Happy #NAIDOC2024
‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’ celebrates the unyielding spirit of First Nations communities.
This year’s deadly NAIDOC Week poster ‘Urapun Muy’ (One Fire) is by Torres Strait Islander artist Deb Belyea.
After four decades of passionate advocacy for Queensland’s most vulnerable people and significant contributions to justice, including his work with ATSILS and the Fitzgerald Inquiry, esteemed lawyer Lyle Parker has retired.Lyle is affectionately known amongst his ATSILS’ colleagues as “The Bail King” – to quote Lewis Shillito, our Director of Criminal Law: “mostly because he would get bail for clients in circumstances where no one else could feasibly do so. He would literally talk Magistrates into submission, simply not relenting until they did as he asked. He is unwaveringly temperate and professional in his dealings with all clients, prosecutors and certainly the bench.”
“Without question, Lyle’s well-deserved retirement sees the departure of a true legend – a lionhearted and consummate professional who was all about ‘service to others’ – especially the most vulnerable. Lyle will always remain an integral part of the ATSILS’ family – indeed, it is people such as he, who make us all proud to be part of that same family. All the very best to you Lyle – it has been my very great privilege to work alongside you as a colleague over so many years.” – Mr Greg Shadbolt (ATSILS) Principal Legal Officer.
Read More:
https://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/redlands/atsils-senior-criminal-lawyer-lyle-parker-retires-after-40-year-career/news-story/3d7dd60cbdfe7e1e215d7154a944fc45
We all know kids have a right to learn, but last year Queensland state schools suspended and excluded nearly 3,900 more students than the year before – a total of 81,918 kids missed out on their right to learn. Join and share our A Right To Learn campaign now to keep the pressure on the government to call a full parliamentary inquiry!
Join the campaign here https://www.arighttolearn.com.au/pledge
Last week ATSILS’s solicitor Cicilia Halaholo presented our Respect@Work CLE session to a deadly group of students from the Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways Project (IYMP).
IYMP in Cairns provides a training program for youth from the Torres Strait Islands and Cape York.
Our Respect@Work Legal Service focuses on preventing Workplace Sexual Harassment with casework and community legal education offered as part of the program.
Students showed keen interest during the workshop and are now armed with better legal knowledge to support their journeys into the workforce. The students were also given a range of ATSILS merchandise and legal resources to take home and reinforce their learning on the 
topic.
ATSILS looks forward to forging more community partnerships with IYMP to nurture a solid future for our youth.
Please contact ATSILS for more information on the Respect@Work legal service. https://atsils.org.au/contact/
Last week the ATSILS’s Managers’ Conference was held in Brisbane. It was fantastic to have all ATSILS leaders in one place to discuss the key workforce challenges and opportunities impacting service delivery.
Congratulations to our HR Team on the success of the event. The team delivered a highly engaging program designed to equip our managers with more tools to manage change, address conflict, and overcome the common challenges impacting team dynamics which was well received by all.
ATSILS’ Community Legal Education Team recently delivered a talk on Wills and Powers of Attorney for Elders at the Metro North Community and Oral Health Yarning Circle in Brighton.
The talk covered topics including: what is a Will?; what is a Beneficiary; what is an Executor; what can I put in my Will; what happens if I die without a Will; what is a Power of Attorney and Enduring Power of Attorney?; How to I set one up; Who should I choose to be my Attorney; How to revoke a Power of Attorney; and what to do if an Attorney acts improperly.
Many Elders attended and asked a lot of great questions which generated lots of great yarns about the importance of setting up these key legal documents.
ATSILS’ Community Legal Education Team recently delivered a talk to a group of young people participating in Youth Justice’s Transition 2 Success Program.
The talk covered topics including: why it is important to understand your rights when dealing with police; understanding the right to silence, the right to have a support person present and the right to ask if you are free to leave; the questions that you are legally obligated to answer in police interactions; understanding police searches; and what to do if you are a victim of crime or want to make a complaint about police conduct.
The young ones were very open and asked great questions. Many spoke of their own experiences and this generated even more yarns about what to do in certain scenarios and the importance of understanding your rights and obligations under the law when interacting with police.
We currently have a range of job vacancies available for suitably qualified Legal Practitioners, Throughcare Officers, Client Services Coordinators and more..
To view our current vacancies and to apply visit: Jobs – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (QLD) Ltd (atsils.org.au)
Recently this month our team held a stall at the Inala Community Connectors Forum (Government Licensing Muster event) at Our Meeting Place in Inala providing free legal advice and/or referrals.
The event was a joint initiative between Inala Wangarra Inc. and the Queensland Government. ATSILS joined other officers from Blue Card Services, SPER, Births, Deaths and Marriages, Centrelink, the Office of Fair Trading and Justice of the Peace to provide essential services all in one place for the community. The day was a success with many stopping by for a yarn about various topics from driver licence disqualifications, domestic and family violence to youth justice and opportunities for future community legal education talks from ATSILS
Work with the team advancing and protecting the rights of Mob in Queensland!We have multiple positions available for Legal Practitioners (Criminal, Family & Civil)!
We are also currently seeking 2 x Throughcare Officers (Youth & Adult Male DV), 1 x Legal Secretary (Admin), 1x Court Support Officer (Identified Position).
View our job vacancies page for more information: