Mt Isa Yarn Up event!
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Mt Isa Yarn Up event!

Last month, members of our Community Legal Education (CLE) Team (Kate Greenwood and Paige Ryan) participated in the highly successful Mt Isa Yarn Up (Licensing Muster) from July 22-24. Hosted by the First Nations Justice Office (FNJO), the event was the largest to date, attracting a record 418 community members who sought assistance from a wide range of essential services over the three days.
A major highlight was a visit from Queensland Attorney-General, Deb Frecklington MP. The AG attended the Yarn Up Event and also took the time to stop by our Mt Isa office to discuss key local justice issues with the team.
On a celebratory note, the team also had the pleasure of marking our own Kate Greenwood’s birthday with a well-deserved cake during the event.
The Yarn Up event was a powerful demonstration of inter-agency collaboration, allowing us to strengthen partnerships while engaging and enhancing access to services for the Mt Isa community. Other services in attendance, in addition to ATSILS included:
54 reasons
AIDRWA
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)
Blue Card Services
BUSY At Work – The Apprenticeship Community
Commonwealth Bank
Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ)
Indigenous Driver Licencing Unit (TMR)
Indigenous Support & Care
Mithangkaya Nguli – Young People Ahead Youth and Community Services Indigenous Corporation
Office of Fair Trading
Qld Screening
Qld Youth Services
QSuper
Red Door Community Services
Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Selectability
Services Australia
State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER)
Mt Isa Yarn Up Muster
Director of Civil Law Visits Wide Bay-Burnett Region
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Director of Civil Law Visits Wide Bay-Burnett Region

ATSILS Civil Law Team As part of our Workforce Development Plan and emerging leaders’ program, Simon Burgess, Director of Civil Law, recently visited our regional offices in Hervey Bay and Bundaberg.

In Hervey Bay, Simon engaged with the local team, including Civil and Family Lawyer Murray Nielsen, to discuss the unique challenges and complexities surrounding Wills, Estates, and EPOAs within the Wide Bay-Burnett communities.

The tour continued in Bundaberg, which marked a welcome return for Simon, who served as the office’s Regional Manager around 2004. He was delighted to reconnect with long-serving colleagues, including Court Support Officer Natasha Thomson, lawyers Ian Kendrick and Jennie Waldron, and Administrative Officer Cheryl Nuggin. The visit also provided an opportunity to meet with local Magistrate Mr. John McInnes, fostering crucial dialogue on community-based civil law issues.

These regional visits are vital for strengthening collaboration, connection and ensuring our services are responsive to the needs of every community we serve.

Community Event – Mt Isa – Legal Rights
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Community Event – Mt Isa – Legal Rights

Hey, Mount Isa! Come and enjoy a free Kup Murri at the Mount Is Recovery Services Centre (MIRS) and learn more about your legal rights.

Lawyers from ATSILS, Legal Aid Qld and the Central Queensland Community Legal Centre will be present to provide information to the community. This event is warmly supported by MIRS, Jimaylya Topsy Harry Centre and Centacare Mount Isa.

Community Services Yarn Up Day – Cherbourg
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Community Services Yarn Up Day – Cherbourg

Our CLE Team recently participated in the Community Services Yarn Up Day at Les Stewart Snr Sporting Complex in Cherbourg, on beautiful Wakka Wakka Country. The event was an initiative of the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council in partnership with the First Nations Justice Office.

Pree Sharma, Legal Practitioner, Law Reform and Community Legal Education, represented ATSILS, providing free legal advice and/or referrals for community members who stopped by for assistance.

ATSILS joined other officers from the Indigenous Driver Licensing Unit at the Department of Transport and Main Roads, BlueCard Services, SPER, Births, Deaths and Marriages, Services Australia, QSuper, South Burnett CTC, Link Up, Murgon Aboriginal Family Legal Services Qld, Barambah Local Justice Group, Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion, and many others to provide essential services all in the one place for the community. It was a wonderful community event with much engagement, and we look forward to participating in the next one.

Our CLE Team in NQ participate in the ‘Everyday Legal Training for Frontline Workers’ event
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Our CLE Team in NQ participate in the ‘Everyday Legal Training for Frontline Workers’ event

ATSILS CLE Our Community Legal Education staff in North Queensland participated in the ‘Everyday Legal Training for Frontline Workers’ CLE event in May, coordinated by LawRight and hosted by James Cook University in Cairns.

This full-day event saw presentations from LawRight, ATSILS, North Queensland Women’s Legal Service, Cairns Community Legal Centre and Basic Rights Qld. Kimberly Thornley and Paige Ryan of ATSILS presented sessions to the group of 70 frontline support workers on the topics of ‘Rights and Respect in the Workplace’ and ‘Supporting families with child protection matters’. Other sessions included legal options for victim-survivors of violence, debt solutions for people in financial hardship, effectively interacting with Centrelink and legal protections for people who buy a lemon car.

The purpose of this CLE event was to provide a series of in-person presentations and smaller workshops designed to provide specialist, practical training to help frontline workers navigate the complex legal systems impacting the people they support. Attendees on the day included staff from local and nearby regional services such as various neighbourhood centres, Anglicare, Relationships Australia, DFV support workers and counsellors, social workers, homelessness support workers and JCU students seeking to broaden their knowledge. This event provided a great opportunity for services to collaborate through CLE delivery and facilitated active audience participation and discussion. The team had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed taking part and sharing knowledge with all in attendance.

