WESTS
25th March
WESTS – Ten Years Plus and Going Stronger!
The Western Sydney Tenants’ Service (WESTS) is a community program of the Western Sydney Community Legal Centre. We marked our ten-year anniversary in 2018 and have been going stronger ever since. We are extremely proud of our service to the community of Western Sydney over the past 13 years. We cannot express enough appreciation to […]
WSCLC
26th March
WSCLC Launches Reconciliation Action Plan
WSCLC is at the beginning of the RAP journey and on 26 February 2021 formally launched our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), developed in acknowledgment of the gaps within our organisation and continued improvements we can make. As a Community Legal Centre, we believe that our organisation has a particularly important responsibility to promote respect […]
CLCP
26th March
Launching The Multicultural Legal Service
On Friday 19 March 2021, the Western Sydney Community Legal Centre Ltd. was very excited to launch the Multicultural Legal Service (MLS). 32.6% of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people living in NSW reside in the Western Sydney area and almost half of these individuals are living on an income of less than $26,000 a year. […]
WESTS
13th May
Engaging with Our Community
The Western Sydney Tenants’ Service (WESTS) has been servicing the Western Sydney community for over ten years. We have built and maintained relationships with stakeholders and individual members of the community. This is something that WESTS prides themselves in. Though we continue to provide advice and at times, advocacy and representation to our clients for […]
CLCP
14th May
CLCP Helps with Flood Recovery in the Hawkesbury
In March 2021 the Hawkesbury region experienced catastrophic flooding to a scale not seen in over 50 years. Natural disasters are an enormously disruptive and dislocating event that present dozens of practical and legal problems for those affected. In response, the Western Sydney Community Legal Centre’s Community Justice team has increased our presence in the hardest hit areas. […]
CLCP
26th May
MLS Receives Community Recognition Statement
On 12 May 2021, Western Sydney Community Legal Centre’s Multicultural Legal Service (MLS) received a Community Recognition Statement in the NSW Legislative Assembly from Dr Hugh McDermott, State Member for Prospect. We would like to thank Dr McDermott MP for his continued support of our Centre, and the recognition given to this program: “On Tuesday 13th April, I met with the new Multicultural Legal Service Team […]
WESTS
1st June
WESTS Community Engagement Day
On Friday 21 May, WESTS held a Community Engagement Day at the Skye Hotel in Parramatta. The Western Sydney Tenants’ Service (WESTS) has been servicing the Western Sydney community for over ten years. Our Community Engagement Day was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with our key partners after a long period of physical isolation dating back to the COVID-19 lockdown in March last […]
CLCP
11th June
WSCLC Celebrates Volunteer Week
For National Volunteer Week 2021, Western Sydney Community Legal Centre (WSCLC) took the opportunity to thank our tremendous volunteer team for the work they do. The theme for this year’s National Volunteer Week was ‘Recognise. Reconnect. Reimagine’. In this spirit, we took the time to recognise the efforts of our volunteers, reconnect through social events, […]
WESTS
20th June
WESTS Afternoon with Parramatta MP
On 18 June 2021, the team at Western Sydney Tenants’ Service (WESTS) were fortunate to meet with the Honourable Dr Geoffrey (Geoff) Lee, State Member for Parramatta and Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education. Our meeting was a welcome opportunity to discuss key issues impacting clients in our catchment, particularly since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We discussed […]
CLCP
25th June
CLCP Expands Local Court Duty Service
Since October 2020, the CLCP team have been attending local courts across Western Sydney to provide on-the-spot legal advice for traffic matters. The program began at the Parramatta, Blacktown, and Mount Druitt Local Courts, before expanding to Penrith in April 2021. In May 2021, we were excited to expand to Windsor Local Court, which becomes the […]
WSCLC
28th June
WSCLC COVID-19 Update
With the new COVID-19 restrictions, some of our programs have changed how they are operating from Monday 28 June 2021 until the end of the lockdown period. The Community Legal Centre Program is still delivering legal services remotely. If you need legal help, the quickest and easiest way to submit an enquiry is through our online form. If you cannot complete […]
CLCP
30th June
WSCLC Farewells HWL Ebsworth Graduates
This week Western Sydney Community Legal Centre said goodbye to the HWL Ebsworth graduates seconded to our service since the start of April 2021. During their stay, the graduates worked across the Community Legal Centre Program (CLCP) and the Home Building Advocacy Service (HoBAS). They assisted our intake team managing incoming enquiries, attended local courts […]
CLCP
2nd July
CLCP Annual Planning Day
On Friday 2 July the WSCLC Community Legal Centre Program took the opportunity to step back and reflect on the 2020-21 financial year, evaluating what we did well as a service and planning out how we will improve our service delivery this coming financial year. Despite the lockdown restrictions, we were able to come together […]
WSCLC
21st July
