Hanho Korean Daily: Could you describe the legal services available to international students at Redfern Legal Centre (RLC)?
Sean Stimson: Redfern Legal Centre is a non-profit organization funded by government. It is the oldest of the Community Legal Centres in NSW. The International Student Legal Service NSW started in 2011 and is in it’s 9th year this year. This service is available to all international students enrolled in NSW educational institutions. This means that potentially our client base reaches 266,000 people. Students can receive free legal services in all areas, including employment, rental problems, school or university problems, and domestic violence. Advice that a student receives from the service is of course confidential.
Hanho Korean Daily: What legal problems do international students usually present with?
Sean Stimson: From the past experience, there are three problems that students face the most; employment-related disputes, conflict with landlords, and disputes with schools. Even with the COVID-19 situation, it has not changed much. During the first six weeks of the pandemic, the number of students who feared eviction due to failure to pay rent increased significantly, making up the majority of inquiries for advice. However, as the situation has improved now, the seriousness of the rental problem has eased a lot. Recently, the issue of school enrolment has emerged as an important issue. When students lose their jobs and cannot pay tuition, their registration is cancelled and their visas are in danger of being cancelled. Many of them are unable to arrange flights to return to their home country for various reasons and are more likely to remain illegal immigrants in Australia. In addition, after the pandemic, many students were fired without any payment or support, and we have continued to support them.
Hanho Korean Daily: Is there legal aid for other temporary visa holders besides students?
Sean Stimson: Only international students are eligible for the international student legal advice services. However, if immigrants or temporary visa holders are experiencing any legal problems, they may seek assistance from their local Community Legal Centre (CLC). There are 40 community legal centres in NSW, and the RLC is one of them. All of them offer free legal services. Your local legal centre can be found on the CLC NSW website (www.clcnsw.org.au/).
Hanho Korean Daily: The demand for legal advice services for international students seems to be significant. How does the centre operate?
Sean Stimson: The service is financed by support from the state and federal government and councils. Of the 12 lawyers who work for the service in total, only two are full-time employees, and the rest are volunteers. RLC's services are all delivered free-of-charge.
In order to provide legal services efficiently, an online system called My Legal Mate (MLM) was developed a few years ago. Schools must first register for MLM to use this service. Each school pays a fee and enrols in the service, and international students at that school receive MLM's legal services for free. Macquarie University was the first to join MLM, followed by the University of Sydney. Students can use MLM to see what solutions are available to solve specific problems and to check each process. In my experience, international students are very resourceful and can often solve problems on their own with access to a little information. However, all students using MLM are also given the opportunity to contact RLC's International Student Service NSW to consult with lawyers directly should they need to.
Hanho Korean Daily: How many Korean students use international student legal services?
Sean Stimson: The number of Korean students seeking our services is in decline. Only 2% of students asking for help are Korean. I think one of the reasons may be that the NSW Korean community already has a strong support network. Also, many Korean students will be receiving legal support through MLM, which is supported in the Korean language.
Hanho Korean Daily: How can people interested in international student legal services contact RLC?
Sean Stimson: You can get in touch by phone (02-9698 7277), but if you have difficulty speaking English you can call 1800 131 450 to request a free interpreter service. You can also contact us via email (info@rlc.org.au). Best of all, you can also ask for help using our recently developed online contact form which is available on RLC's website. You can fill out what kind of problem you would like help with and what specific details you would like to submit.
