Spreading the word: SA laws in 14

Spreading the word: SA laws in 14 languages

GABRIELLE CANNY, CEO OF THE LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSION

As lawyers, we are sometimes accused of speaking a strange and baffl ing language. And for new migrants, that legal lingo can seem especially impenetrable.

To help migrants understand essential elements of the law, a new range of legal publications are being produced by the Legal Services Commission with a grant from the Law Foundation of SA. These guides can also support the work of legal practitioners who work with CALD clients.

The Law For You guides will be available in 14 languages and that is a fi rst in South Australia; never before have SA legal publications been delivered in so many languages.

New migrant communities played a key role in the creation of the guides and the selection of their content. The guides cover major life events and common legal issues including renting a home, buying a car, getting married or dealing with a car accident. They also look at topics such as raising a family, workers’ rights, dealing with police and fi nes, separation and divorce, family violence, and purchasing goods or services. The guides are in languages including Urdu, Khmer, Spanish, Thai, Arabic, Burmese, Mandarin Chinese, Dari, English, Hindi, Nepali, Persian, Swahili and Vietnamese.

These publications are noteworthy for their simplicity and lack of legal jargon – but it was challenging to determine the level of detail we included in them. As lawyers, we often want to give the most comprehensive legal outline to clients. But in this situation, we needed to strip things back to the most essential points to give migrants an accessible overview that introduces them to key aspects of the law.

The fi rst iteration of the Law For You publications was produced in 2014 and, with funding from the Law Foundation. Rhe guides are now being substantially revised and translated into a number of additional languages (including Urdu, Khmer, Spanish and Thai). The guides are part of the Commission’s Migrant Information and Legal Education program that has reached nearly 50,000 people since it was established in 2004. It empowers people from new and emerging communities to achieve greater self-reliance and social mobility through improved awareness of their rights and responsibilities under Australian law.

The Legal Services Commission provides legal information to all South Australians - and that must include those for whom English is not their fi rst language. In their fi rst years of settlement, they often have limited opportunities to understand and learn about Australian laws. They face language barriers and a lack of knowledge about where to turn to get help with legal issues at an early stage. The Law for You guides respond to those challenges and can be life changing. They give new migrants a ‘take home’ package of information that they can continue to refer to in their own homes and at times of legal diffi culty.

The new publications are being produced by our Community Legal Education unit and will be available in coming months on the Commission’s website www.lsc.sa.gov.au and in hardcopy. B

The Law For You booklets give new migrants an overview of key laws and can also support the work of legal practitioners who work with CALD clients.

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