QUEENSLAND’S community legal sector will be able to help more people understand their rights and responsibilities with $97,500 in funding for community legal education projects.
Legal Aid Queensland’s Community Legal Education (CLE) Collaboration Fund will see the successful grant recipients deliver eight projects and initiatives to communities across the state.
The collaboration fund is a Legal Aid Queensland initiative funded by the Queensland Government’s Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
Grants of $10,000-$20,000 have been provided for the projects ranging from workshops and education programs to online and accessible educational videos.
Legal Aid Queensland’s Acting CEO Nicky Davies said educating community members about their legal rights and responsibilities was central to the organisation’s role and its collaboration fund’s grants to industry groups would see legal education projects being delivered to the communities needing them the most.
“Young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, new and established migrants, young parents, and tenants in regional Queensland will all benefit from these CLE initiatives supported through the fund this year,” Ms Davies said.
Legal Aid Queensland’s Community Legal Education (CLE) Collaboration Fund recipients include:
Refugee and Immigration Legal Service - ($10,000) to continue the Men Managing Change – Family Peace Building project to address family violence prevention and conflict resolution within refugee and migrant communities. The grant is for a training kit for its community leaders' group which will use the legal education resources and videos in life-skills community workshops and online. See videos, plus dialogue starters, on RAILS You Tube Channel also promoted through SBS and 4EB ethnic radio.
Pine Rivers Community Legal Service (PRCLS) – ($10,000) to deliver a series of community legal education sessions to young people with the Independent Living Program at Youth Justice Caboolture. The goal is to provide information, advice and resources to empower young people, providing them with knowledge about the law and equipping them with tools to transition out of youth justice services. The project is a collaboration between the Pine Rivers Community Legal Service (PRCLS), and Youth Justice Caboolture (Independent Living Program).
YFS Legal - ($10,000) to collaborate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, schools and communities to research, develop and deliver a CLE program with First Nations people in Logan. The project will increase awareness of their legal rights and responsibilities and improve access to legal support to help prevent legal issues occurring or escalating.
Women’s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) - ($10,000) in collaboration with Caboolture Young Mothers for Young Women (Micah Projects), Brisbane Young Mothers for Young Women (Micah Projects), the Women’s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) Health Justice Partnership Solicitor, and WLSQ First Nations Capability and Access worker to produce a community legal education video for service providers to help them respond to the legal issues experienced by young women who are pregnant and parenting.
Mackay Regional Community Legal Centre (MRCLC) - ($10,000) to develop a CLE workshop package to inform vulnerable and financially disadvantaged tenants of their rights and responsibilities. The presentations will be delivered by MRCLC’s tenancy solicitors in partnership with local community organisations throughout the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac Regional Council areas.
Rockhampton Regional Legal Assistance Forum – ($7,500) to coordinate a First Nations Community Arts project to facilitate an avenue for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to complete their community service by participating in a number of arts / CLE workshops in collaboration with local Elders and artists, Department of Community Corrections and appropriate youth support services.
LawRight - ($20,000) to create a suite of seven short training videos to build on the use of the Law Yarn for health workers in Aboriginal community-controlled health services. This project will build on their existing Health Justice Partnership (HJP) with Wuchopperen Health Services Ltd (WHS) in Cairns –a group which has been working since January 2016 to respond to the local Indigenous community’s legal need.
Community Legal Education Legal Assistance Forum (CLE LAF) project committee – (up to $20,000) to work with Regional legal assistance service providers to identify and deliver CLE professional and skill development workshops and support innovative CLE projects in Regional Queensland.
Media contact: Amanda Catania 3917 0407 or Caroline Page 3917 0457
Last updated 17 July 2020