ATSILS Legal Practitioner – Brittany White & Court Support Officer – Mary James, recently attended the October 2024 – Cooee Redlands Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander DFV Forum.
The team found the forum very informative, with the issue of Domestic and Family Violence prosecution /defence and the recent amendments to the legislation regarding coercive control being presented by various stakeholders throughout the day.
At the request of Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways Project (IYMP) – Cairns, ATSILS delivered a timely Community Legal Education (CLE) workshop to a group of work-ready students on the common debt traps associated with popular Buy Now Pay Later credit systems such as AfterPay.
Congratulations to our departing Director of Criminal Law, Mr Lewis Shillito, who leaves us after being appointed as a Magistrate in the latest announcement by Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath.
It is a bitter-sweet moment as we say farewell to a consummate professional. Still, we are grateful for the time he dedicated to ATSILS and his immense contribution to the organisation in leading our Criminal Law Team.
Without a doubt, it is a big loss – but such is far more than compensated for by the fact that we are all so proud of his onward journey and that ATSILS has played a small part in his stepping stones towards the bench.
ATSILS is also proud that we have now had back-to-back appointments to the bench of our Directors of Criminal Law – with Lewis following in the footsteps of his predecessor Mr Andrew Hackett.
Lewis is a legal practitioner of the highest calibre, and on behalf of the ATSILS Board and CEO, we’d like to acknowledge the fantastic job he has done as our Director of Criminal Law over the past seven years. This is such a well-deserved appointment – and the whole team at ATSILS couldn’t be happier for Lewis.
Congratulations Lewis you are an inspiration to the team, all the best for the exciting journey ahead!
Media Statement:
Our Cairns team held a stall at the Mossman High School Careers Day yesterday. It was a fantastic opportunity to engage with the community and give young people an insight into a legal career where they can focus on advancing and protecting the rights of people most in need of access to justice. One student said it was important to see ATSILS presence at this event, allowing Indigenous students to consider the possibility of working in the legal profession. There was also a great turnout of local stakeholders wanting to explore how to collaborate with our new Respect@Work Program which offers Community Legal Education to school leavers and students in alternative learning programs.
All in all, it was a great day out and we hope we played a small part in encouraging the next generation of bright young minds to consider a rewarding career in the legal assistance sector. Thank you to Mossman High School for the opportunity to engage with this fine region of future leaders and community organisations.
A great article by Queensland Law Society Proctor, paying tribute to Lyle Parker, one of ATSILS’s finest!
…The recently retired criminal lawyer just wanted to show “people are people” and make to sure the disadvantaged and vulnerable “were treated with respect and dignity”.
https://www.qlsproctor.com.au/2024/08/hippie-just-focused-on-helping/
Once again our team in Cairns delivered the “Get Work Ready” community legal education workshop to IYMP (Cairns) students. The students are completing their final month of study, and this workshop helps prepare them for a successful entry into the workforce by providing timely information on their work rights, how to deal with employment disputes and the array of support organisations available to assist them on their career path.
The students were highly engaged in the session and left feeling equipped to approach the working world confidently. Congratulations to the students who have completed their certificates and all the best for a bright future in the workforce.
Members of our Cairns team attended the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day event hosted by Mamu Health Service in Innisfail. It was a joy celebrating our children and getting an insight into the local community’s concerns and finding out where ATSILS may be able to target key services to be part of the solution. The team also provided information on our Respect@Work program which was of interest to the community.
The children’s favourite pick of ATSILS merchandise were the sun hats and drink bottles as pictured. We thank Mamu Health Service and Innisfail for hosting such a warm and engaging community event.
ATSILS Solicitor Cicilia Halaholo continues to deliver Community Legal Education (CLE) sessions throughout Far North Queensland under ATSILS Respect@Work Program. The key aim of the program is to prevent workplace sexual harassment and the most recent CLE was delivered through our partnership with Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways (IYMP) to remote students based in Cairns.
The students showed great engagement with the content of the CLE and were very receptive to dealing with this sensitive workplace issue as they prepare to complete their studies and enter the workforce.
ATSILS also provided a range of merchandise and legal resources to complement their learning. Many of the students requested more information on other key legal topics from ATSILS and we plan to deliver more resources to assist these robust learners leading the way for our communities.
ATSILS thanks the IYMP and their student cohort for their generosity and valued partnership to date and we look forward to continuing to build on this strong relationship into the future.
We stand together with our National Peak Bodies to condemn the abuse and mass incarceration of First Nations children with disability.
The significant over-representation of First Nations children in custody, especially those with cognitive or intellectual disabilities, is an ongoing and well-documented national crisis.
FPDN, NATSILS, ATSILS and SNAICC call upon the Qld Government to Immediately reinstate the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) in relation to children detained in police watch houses, abolish the practice of solitary confinement for children, improve intersectional disability data collection, implement effect screening and supports and mandate disability rights informed training for all custodial staff.
Read our full Joint Statement here: JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT: Condemning the state sanctioned abuse and mass incarceration of First Nations children with disability – FPDN
Last week, ATSILS mobile legal practitioner Kevin Amantea undertook the remote court circuit in the Gulf country to assist clients and to help ensure our most remote communities have access to justice. Kevin said, ‘I enjoyed traveling to the Northwest QLD region of the Gulf of Carpentaria for work…. It was one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my legal career.
ATSILS currently employs two mobile legal practitioners as part of our innovative and agile workforce. Our highly experienced mobile legal practitioners travel far and wide across Queensland to assist with service delivery continuity and demand. They can be deployed to targeted regions to enable ATSILS to be more responsive to the legal needs of a community.
