M2 - Learner Manual

NATSILS is the national peak body of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services who operate across Australia.

NATSILS represents and is the national voice of community-controlled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services. We advocate at the national level for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within the justice system and work to ensure that our peoples have equitable access to justice.

The first community-controlled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) were established 50 years ago to provide culturally competent legal assistance services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

NATSILS members include:

·       North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency

·       Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia

·       Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, South Australia

·       Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service

·       Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (Qld) Ltd

·       Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited

·       Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service

Sourced on 3/8/22: https://www.natsils.org.au/

 

The Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) in NSW/ACT

Aboriginal activists and lawyers established the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) in 1970 in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. It was staffed by volunteers who provided free legal advice and representation to the Aboriginal people of inner Sydney.

In 1971, the service received its first government grant for the salaries of a full-time solicitor, a field officer and a secretary. In 2010, 18 lawyers were working for the ALS.

The service was Australia's first free legal service, setting the model for mainstream community legal aid. There are now legal services all across Australia.

The ALS assists Aboriginal people in many ways in and outside the courtroom:

·       Custody Notification Service. By law, the police must notify the ALS when an Aboriginal person is arrested. The lawyer speaks with the person and gives advice.

·       Prisoner Support Unit. The Prisoner Support Unit aims to prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody by visiting and checking in with prisoners. It assists in their rehabilitation, provides crisis support, helps prisoners stay in contact with their families and when they are released in unfamiliar towns.

·       Community legal education. The ALS develops, produces and delivers community legal education activities.

·       Aboriginal Field Officers. Field Officers assist ALS lawyers in talking to Aboriginal clients and families, arrange for referrals, and provide law and social justice education in the community.

·       Family Violence Officers. The ALS works with people who have become victims of family violence. Family Violence Officers can also arrange referrals.

·       Law reform. The ALS advocates for the protection of the rights of Aboriginal people, in particular coronial reform and other advances in the criminal justice system.

Sourced on 3/8/22: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/law/australias-first-aboriginal-legal-service

 

Today the ALS is made up of over 200 staff across 24 offices throughout NSW and the ACT. The ALS does legal work in Criminal law, children’s Care and Protection law and Family law. We assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, women and children through representation in court, advice and information, and referral to further support services.

After the apology in 2007, the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care is nine times higher than the rate for non-Aboriginal children. Aboriginal children taken from their homes are the most vulnerable children in our society. The ALS has dedicated Care and Protection Lawyers and Field Officers who work with child protection matters.

Of the 2,608 people who have died in custody since 1979–80, almost one-fifth were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Rates of Aboriginal deaths in custody remain high.

Despite only making up 3% of the Australian population, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 28% of the adult-prison population. These statistics continue to impact on Aboriginal communities throughout NSW and ACT.

Sourced on 3/8/22: https://www.alsnswact.org.au/about#:~:text=The%20Aboriginal%20Legal%20Service%20opened,to%20rule%20over%20our%20communities.