WOMEN’S LEGAL CENTREwomenslegalact.org/.../uploads/2015/04/2007-08-WLC-Annual-Report.pdf · Co-researchers are Andrew Byrnes ... for Non-Fiction. 103 books later, ... The Women’s

WLC Annual Report 2007/2008

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WOMEN’S LEGAL CENTRE

(ACT & REGION) INCORPORATED

TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT

2007/2008


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hat We Do &

reas of Law

The Women’s Legal Centre is a community legal centre for women in Canberra and the

surrounding area. The Centre is run by women and aims to improve women’s access to

justice by:

�� Providing legal information and advice

�� Referring to sympathetic lawyers and other support services

�� Running community legal education sessions

�� Producing information for women about their rights, the legal system and the law

�� Undertaking research, law reform and lobbying activities to improve women’s

access to justice

�� Publishing a quarterly newsletter about our activities

The Centre advises on a wide range of legal problems including:

�� Divorce and separation

�� Disputes over children

�� Property settlement

�� Domestic violence

�� Child support

�� Going to court

�� Discrimination

�� Unfair dismissal

�� Other employment rights

�� Compensation for criminal injuries

The Women’s Legal

Centre is funded by

the Indigenous

Justice & Legal

Assistance Division,

Commonwealth

Attorney General’s

Department.


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taff at the Women’s Legal Centre

oordinator/

Carol Benda

rincipal Solicitor

Josephine Thomis

currently on parental

leave

ocum Solicitor

Margie Rowe

uman Rights Solicitor

Heidi Yates

ndigenous Liaison

Officer

Traci Harris

ffice Manager

Iris Elgueta

rincipal Solicitor

Jill Heeley

olicitor

Rhonda Payget


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anagement Committee

Jessica Dickerson Member Resigned 18/2/08 Katie Firster Member Continuing Jennifer Fisher Member Continuing Kasey Fox Member Continuing Vera Kurz Convenor Continuing Yola Melgarejo Member Continuing Margie Rowe Member Continuing Louise Taylor Assistant Convenor Continuing Julie Whitmore Treasurer Continuing Belinda Barnard Member Appointed 31/3/08 Carol Benda Member Continuing

ATRON Professor Hilary Charlesworth

I have been working on two major research projects over the last year. One is on the working of

the ACT Human Rights Act since its introduction in 2004. Co-researchers are Andrew Byrnes

(UNSW) and Gabrielle McKinnon (ANU). We have just finished a book called Bills of Rights in

Australia: Politics, History, Law, to be published by UNSW Press on Human Rights Day 2008.

We hope that the book will assist the national consultation on a charter of rights.

The other research project concerns justice and democracy in post-conflict societies - what

works and what doesn’t. An edited collection of papers will be published in the new year on this

topic. I also hope to finish a book on women and their role in peace

building with Christine Chinkin of the LSE in the new year.

One of the most enjoyable tasks of the last year has been as Chair of

the Judging Panel for the inaugural Prime Minister's Literary Award

for Non-Fiction. 103 books later, I have learned a great deal. I recom-

mend the winner, Philip Jones' Ochre and Rust, as a great Christmas

gift!


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onvenor’s Report

era Kurz Now in its 12th year of operation, the Women’s Legal Centre continues to

move from strength to strength. For such a small organisation, the

Centre manages to get through a prodigious amount of work, and this is

in large part due to the hard working and dedicated staff – Traci Harris;

Indigenous Liaison Worker, Heidi Yates; Solicitor, Rhonda Payget;

Solicitor, Carol Benda; Coordinator, Iris Elgueta; Office Manager and

Jill Heeley; Solicitor, who has stepped in to fill the shoes of Josephine

Thomis, off on maternity leave after giving birth to beautiful baby

Michael. The Centre is extremely fortunate to have such an

enthusiastic and experienced team, and I wish to acknowledge their valuable contribution.

In the 2007/2008 financial year, the Centre saw over 900 women. I am confident that clients receive the

highest possible standard of service, a view reinforced by the consistently positive feedback received by

the Women’s Legal Centre.

The Centre once again ran LawSupport, a practical legal training course for community workers. This

has become a fixture in the ACT community training calendar, and receives excellent reviews from

participants. This year the course was attended by 27 participants.

The topic for the hosting of this year’s Women and Justice Forum was “Access to Justice for Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Women” an event well attended by the community sector. The topic generated

considerable interest and led to follow up meetings to continue dialogue on this issue.

The Women’s Legal Centre has continued to be involved in a wide range of community legal education

sessions and workshops, which it is frequently requested to deliver. It has also participated in various

law reform activities, including writing submissions on screening at Family Relationships Centres and

improvements to Domestic Violence law. Achieving the appropriate balance of work between direct

client service, community legal education and law reform can be challenging, as there is high demand for

each aspect of service delivery . The Centre is well placed to make an important contribution to discus-

sion in relation to key local and national law reform debates.

Finally, the Centre is extremely fortunate to attract the support of a wonderful management committee,

full of enthusiasm and passion, and volunteer lawyers and students, who willingly give up their time to

aid the Centre in so many ways. I would like to thank them for all for their wonderful efforts. I would

also like to thank the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department for their continued support and

funding. Also, the ACT Government who assisted the Centre by funding the Indigenous Women’s Law

Support project over the past 2 years.

Vera Kurz

Convenor


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ndigenous Women’s Project he Project

The Indigenous Women’s Project operates to assist Indigenous

women with a broad range of legal matters in areas including

family, discrimination, victim’s compensation and employment

law. The Project has established itself in Canberra’s Indigenous

community, providing Indigenous women with culturally-

appropriate legal and justice related services.

ndigenous Liaison Officer

The Indigenous Liaison Officer (ILO) assists with a great many practical challenges that may

ordinarily act as barriers to Indigenous women receiving legal advice and exercising their legal

rights. For example, the ILO attends legal appointments with clients, connects them to other

support agencies and offers ongoing follow up and support through phone calls and home

visits. The ILO’s strong relationship with the ACT Indigenous community has had an enormous

impact on the success of the Project. It is the development and growth of such relationships

that are central to the Centre’s ability to meet the legal needs of Indigenous women.

he Year’s Highlight’s

Apology

The Prime Minister’s Apology to the Stolen Generations—13 February 2008. A date that will

remain with us forever.

Presentation to Students

The ILO addressed year 9,10,11 and 12 students

on Leadership at Merici College during their

NAIDOC week assembly.

Listening Tour 2008

On 6 February the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Brod-

erick visited the Centre to meet with Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander women as part of her Listening Tour in Canberra.

The discussion gave Aboriginal women an

opportunity to discuss the discrimination

and hardship they face in their everyday

lives.

This Project is

proudly assisted

by the Australian

Capital Territory

Government as

part of the

Community

Inclusion Fund

ILO—Traci Harris


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ndigenous Women’s Project (continued)

ommunity Event & Activities

Once again, the ILO participated in a large range of meetings,

networks, panels, community events, outreach work and

forums. This work occurred on top of the ILO’s daily support

work with Centre clients. These activities included:

� NAIDOC Week Events

� OCFYS Forum—’Listening & Responding’

� ‘Nannies group’ meetings at the Centre

� Yinar Winangali Network meeting

� Crime prevention workshop

� Koori Womens network meetings

� YWCA Women Speak Gathering

� Career Development Forum

� Prison Inclusive Practises Workshop

� Canberra Rape Crisis Centre Art Workshop

for Survivors of Sexual Assault

lients

The majority of Indigenous women assisted by the WLC have complex needs. The number of

hours spent on average with each Indigenous client is far greater than that spent on average

with non-Indigenous clients. The

graph demonstrates the total number

of hours spent per year with

Indigenous clients over a 6 year period.

The figures for 08/09 are projected on

the basis of data from

the first three months

of this financial year.

This Project is

proudly assisted

by the Australian

Capital Territory

Government as

part of the

Community

Inclusion Fund

In 2008 the WLC surveyed Indigenous women accessing

the Centre.

Overwhelmingly, feedback from these clients focussed on the importance of having an Indigenous worker and the importance of women

being able to access a women-only service staffed entirely

by women.

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09

Case Study

In November 2007, the ILO organised for the WLC solicitor to do a home visit to an Aboriginal woman who could not visit the Centre as she was the full-time carer for an elderly relative who was too sick to travel. During the home visit, several people came to the house to ask the WLC solicitor for advice. The Solicitor ended up providing 4 women with advice regarding 6 different matters and referring 3 men to Legal Aid and the Aboriginal Legal Service....it was a busier afternoon than expected!


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egal Service

The Women’s Legal Centre offers free confidential telephone advice and information

Monday to Friday 9.30am to 12.00 noon.

Face-to-face appointments are offered in the afternoon, some mornings and every second

Tuesday evening.

Tuesday evening appointments are carried out by the Centre’s volunteer solicitors.

Face-to-face appointments have to be booked in advance as the Centre is not a drop-in service.

Appointments are offered when, for example, documents need to be viewed or an interpreter is

needed. The Centre provides additional assistance as necessary, for example, help with filling in

forms or drafting letters. Further support is provided in exceptional circumstances, for example,

help in negotiating a family law settlement or conciliating an employment dispute or

discrimination complaint.

