ATSILS ensuring access to justice across the Torres Strait
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ATSILS ensuring access to justice across the Torres Strait

ATSILS Torres Strait Service DeliveryRecently our CEO and Communications team journeyed with our Thursday Island staff on their Outer Islands Magistrate Court Circuit throughout the Torres Strait. 

 

In one of the State’s most remote regions ATSILS is the primary legal assistance provider and we are committed to ensuring the diverse communities across the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area have access to professional legal assistance and representation. 

 

It was great to see the local team in action and spend time with communities on the Islands of Warraber, Boigu, Mabuiag, Saibai and Badu and get insight into the justice issues they face so we can continue to tune our services to respond to local need.

 

Our team operate from our regional office on Thursday Island and they are an exemplar of ATSILS innovative brand of service delivery, they are highly engaged with community and display a tireless commitment to people they represent under challenging conditions. They have established a respectful and collegiate working relationship with the Magistrate, Justice Groups, Police Prosecution, Community Police and other officers of the court and work as an effective team to enhance access to justice for some of Queensland’s most remote populations.

2018 – QUT Indigenous Pre Law and Justice Program Students visit ATSILS
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2018 – QUT Indigenous Pre Law and Justice Program Students visit ATSILS

QUT 2018 Indigenous Pre Law and Justice Program visit to ATSILS2018 Indigenous Pre Law and Justice Program visit to ATSILS

Last week students from QUT’s 2018 Indigenous Pre Law and Justice Program attended ATSILS Brisbane office to get first hand insight into the work we do advancing and protecting the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The students received a range of presentations covering on our innovative brand of legal service delivery, the critical role of our Court Support Officers in supporting the client/lawyer relationship and removing barriers affecting access to justice and also an overview of the work we do educating communities on their legal rights. The students were hosted by our Director of Communications and Sector Engagement – Graham, Early Intervention, Prevention and Community Legal Education Officer – Kate and Court Support Officer – Lesley. The students also had the opportunity to meet some of our legal practitioners and get insight into what it’s like working for a human rights based organisation like ATSILS.

Bianca Hill-Jarro – Indigenous Project Officer at QUT said “The visit to ATSILS has been welcomed addition to the program and offers something unique for the students. The students always really enjoy the visit and many are often interested in the career pathways offered by ATSILS.”

ATSILS is committed to inspiring the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lawyers and justice professionals and it was great to host these deadly young students looking to pursue careers in the justice sector.

Congratulations Tim Hishon – ATSTILS ‘2017 Regional Manager of the Year’
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Congratulations Tim Hishon – ATSTILS ‘2017 Regional Manager of the Year’

Tim Hishon - Sunshine Coast Regional ManagerDirector of Sector Engagement and Communications, Graham White presenting 2 plaques to Tim Hishon our Regional Manager on the Sunshine Coast. One recognises Tim’s dedicated long service to ATSILS over the past 15 years’ and the other was awarded to Tim to pay tribute to his excellence in team management and service delivery as the winner of the ATSILS ‘2017 Regional Manager of the Year’.

The Maroochydore Team nominated Tim for his respect towards clients and team members alike. Tim encourages all team members to actively participate and contribute to workplace culture. Tim is a flexible, responsive Manager who is genuine, humble and dedicated to the ATSILS core values of Care, Share and Respect.

Job Vacancies – 2 x Court Support Officer roles: Townsville & Southport
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Job Vacancies – 2 x Court Support Officer roles: Townsville & Southport

ATSILS Careers

We have 2 x Court Support Officer roles available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates in our Townsville and Southport offices.

Court Support Officers play a vital role in our service delivery and in the community. CSOs provide a crucial link between our clients and the legal practitioner and enhance access to justice in their communities.

Applications Close: 3rd December 2017

Apply Here: https://atsils.org.au/job-vacancies/

 

Watch this video to get an insight into the role of a CSO: 

 

Our Regional Offices – Thursday Island
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Our Regional Offices – Thursday Island

Connection to culture and delivering legal services on country that make a real difference to the lives of his people is what attracted Regional Manager C’Zarke Maza to Thursday Island.

In this video C’Zarke gives insight into range of services we provide across the Torres Strait. In locations such as Thursday Island our team provide outreach legal services, traveling great distances following remote court circuits to ensure access to justice for our most remote communities.