WSCLC Celebrates NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC week is celebrated during the first week in July and this year the NAIDOC theme is Heal Country! NAIDOC celebrates the history, cultures, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. WSCLC was excited to attend and participate at NAIDOC events in our community of Western Sydney, however, due to the unforeseen COVID-19 […]
CLCP
22nd July
Getting Legal Help in Lockdown
With the COVID-19 lockdown continuing to be extended, we want to assure the community of Western Sydney that we are still here to help with all kinds of legal issues. We understand that lockdown can make many legal issues worse, and cause stress around fines, employment, police, guardianship and mental health. If you have a legal issue […]
WSCLC
5th August
WSCLC Learning in Lockdown
As the COVID-19 lockdown continues to be extended, our Centre is taking time out to focus on learning about managing stress, mental wellbeing, and personal resilience. On Monday 26 July, Dr David Chapman, Consultant Psychiatrist with the NT Department of Health and Families, kindly volunteered his time to speak to our team about the causes of stress and how to […]
CLCP
5th August
Homelessness Week 2021
This year the first week of August was Homelessness Week, an opportunity to bring the issue of homelessness to the attention of local, state and national governments. There are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in Australia, and our catchment of Western Sydney is one of the most impacted in NSW. […]
WSCLC
10th August
Join WSCLC in Savings Lives
In July 2021, WSCLC registered as a LifeBlood team with Red Cross Australia. This means our organisation is registered as a team to tally our blood donations and how many lives we save over the year! We are aiming to donate enough blood to save 100 lives before July 2022. Australia needs more than 31,000 blood donations every week to help people […]
CLCP
16th August
CLCP Seeking Volunteer Solicitors
In June 2021, CLCP re-launched our volunteer solicitor program. Our returning solicitors have been delivering advice in a new remote format from the comfort of their home or office. We would like to thank those who have already joined the newly formatted program and assisted in ironing out teething issues – with their help, we […]
CLCP
3rd September
CLCP Statement of Support
In response to the current situation in Afghanistan, Western Sydney Community Legal Centre Limited – Community Legal Centre Program wishes to make the following Statement of Support: Western Sydney Community Legal Centre (WSCLC) provides free legal services with the aim of making navigation of, and access to, the legal system easier for people in need. […]
CLCP
5th October
PLT Spotlight: Holly Grant
Volunteers are at the front-line of the work we do at WSCLC. They are responsible for a large part of our client intake, undertaking research, assisting solicitors with legal work and countless other tasks in the CLCP team. In our first Spotlight feature, Holly reflects on her experience undertaking her PLT training at WSCLC. Holly […]
CLCP
7th October
CLCP Recognises Dementia Action Week
A little support makes a big difference. Last week was Dementia Action Week, a national event with a focus on supporting and celebrating people living with dementia and their carers. Dementia is an umbrella term for loss of memory and other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life, and includes conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s […]
HoBAS
15th November
HoBAS Volunteer Applications Open
Western Sydney Community Legal Centre Limited (WSCLC) is looking for 5 volunteers interested in volunteering in a busy legal practice providing free legal advice and support to people with legal problems with their builders. The HoBAS is a statewide service. The HoBAS office is located in Parramatta. The successful applicants will gain experience in a […]
DVRPP
22nd November
WSCLC Launches DVRPP
On 20 October, we virtually launched our Domestic Violence Response Pilot Program. The launch for this Program was opened by former CEO of Legal Aid, Mr Brendan Thomas, on behalf of NSW Attorney General, the Hon. Mark Speakman, and attended by many representatives from key community, social support and health organisations working in the domestic […]
CLCP
6th December
CLCP Resumes Local Court Duty Service
After a long absence due to COVID-19 Stay-at-home orders, our CLCP solicitors have returned to the Local Court of NSW to provide face-to-face assistance to people with traffic law matters, including red light offences, speeding offences, driving under the influence, licence suspensions and other general traffic fines. Since returning, our solicitors have assisted more than 60 clients with matters […]
WSCLC
13th December
WSCLC Christmas Closure
Some of our programs will be closing over the Christmas / New Year break. Please see below for our closure times, and alternative services to contact if you have an urgent issue. We look forward to returning in 2022 rejuvenated and ready to continue providing our services to the community of Western Sydney, and wish all of our clients a safe […]
CLCP
15th December
CLCP Recognises International Day of People with Disability
In recognition of International Day of People with Disability 2021, our CLCP Solicitor Tamara Bailey held an open training and information session. We thank Tamara for sharing her experience and perspective as a person with disability and running this important session. We have included her wrap-up of the session below: Friday 3 December 2021 was […]
CLCP
18th January
Volunteer with CLCP!
