Empowering women at the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre through collaborative community legal education! 🤝✨
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Empowering women at the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre through collaborative community legal education! 🤝✨

ATSILS CLE TownsvilleThis week, Paige Ryan and Thomas Proctor from our Townsville office visited the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre (TWCC) to deliver a dedicated legal information session to support women in understanding their rights and responsibilities regarding vital domestic and family violence issues.

This CLE session was part of a larger, 3-week collaborative project whereby TWCC, ATSILS, Transform Lives Program, North Queensland Women’s Legal Service and the First Nations Women’s Legal Services Qld Inc joined forces to offer the women at TWCC these DFV community legal information sessions in alignment and solidarity with the 16 Days of Activism 2025.

What we covered:

🗣️ Coercive Control: Breaking down the new offences that came into effect in QLD in 2025, how to identify these behaviours, and where to get support.
View our quick guide on understanding Coercive Control

📜 Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs): Understanding DVOS , what constitutes a breach, and practical tips on how to navigate them.

View our quick guide on understanding Domestic Violence Orders

The smaller group setting provided a safe and open space for questions and genuine conversation. There was really positive feedback from the women about what they had learned from the session, and what they would like to see more of in future.

 

Community Legal Education on Quandamooka Country!
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Community Legal Education on Quandamooka Country!

Community Legal Education Quandamooka CountryATSILS legal practitioners, Pree Sharma and Enoler Robinson, had a fantastic day attending the Deadly Choices Indigenous Senior Games on beautiful Quandamooka Country at Minjerribah/Stradbroke Island last Friday. 🌴

It was great to attend the event and deliver an important community legal education session to Elders attending the games, focusing on Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney.

The Elders shared many excellent questions, leading to plenty of great yarns about the importance of getting your affairs in order. The best time to do it is right now!

Thank you to the fantastic team at Deadly Choices for organising such a wonderful event. We look forward to attending the next one! 🙏

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Homeless Connect Event

ATSILS was proud to take part in Brisbane City Council’s Homeless Connect event last week.

Homeless Connect is a fantastic initiative that brings together a wide range of community services to support people who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. From health care, housing assistance and clothing to food, haircuts and legal advice — the event offers a safe space where people can access practical support and feel connected to their community.

Pree Sharma represented the ATSILS team and provided legal advice and referrals throughout the day. Many community members doing it tough stopped by our stall to ask for help, and we were glad to assist with their legal needs and connect them with other services where appropriate.

A big thank you to Brisbane City Council for coordinating this important event and to all the organisations who came together to make a real difference.

🌟Burdekin Community Legal Services Expo🌟
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🌟Burdekin Community Legal Services Expo🌟

Burdekin Community Legal Services ExpoThe inaugural Burdekin Community Legal Services Expo in Ayr marked a significant step in connecting more North Queensland regional and remote communities with vital legal support. Hosted by the Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre (BNC) and initiated by the North Queensland Regional Legal Assistance Forum (NQRLAF), the event brought together legal service providers from the Townsville region and local residents to raise awareness about the range of services available and to improve access to free legal services in surrounding towns. The strong turnout and collaboration highlighted the power of community-driven solutions in bridging the access to justice gap experienced by these communities.

Paige Ryan and Courtney Curnow from our Townsville team were proud to be among the many legal representatives present. In addition to ATSILS attendees from organizations like ADA Law, First Nations Women’s Legal Services Qld Inc, North Queensland Women’s Legal Service, Legal Aid Queensland, Townsville Community Law, and the Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service provided valuable information on a wide range of legal areas, including criminal, family, and civil law.

The event’s success was a testament to the strong support from the BNC staff and the dedicated stakeholders of NQRLAF, all of whom committed their time and energy to making it a positive and informative experience for the community.

 

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
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.
Need help to make a Will?
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Need help to make a Will?

ATSILS has a statewide civil law team that can assist clients in making a valid Will.

Check out the video below to understand why having a Will in place is important.

To contact an ATSILS office close to you please visit: www.atsils.org.au/contact/

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#legalhelp