issues. Out team of lawyers, organisers, educators and researchers seek to empower young people working in Victoria with the knowledge and skills needed to end workplace exploitation and insecurity. They produce resources aimed at assisting young people to understand their rights at work, such as fact sheets, as well as running training days and social events for young people who want to get more involved in the fight for safe and secure jobs. The Centre also provides personalised advice for young people who have come across issues at work such as unfair dismissal, bullying and harassment. | For volunteering opportunities see here. | ✔ | ✔ |
Western Australia (WA)
Pro bono providers are encouraged to contact the Pro Bono Referral Schemes and Organisations to source pro bono matters. In Western Australia, please contact Law Access.
Organisations | Information for Pro Bono Providers | Direct Legal Services | Law Reform |
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Youth Legal Service – The Youth Legal Service is a not-for-profit organisation providing free legal services to children and young people across Western Australia. The Youth Legal Service is accredited by the Community Legal Centres Australia under the National Accreditation Scheme. YLS seeks to fulfil its vision by offering legal services to all young people in Western Australia, community legal education on youth issues, and policy and law reform activities | For volunteering opportunities see here | ✔ | ✔ |