ATSILS and QATSICPP partner to deliver Community Legal Education (CLE) Webinar Series
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ATSILS and QATSICPP partner to deliver Community Legal Education (CLE) Webinar Series

ATSILS CLEATSILS and QATSICPP are collaborating to deliver a Community Legal Education (CLE) webinar series to empower community-based staff supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families facing the Queensland youth justice system.
ATSILS’ Pree Sharma, Legal Practitioner, Law Reform and Community Legal Education and Rod Morgan, Legal Practitioner, Criminal Law (Youth Crime Specialist) recently delivered a webinar in partnership with the Youth Justice Peak body, QATSICPP, for staff of community-based organisations that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people, and families, particularly those involved with or at risk of becoming involved with the youth justice system with a focus on the rights of children and young people when interacting with police.
ATSILS has a longstanding partnership with QATSICPP in delivering community legal education to its members. This particular webinar is the first in a three-part webinar series that is part of QATSICPP’s Knowledge Bites offering. It is designed to support the professional development of staff within community-controlled and community-based organisations and strengthen advocacy and service delivery in child protection and youth justice. Through these sessions, QATSICPP aims to equip frontline workers with practical, up-to-date knowledge that informs and empowers their critical work.
The first webinar explored several key topics including:
• Knowing Your Rights: Understanding children’s rights when stopped, questioned, or searched by police.
• Children as Victims of Crime: Knowing the steps to take when a child is a victim of a crime.
• Concerns about Police Conduct: Guidance on how to raise concerns or lodge complaints about police conduct.
If you are interested in ATSILS delivering community legal education sessions such as this, in person or online, please reach out to us on info@atsils.org.au.
Tablelands Community Justice Group Meeting
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Tablelands Community Justice Group Meeting

Great to catch up with the Tablelands Community Justice Group again in Atherton, to further discussions around community-led intervention initiatives, partnerships and Closing The Gap justice policy.

Thank you to Julie Go Sam (TCJG) Justice Coordinator and all local Elders in attendance for hosting our CEO – Shane Duffy, Graham White (Director of Sector Engagement & Communication), Kate Greenwood (Closing the Gap Policy Officer) and Paige Ryan (Solicitor – Coronial, Community Legal Education & Public Sector Monitoring).

Addressing justice issues requires respectful, culturally informed local approaches, increased resources for rehabilitation and diversion programs, and systemic changes to reduce reliance on detention for young people.

An example of this has been the great work the Elders have been doing in delivering On Country Camps’ linked below: https://lnkd.in/gyBsxueb

QUT Community Stall – Promoting Legal Careers with ATSILS
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QUT Community Stall – Promoting Legal Careers with ATSILS

Last week, ATSILS took part in the Community Stall Expo, which was part of Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Pre-Orientation Program for the Oodgeroo Unit community of students at the Kelvin Grove campus. The Oodgeroo Unit at QUT offers educational and support programs and spaces specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, aiding them in their higher education journey.
During the expo, new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students starting their studies had the opportunity to connect with various organisations, including ATSILS. These organisations work closely with the community and can serve as valuable networks for students pursuing law at QUT. We were pleased to see many students engaging with our stall, and we hope this interaction inspires them to consider working with us in the future!
Hervey Bay Community engagement and Service Access
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Hervey Bay Community engagement and Service Access

ATSILS Hervey Bay

Our team in Hervey Bay joined the vibrant community Colour Run organized by @DeadlyChoices this week. Hundreds of Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids participated in the 2km Fun Run, along with some young-at-heart adults.

Our team was thrilled to be a part of this exciting event, and attended alongside local community organizations that included PCYC, The Neighbourhood Centre, Deadly Choices, and The Wesley Financial Counselling Service. We had a great time engaging with the local community and spreading awareness about our services.

More than 600 kids attended the event and were sprayed with coloured powder creating a kaleidoscope of colour. There was great community spirit present, and you could see it wasn’t just about winning, but about enjoying the experience to the fullest. The positive energy and infectious enthusiasm made it a day to remember.

 

 

Engaging with police recruits to enhance understanding of services and communities
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Engaging with police recruits to enhance understanding of services and communities

ATSILS @ QPS Market Day 


On 20 November 2024, ATSILS Brisbane’s CLE team attended the Queensland Police Academy Market Day. This event invites various agencies, organisations, and QPS units to the Queensland Police Service Academy to showcase their services and how they might be relevant to recruits’ future policing duties. ATSILS had a stall at this event alongside the deadly team at Murri Watch Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Corporation.

Close to 900 current police recruits attended this event and had the opportunity to engage with our stall and ask questions about what ATSILS does. Many police recruits stopped by and advised that they were already aware of ATSILS, as part of their training included information about the obligation on police officers to facilitate a call to ATSILS in the event of an arrest of an individual who identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander so that the individual can have access to legal advice at that critical stage.

There were many productive conversations with police recruits about the importance of cultural training and understanding to give pause and consideration of the impact of intergenerational trauma, other challenges that an individual at risk of being in contact with the criminal justice system might have and their story. There were also many discussions about the importance of diversion away from the criminal justice system to allow a pathway to addressing key needs and providing key supports to those at risk. Some recruits were not aware of the policy work that ATSILS does with respect to Closing the Gap, prevention and early intervention and the delivery of community legal education and it was great to be able to share that information as well.