Second Draft

Issue

We are a group of Newcastle Law School students who wish to support refugees. Our conversations with community leaders have shown that individuals from refugee backgrounds are often reluctant to turn to traditional legal service providers for advice. A myriad of factors contribute to this, including: accessibility; gaps in knowledge on legal rights as well as perceptions of what matters might actually constitute legal issues; language barriers; as well as feelings of cultural distance and concerns that formalised legal services providers may lack understanding of cultural context.

Proposed Solution

The delivery of legal services in an outreach capacity would increase comfort and make the legal services more accessible, as well as being more suitable to fostering trust. We propose a pilot session where the UNLC attend an existing community event to deliver an informal educational presentation, taking the form of a discussion circle with community members on a specific area of law. The initial topics proposed are tenancy and employment. The discussion circle would run for approximately 1 hour and be accompanied by handout resources. At the conclusion of the group discussion, the solicitors and students would remain at the venue for 1-2 hours for an informal advice clinic. Community members with more extensive matters would be directed to the existing advice clinics at the UNLC for extended assistance from the solicitors.

Aims and Objectives

We aim for this to be an ongoing presence by the UNLC, with the discussion circle occurring once a semester at an appropriate date that suits the community group visited. Through the potential long-term presence and engagement by the UNLC, community members may establish a relationship of trust with the UNLC and utilise the existing services available. Links to the relevant services currently offered by the UNLC:

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/school/newcastle-law-school/legal-centre/free-legal-clinics

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/school/newcastle-law-school/legal-centre/law-on-the-beach

Resources needed

The UNLC would provide 2 solicitors (both male and female to ensure all members of the community feel comfortable speaking to a solicitor) and between 2-4 students enrolled in the clinical legal program to assist the solicitors and to engage in related learning.