Marrickville Legal Centre

About

Marrickville Legal Centre offers free legal advice and assistance to the community of the inner-west, southwest, southern suburbs of Sydney, and beyond. There are 1.5 million people living in their key catchment: that’s 30 per cent of Sydney’s total population.

Marrickville Legal Centre recognises that some members of the community experience greater barriers to access to justice than others. They prioritise service delivery to young people, people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, people with a mental illness, people with a disability, people who have experienced family violence, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

What kind of work?

Areas of practice: - General legal, e.g. consumer disputes, employment, discrimination etc. - Problems arising from gambling - Domestic and family violence - Family law - Strata - Tenancy (Marrickville Legal Centre runs Inner West Tenants’ Advice & Advocacy Service and Northern Sydney Area Tenants’ Service)

Type of work done by employees: - Legal advice - Legal referrals - Community outreach - Community legal education

Location

Sydney

Student Opportunities

Students can volunteer at Marrickville Legal Centre as a Client Support Officer or Admin Volunteer.

Client Support Officers must have completed at least two years of a combined undergraduate law degree or one year of a graduate law degree. Students must commit to one day per week for six months. Client Support Officers work at front desk undertaking legal work.

Admin Volunteers assist with support services and may be involved in social media, data entry, research and fundraising work. Students must commit to at least eight hours per week.

You can find more information here: https://www.mlc.org.au/get-involved/

Graduate Opportunities

Marrickville Legal Centre offer Practical Legal Training (PLT) placements. PLT students assist with client intake, give legal information and referrals, assist with casework, and perform other administrative tasks.

Applicants must demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to social justice causes and volunteering and legal ethical issues affecting community legal centres.

You can find more information here: https://www.mlc.org.au/get-involved/

Fun Fact / Recent Project

Youth Legal Service Marrickville Legal Centre run a specialist Youth Legal Service (YLS) providing free legal information, advice and assistance to people 25 years and younger. The YLS can provide legal assistance on issues relating specifically to young people, such as problems at home and bullying at school. The YLS also provides advice through community outreaches, including at Bankstown Migrant Youth Service, Belmore Youth Resource Centre, Liverpool Headspace, Bankstown Headspace and Humanity Matters Festival.