Thursday Island – Regional Office
Services Provided: Criminal, Civil and Family Law
Address: 25 Douglas Street, Thursday Island 4875 (PO Box 81)
Phone: (07) 4069 1091
Fax: (07) 4069 1678

Always remember ATSILS is here for clients 24/7 on our Free call legal assistance hotline:
1800 012 255.

ATSILS Board meet with community in Mackay
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ATSILS Board meet with community in Mackay

ATSILS is dedicated to strengthening key partnerships in regional Queensland and last Friday our Board of Directors hosted a community meeting with key service providers in Mackay.

It was a great turn out and the Board were delighted to meet with the good people representing these organisations and agencies delivering vital services across the justice and community sectors.

The meeting was not only a good opportunity to get a better understanding of the current challenges and justices issues facing the local community. It also provided a great environment to come together and reaffirm our commitment to working more effectively together across sectors to address the complex challenges faced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community caught up in the child protection, youth justice and criminal justice systems.

Health, Justice & Human Rights orgs unite in call to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
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Health, Justice & Human Rights orgs unite in call to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

Following Universal Children’s Day, doctors, lawyers, health and human rights experts from across Australia are calling for the age when children can be held criminally liable to be raised to at least 14 years so that primary school aged children are not entangled in the criminal justice system.

All Australian states and territories currently have laws that allow children as young as ten years to be charged, brought before the courts, sentenced and imprisoned. The United Nations has repeatedly rebuked Australia for maintaining such a low age of criminal responsibility.

NATSILSMedia

Full Media Release: https://goo.gl/HG3rLm

Our Regional Offices – Mt Isa
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Our Regional Offices – Mt Isa

Our network of regional offices across Queensland ensure clients in rural and remote communities have greater access to vital legal assistance and representation. In the great North West Queensland region our team is led by Regional Manager Tim Carberry. In this video Tim highlights the range of legal services we deliver beyond criminal, including family and civil and gives insight into what it’s like working in some of our more remote locations across Queensland.

MOUNT ISA
Services Provided: Criminal, Family and Civil Law
Address: 4 Simpson Street, Mount Isa 4825 (PO Box 2269)
Phone: (07) 4744 0900
Fax: (07) 4743  7231

Always remember ATSILS is here for clients 24/7 on our free call legal assistance hotline:

1800 012 255.

Our Regional Offices – Charleville
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Our Regional Offices – Charleville

In this video our Regional Manager in Charleville Laurie Parker gives you a run down on the many ways we are able to assist clients with criminal, civil and family matters, the vast region the team covers and the benefits of working as a legal practitioner in a rural community.
 
Laurie and his great team in Charleville deliver quality criminal, civil and family legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across South West Queensland which includes the townships of Roma, Cunnamulla, Tambo, Quilpie & Mitchell.
 
Contact our Charleville Office:
Services Provided: Criminal, Family and Civil Law
Address: 51 Wills Street, Charleville 4470 (PO Box 145)
Phone: (07) 4654 1721
Fax: (07) 4654 3182
 
Always remember ATSILS is here for clients 24/7 on our Free call legal assistance hotline:
1800 012 255.
Find an ATSILS Office near you: ATSILS Office Locator
Prisoner Throughcare Conference 2017
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Prisoner Throughcare Conference 2017

Prisoner Throughcare - Team 2017
Last week our Prisoner Throughcare Officers from across the state came together for their bi-annual conference in Brisbane. It was a great opportunity for staff new and old to discuss common ground and also the diverse challenges related to their specific roles and regions.
The conference program provided a great platform for staff to share knowledge, hear from external service providers critical to their program delivery, and engage in interactive sessions aimed at team building and networking.
Focus topics included – Throughcare case scenarios, handling resistance, Commonwealth reporting and understanding domestic violence.
 
Congratulations to Gerald, Greg, Graham, Emma and all the team on a successful event and thank you to our guest presenter from CREST for the great insights and contribution to the program.
ATSILS is committed to developing its workforce to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system. Our Prisoner Throughcare team is funded by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and our PTCO Officers are early intervention and prevention specialists highly skilled at supporting offenders to make the necessary changes in their life needed to break their cycle of their offending.
Our Prisoner Throughcare teams operate out of our Ipswich, Murgon, Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton offices and we have dedicated officers working specifically with youth offenders, adult male and female offenders. In addition the team has recently expanded to include specialist roles targeting high risk domestic violence offenders.
To find out more about the program visit: