A celebration of the achievement and dedication of the great team at ATSILS.
Our dedicated team have helped put together a series of short videos to give you better insight into ATSILS & the legal services we provide. Need Legal Assistance? Call ATSILS 24/7 Free Call Hotline – 1800 012 255 The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service provides innovative, professional and culturally competent legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Queensland.
ATSILS Executive Team give insight into the organisation’s history, the critical element of cultural competence in our role and our journey into a state-wide legal service with 25 offices across Queensland.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service provides innovative, professional and culturally competent legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people & their families across Queensland.
This week our Director of Sector Engagement and Communications and our Prevention, Intervention and Community Legal Education Officer paid a visit to our Murgon office to spend time with the fantastic ATSILS team delivering quality services in the South Burnett region.
The team shared cake and important discussions with Cherbourg elders and the local Justice Group and it was a good opportunity to hear about some of the current justice issues facing this historic community. ATSILS shared a range of legal education resources and information about the Prisoner Throughcare Program with the group..
Working in whopping 45 degrees in the shade, it was great to see the dedicated Murgon team in action. They are a true representation of the strong commitment to community displayed by all our regional offices.
Connection to culture & the fine art of diverting our young ones away from the justice system. Our Prisoner Throughcare Program is a part of the fabric of a justice reinvestment approach. Check out some of the innovative work happening in the Townsville region connecting young offenders with their culture as a foundation change and breaking the cycle of offending.
Court Support Officers – enhancing access to justice for the most vulnerable in our communities.
In this video our dedicated team in Townsville give insight into their vital work in liaising between clients and our lawyers.
Our Court Support Officers are the heart & soul of our culturally competent service delivery. All of our Court Support Officers identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. They’re usually they’re local people with strong connection to the community who are highly skilled at engaging mob and ensuring they understand their legal rights. They work hard to break down the many barriers preventing access to justice for the most vulnerable in our communities.
ATSILS CEO Shane Duffy is among the five inspiring Australians who have been named finalists for the 2016 Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Community Individual Award. It’s great to see his tireless commitment and leadership in advancing & protecting the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people recognised.
Shane is a descendant of the Kalkadoon people of North West Queensland and has worked in human services for more than 25 years specialising in child protection, youth justice and family support. Shane has been CEO of the QLD Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service for the past 11 years and is the current Co-Chair of the Change The Record Coalition looking to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system.
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/stories/inspiring-individuals-named-awards-finalists
It was fantastic to meet with key stakeholders in Townsville last week as we work to strengthen productive partnerships to enhance the delivery of our quality legal assistance, specialist court representation and some of our early intervention and prevention initiatives.
Our Stakeholder Engagement team had the privilege of spending time with:
Last week the Marketing and Communications team visited our Townsville office to capture some key insights into our specialist Court Support and Prisoner Throughcare roles. It was fantastic to hear about some of the innovative work they’re doing to support the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Our Prisoner Throughcare Program (PTC) in Townsville assist women, men and our young people at high risk of re-offending by connecting them to culture, community and support services relevant to their particular needs. The support networks the team design for each case provides clients with a strong platform for them to break their cycle of offending. The program is a prime example of a justice reinvestment approach in action with both proactive and reactive responses used to successfully divert many away from the criminal justice system.
It was also great to spend time with our Court Support Officers (CSOs) and it quickly became clear why they are the heart & soul of our culturally competent service delivery. Our CSOs are usually local people with strong connections to the community. They are highly skilled professionals that can effectively engage mob, enhance communication between our lawyers and clients and do their best to ensure mob understand their legal rights at all times. Our committed CSOs work hard to break down the many barriers preventing equal access to justice for the most vulnerable people in our communities.
A big thank you to Michael and all the team for their warm welcome and especially to the staff who took time out of their busy schedules to share their stories and talk about the inspiring work they’re doing on camera. Stay tuned for the upcoming video resources starring the deadly Townsville team.
Last week our Director of Communications and Sector Engagement Graham joined Di and Divina on the road to justice in South West Queensland. Graham got to see first hand the great work they do in assisting clients on rural and remote court circuits in this vast region.
The journey was a good opportunity to gain insight into the high demand for our services in these rural locations with the team working long days dealing with a high volume of matters and roughing it in the flash 5-star court facilities in towns like St George.
In many regions across this great state ATSILS undertake court circuits to ensure access to justice for the many mobs living in locations where no -one else will go. At the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service a critical element of our business model is making sure our services reach not only the socially disadvantaged but also the geographically disadvantaged in rural and remote locations.
