News and Events

Our solicitors Will Dwyer (Credit & Debt) and Linda Tucker (Employment & Discrimination) talked to Hannah Pett on FBI's Backchat about what the pending federal govt cuts to Community Legal Centres will mean to our clients.

Following revelations that a traumatised recent victim of domestic violence with a new baby was charged $38,000 undertake a diploma level course delivered by a private college, Labor MPs Kim Carr and Sharon Bird have again written the Australian National Audit Office calling for a review of the VET Fee-Help.

The scourge of domestic violence continues to rise in some of Sydney’s most affluent suburbs, with Rose Bay police confirming it received up to two calls on the matter each day.

May 2015 - Australasian Lawyer Samantha Woodhill The 2014 Productivity Commission inquiry into access to justice recommended an additional $200m in funding for community legal centres, but the latest federal budget will force centres to endure further funding cuts.

'One of the nation's busiest community legal centres is on the verge of cutting half its staff.'

Women's rights advocates have called for an overhaul of the way the Government deals with domestic violence to stop the rising number of women being killed.

Women's rights advocates want a full overhaul of the way governments deal with domestic violence to stop the large numbers of women being killed. So far this year 34 women have been killed in Australia - including two women in New South Wales who were allegedly killed by their partners in the last week. Activists say governments need to prioritise anti-violence programs and give them the funding they need. They say domestic violence tears at the fabric of society.

Community legal centres around Australia will no longer have their budgets slashed by $25.5 million over the next two years, federal Attorney General George Brandis announced last week in a reversal of cuts handed down in the 2014 budget.

Domestic violence in Australia remains an "epidemic" while other violent crimes decline, leading to calls for more coordination between governments and the community.

Discussion about the proposed Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination legislation has been dominated by a debate on religious organisation exemptions and freedom of speech. There has been public outcry over religious organisations being exempt from the legislation and the ramifications for service provision to some of the most vulnerable people in Australia.