Western Sydney Community Legal Centre’s CLCP team is recruiting for law students to volunteer with us and an additional 1 – 2 volunteers interested in completing their Practical Legal Training. Your work will help clients from a range of backgrounds including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, persons with a disability, victims of domestic violence, […]
CLCP
1st February
2021 CLCP Client Survey Results
In October 2021, CLCP took part in the biennial client feedback survey as part of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP). The survey was co-ordinated by CLCNSW and conducted state-wide by all community legal centres who receive NLAP funding. Despite the difficult circumstances, we were able to survey more than 100 clients who received a […]
CLCP
16th February
CALD Community Ambassador Initiative
With funding from Multicultural NSW, WSCLC has established the CALD Community Ambassador Initiative (CCAI) to engage community leaders and workers around domestic violence in CALD communities so they can support community members and direct them to the relevant services at earlier stages of the domestic violence cycle. Community Ambassadors are active and trusted volunteers from […]
CLCP
2nd March
2022 Legal Help for Flood Issues
As NSW continues to experience widespread storms and flooding, WSCLC is open to assist those affected, particularly in the Hawkesbury and Penrith regions. We can help with: Issues with insurance claims; Issues with trees, fences, pollution and animals; Issues with credit and loans; and Many other legal issues. With funding from Legal Aid NSW, we have developed two video […]
WSCLC
2nd April
WSCLC Features on Community Radio
In March 2022 Jayden from SWR 99.9 spoke to our CEO and Principal Solicitor Louise Coady about the services on offer at Western Sydney Community Legal Centre. Thank you to Jayden for reaching out and offering to feature our service. We are always excited to connect with the community of Western Sydney! If you would […]
CLCP
10th April
CLCP Attends 2022 NSW Seniors Festival Expo
At the end of March, the CLCP team joined over 50 exhibitors at the International Convention Centre for the 2022 Seniors Festival Expo. We had a wonderful time meeting seniors from different communities and other service providers at the expo. Assisting the senior community is an important part of our service and we appreciate the […]
CLCP
11th May
Coming Up: NSW Law Week
Law Week NSW 2022 is happening between 16-22 May. WSCLC has prepared a series of events for the community to participate and learn more about our legal systems and issues. Starting on 16 May, WSCLC is delivering a talk about legal problem-spotting for community workers. All community and social workers are welcome to join this […]
WSCLC
18th May
WSCLC Blood Drive
Last month our team held our first WSCLC Blood Drive at Rosehill Lifeblood! A big thank you to the caring and patient staff at Rosehill Lifeblood for making this a calm and smooth experience. WSCLC always aim to serve to the community through various activities, and we are proud to contribute to our community through […]
WESTS
24th May
Volunteer with WESTS
Western Sydney Tenants’ Service (WESTS) is a community program under the Western Sydney Community Legal Centre in Parramatta. We are seeking to recruit passionate volunteers from multi-disciplinary backgrounds with an interest in tenancy law, policies, and reform! Volunteers for WESTS will assist an Intake and Referral Officer (IRO) in managing client calls and emails whilst […]
CLCP
25th May
WSCLC CCAI Domestic and Family Violence Resources
Over the last few months, WSCLC has been working with community ambassadors to co-design resources educating communities about domestic and family violence. The CaLD Community Ambassador Initiative (CCAI) was started in recognition of the importance of community leaders and trusted community play in responding to domestic and family violence. Our Centre houses one third of […]
MLS
31st May
NEW Domestic Violence Resources
Domestic and family violence is a serious problem in NSW. There has been an increase in domestic violence cases in recent years with Covid-19 stay-at-home orders resulting in more people exposed to the controlling and abusive behaviours from their partners. Western Sydney Community Legal Centre (WSCLC) is dedicated to working to end domestic and family […]
CLCP
16th September
Traffic Court Help
Western Sydney Community Legal Centre (WSCLC) is a not-for-profit community legal service providing free legal advice, advocacy, and legal education for Western Sydney. As part of this service, WSCLC runs a traffic list program at Blacktown, Mt Druitt, Parramatta, Penrith and Windsor Local Courts providing legal advice and advocacy services. If you get help from […]
