Australian Centre for Disability Law

Australian Centre for Disability Law

About

The Australian Centre for Disability Law (ACDL) was set up in 1994 as a specialist Community Legal Centre, Student Opportunities working towards a world where people with disabilities ACDL offers volunteering opportunities to students in their are able to participate in all aspects of life. They provide final year and to graduates. Volunteers must be able to legal services on disability discrimination. commit to two days per week for at least six months.

ACDL's vision is of a society in which persons with Volunteer duties include assisting with: disability live with dignity, and in which their human - Providing legal advice rights and fundamental freedoms are recognised, - Providing referrals respected, protected and fulfilled. ACDL's purpose is to - Casework and legal advocacy including drafting complaints, work towards the realisation of their vision by providing participating in conciliations, legal research and litigation persons with disability and their associates with specialist - Publications dealing with discrimination issues legal assistance in our designated practice areas, and by - Law reform activities undertaking complementary community legal education, continuing legal education and policy and law reform You can find more information here: activities. https://disabilitylaw.org.au/about/staff-and-volunteers/

What kind of work? Graduate Opportunities

ACDL provide legal services in the area of disability Volunteer work can be counted towards PLT requirements discrimination. and is available to graduates as well as final year students.

Type of work done by employees: - Legal advice - Casework and representation - Referrals - Community legal education - Law reform and policy work

Location

Sydney

Fun Fact / Recent Project

Case Study - Assistance Animals Maria has diabetes, depression, anxiety, agoraphobia and chronic back pain. Two years ago, her GP recommended that she get an assistance dog to assist with her disabilities.

Maria bought an apartment in a strata complex last year, and notified the strata manager that she had an assistance dog. She submitted an application to the body corporate with supporting supporting documents from her doctor highlighting how the dog alleviated her disabilities. However, the Strata manager said she could not keep the dog as she had not provided sufficient information about his accreditation, and therefore Maria had to be apart from her dog for some months.

ACDL wrote a letter to the Strata manager on Maria’s behalf, explaining that her dog satisfies the requirements disability discrimination legislation, and that Maria would be bringing her dog onto the property as at that date. Maria was then able to bring her dog onto the property with confidence.