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!
Townsville phones are back online today and taking calls 04/02/2025.

Townsville phones are back online today and taking calls 04/02/2025.

Due to extreme weather in North Queensland, calls to our Townsville office were diverted to Cairns. However, the office is back online today and taking client calls directly.

Tuesday 4/02/2025. 

Calls to our Townsville office currently being diverted to Cairns

Calls to our Townsville office currently being diverted to Cairns

Due to the extreme weather in North Queensland, calls to our Townsville office have been diverted to Cairns temporarily.

Our statewide team can always be reached on Free Call:
1800 012 255.

Need Legal Help? Call us 1800 012 255
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Need Legal Help? Call us 1800 012 255

2025 is ATSILS 53rd year of legal service delivery and we are more committed than ever to advancing the rights of our clients and their communities across Queensland.

Mob can call our free helpline – 1800 012 255 for assistance.

*Available 24/7 for urgent criminal law matters.

Alternatively, you can contact an office directly in a region closest to you.

Happy 2025 to all our communities, colleagues, partners, and stakeholders! 🎉Looking forward to working together to ensure better access to justice for all.

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.

 

 

🌟 Community Legal Education Workshop on Palm Island 🌟
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🌟 Community Legal Education Workshop on Palm Island 🌟

Our Community Legal Education Team in the Northern Region, led by Paige Ryan, recently delivered an insightful workshop on Palm Island. At the request of the Palm Island Community Company, the team covered important topics such as the recent changes (in September this year) to the Evidence Act regarding preliminary complaint witness evidence in DFV offences, s229BC of the Criminal Code, and the use of counselling notes in sexual offence proceedings.
 
Paige, along with Nico Rump, one of our Criminal Lawyers from the Townsville office, co-wrote and presented the CLE session with Molly Mahlouzarides, in-house Counsel for LAQ in Townsville. The session was well received and attended by staff from various providers servicing the Palm Island community.
 
The team thoroughly enjoyed the experience and noted it was a stunning summer’s day to travel to Palm! 🌞
ATSILS is a proud sponsor of the QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Student Excellence Award in the Justice category
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ATSILS is a proud sponsor of the QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Student Excellence Award in the Justice category

QUT_Award_Dec2024🎉 Congratulations to Jess Renouf, the recipient of the QUT 2024 Student Excellence Award in the Justice category! 🏆 Our Director of Sector Engagement, Mr. Graham White, attended the ceremony to present the award to Jess on behalf of ATSILS.

ATSILS is a proud sponsor of the QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Student Excellence Award in the Justice category. Each year, QUT celebrates the achievements of Indigenous Australian student graduates at a special pre-graduation dinner. This event not only marks their academic success but also provides a platform to recognize and reward individual students who have excelled in their chosen fields of study.

Yesterday, the Queensland Government introduced the Making Queensland Safer Bill which includes the deeply concerning ‘Adult Crime Adult Time’ laws.
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Yesterday, the Queensland Government introduced the Making Queensland Safer Bill which includes the deeply concerning ‘Adult Crime Adult Time’ laws.

MEDIA RELEASE

ATSILS_MediaRelease_AdultTimeAdultCrime_29Nov2024]

Date: November 29, 2024

 ‘Adult Crime Adult Time’ policy whilst undoubtedly well intentioned on the part of the government, will not make our communities safer.

The Crisafulli Government has introduced ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ as part of the broader ‘Making Queensland Safer’ Bill yesterday in Queensland Parliament. The heavily politized ‘Adult Crime Adult Time’ catchcry disregards the substantial evidence base on what is effective in addressing offending behaviour.

These laws will result in the incarceration of more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and indeed vulnerable children from all backgrounds, who are already disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. As we process the details of the bill, it is clear a longer timeframe is needed for adequate community and sector consultation.

As a society,, we must remember that we are dealing with children and are obligated to uphold and protect their human rights.

It is a sad statistic that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in Queensland are 26 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous youth. This alarming trend continues to worsen each year. The root causes of offending include childhood trauma, socioeconomic disadvantage, disengagement from education, mental health issues, and substance abuse.

