“My legal mate was created by Redfern Legal Centre to provide on-demand legal support to international students in NSW," RLC international student solicitor Sean Stimson said. "We designed the app because wanted to create a way of offering international students with immediate access to legal information and support. The app also provides students with general information about the law in Australia."
The app delivers advice and support in English and six community languages: Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese Thai, and Vietnamese. It provides students with avenues to address urgent legal problems like underpayment at work, accommodation issues and sexual assault.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, international students are facing extreme hardship. Common issues include job losses and employment issues, and accommodation concerns, including eviction and homelessness.
"Feedback we have received from education providers and students using the app is that it is incredibly valuable, particularly for people who are newly arrived in Australia because it connects them with reliable and up-to-date sources of information and support on these issues,” Mr Stimson said.
“Redfern Legal Centre welcomes NSW Government’s commitment to increase support for international students affected by the coronavirus crisis,” RLC CEO, Joanna Shulman said.
“We are pleased to be an integral part of the State Government’s COVID-19 response, which will enable international students to access emergency accommodation, essential health and wellbeing information, and multilingual legal information 24 hours a day.”
Further information on eligibility criteria and how to apply for a free download of My Legal Mate is available at https://www.study.sydney/student-welfare/my-legal-mate