“Research consistently demonstrates that incarcerating children, particularly without effective rehabilitation programs, fails to reduce youth offending. Instead, it often exacerbates trauma and facilitates association with other more serious offenders, further entrenching and often escalating criminal behaviour in youth offenders. This approach will not enhance the safety of our communities,” said Mr. Shane Duffy, CEO of ATSILS.

“ATSILS calls for more culturally informed justice reinvestment practices to address youth offending and increase community safety.”

The Crisafulli Government must engage more effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and we urge them to put more focus  and funding towards prevention and early intervention programs. These initiatives should be designed and delivered On Country by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, ensuring they are culturally appropriate, and community-led. Such programs offer the best chance of success in supporting our youth to break the cycle of offending and fostering safer communities.

We call on all stakeholders to join us in advocating for evidence-based prevention, intervention and diversionary solutions that prioritise the well-being and future of all Queensland children.

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.

Media Release – Our Communities Have The Solutions
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Media Release – Our Communities Have The Solutions

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (QLD) Ltd and Tablelands Community Justice Group.
Atherton, Far North Queensland – November 22, 2024 – The CEO and Executive members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (QLD) Ltd (ATSILS) recently met with the Tablelands Community Justice Group (TCJG) Elders in Atherton to discuss the systemic justice issues driving youth offending, incarceration, and affecting community safety in the region and to hear about some of the community-led responses making a real difference.
Indigenous youth in Queensland are 26 times more likely to be incarcerated than their non-Indigenous peers and it is a sad state of play that this rate continues to spiral year after year. Factors such as childhood trauma, socioeconomic disadvantage, mental health and substance abuse are the main drivers of offending behaviour.
Youth detention centres in Queensland are often operating at over-capacity which leads to children being detained in adult watch houses and prisons. These facilities are ill-equipped to ensure their safety, compromise their human rights and can exacerbate trauma and mental health issues, increasing the likelihood of reoffending and more serious offending.
Addressing these issues requires respectful, culturally informed approaches, increased resources for rehabilitation and diversion programs, and systemic changes to reduce reliance on detention for young people. Developing stronger relationships with police to foster community-engaged policing, rather than over-policing communities, is a crucial element to this.
Local communities must be involved in the solutions, and we call on the new State Government to engage more effectively with local Elders and grassroots and community-controlled organisations in the development of therapeutic justice responses. Organisations such as the TCJG, which is comprised of local Elders, are uniquely positioned to understand and address cultural and social dynamics within their communities, leading to more effective interventions such as ‘On Country’ Elder led camps. Ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth have access to community-led rehabilitation and diversion services, such as ‘On Country’ Elders camps, is vital to breaking the cycle of offending. Cultural camps provide opportunities for young people to learn respect, connect with their heritage and understand their cultural identity. This connection fosters a sense of pride and belonging and sets the foundation for them to engage more effectively with further education and rehabilitation services and ultimately, successful reintegration into the community.
Quotes:
• “ATSILS and TCJG call for more culturally informed justice reinvestment practices to address youth offending and increase community safety,” said Mr. Shane Duffy, CEO of ATSILS. “By engaging the community at the local level, we can better understand the challenges to tailor our service delivery to community need and develop more effective solutions that engage youth in rehabilitation.”
• “Our Elders network plays a crucial role in helping to set our youth on as path to rehabilitation to break the cycle of offending,” said Julie Go Sam, TCJG Justice Coordinator. “Our united presence, support in community and involvement in ‘On Country’ cultural camps are an invaluable foundation for teaching youth respect for self and others and guiding them away from the justice.”
For an insight into ‘On Country’ camps and aspirations to develop a Youth Centre to address offending please view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tINIi7WDeI
About the Tablelands Community Justice Group:
The Tablelands Community Justice Group is dedicated to restorative justice practices and community/justice sector engagement, aiming to create a safer, more cohesive community.
About the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (QLD) Ltd:
ATSILS provides innovative and professional legal services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Queensland. [For more information: www.atsils.org.au ]
Media Contact for Mr Shane Duffy (ATSILS CEO) – Joshua Herd (Email: Joshua.herd@atsils.org.au )
Media Contact of Tablelands Community Justice Group – Julie Go Sam (Email:  j.gosam@mypathway.com.au )