Case Study In 2007, the Centre was approached by a 52 year old woman who had been working approximately 50 hours a week on a ‘casual’ basis for the past 7 years at a local hotel. The client was given 2 weeks unpaid leave to undergo major emergency surgery . When she returned to work, she found her employment had been terminated. The Centre assisted the client to make an unlawful termination application and represented her at the Industrial Relations Commission. The client was very pleased when the Centre solicitor was able to help her negotiate a reasonable settlement, avoiding the need for further legal proceedings.


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Client Satisfaction Survey

Every three years the Centre is required to undertake a client satisfaction survey. Each client who accesses the Centre over a two week period are asked a series of questions. While the results demonstrate the problems of our very busy advice line it also confirms the Centre strives to give excellent client satisfaction. Overwhelmingly the majority of clients found it difficult to access the Centre. We receive feed-back from clients and other services that clients find it difficult to get through on the advice line. Unfortunately, while we recognise this is a problem the resources of the Centre do not allow us to operate the advice line more than we currently do. The staff at the Centre work very hard at ensuring clients are given the assistance they require promptly. The results of the second question clearly demonstrate this to be the case. The majority of clients said that they ‘understood very well’ the advice they were given. This is also a very pleasing result as it demonstrates that the solicitors at the Centre are able to explain complex procedures and options to our clients in language they understand.

1) How easy was it to contact or

visit the Centre?

2) How quickly did the

Centre’s service respond to

your enquiry?

3) Did you understand the advice

you were given?

Difficult

OK

Easy

Not Stated

Not Quickly

Enough

Quickly Enough

Very Quickly

Not Stated

Not At All

Understood

Understood

Very Well

Not Stated


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egal Service Statistics

Statistical information about our clients and the areas of law about which they seek advice are

given below. This information is drawn from the Community Legal Services Information Scheme

database administered by our major funder, the Indigenous Justice and Legal Assistance

Division, Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.

lients Assisted In 2007/2008:

�� 909 clients were assisted

�� 2,972 advice activities were undertaken

�� 333 information activities were undertaken

�� The Centre worked on 52 cases during the year

The number of cases increased from 44 in 2006/2007 to 52 in 2007/2008. The work under-

taken on a case can be extremely time consuming. This work can involve:

�� Drafting letters

�� Drafting court documents

�� Advising the client about negotiation and court processes

�� Assisting clients to apply for Legal Aid

�� Assisting clients to apply for reconsideration or review of a Legal Aid decision

�� Representing the client in court, tribunals and commissions.

Cases are divided into three categories depending on the amount of time spent on each.

The time spent on cases for the year was divided as:

Minor Case work 0-5 hours 7 cases

Medium Case work 6-20 hours 32 cases

Major Case work >20 hours 12 cases

Note: The Centre’s resources were far outstripped by the number of requests we received for

assistance in 2007/2008. WLC receives multiple phone calls on our administrative line each

day from women stating that they have not been able to speak to the solicitor on the advice line.

We also receive emails from women who have given up trying to get through on the advice line

and try to email us their query. We estimate that we receive approximately 800-1000 such calls

and emails per year. When clients do get through on the advice line, many begin the

conversation with a comment about the difficulty of access. We also receive regular calls from

other services phoning on behalf of clients because the client could not access our service. The

Centre continues to lobby for increased funding to assist us to better serve our client base.


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ho Are Our Clients?

lace of Birth

625 clients gave this information. 15% of these clients were born in a non-English speaking

country. Our clients come from around 55 different countries. The majority of clients were

born in Australia, then England, China, New Zealand, India and the Philippines.

ndigenous Clients

The Centre’s Indigenous Women’s Law Support Project (IWLSP) commenced in 2006. One of

the Project’s most important outcomes has been a substantial

increase in the number of Indigenous women accessing the Centre

and receiving legal assistance. The Indigenous Liaison Officer,

Traci Harris, has forged strong links with a range of community

organisations and plays a key role in assisting these organisations

to make their services accessible to Indigenous women. Traci has

also been appointed to a number of local and national representa-

tive roles focused on Access to Justice for Indigenous women.

The Centre has seen the following increase in Indigenous clients since the commencement of the

project:

2006/2007 100% increase on previous year

2007/2008 12% increase on previous year

2008/2009 estimated 170% increase on previous year (based on first 3 months of 08/09)

(For a more details on the IWLSP, see pages 6-7)

832 clients gave

information on their age

under 18

18-34

35-49

50-64

over 65

Client Age


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ncome Levels

881 clients gave the Centre information about their income. 63% of these clients defined them-

selves as having a low income, 25% as having a medium income and 12% as having a high in-

come.

A person is on a low income if their income is less than $26,000 pa. A person is on a medium

income if their income is between $26,000 pa and $52,000 pa and on a high income if their

income exceeds $52,000 pa. In accordance with the Centre’s means test, further assistance

beyond initial telephone advice is generally restricted to those on low incomes.

here our clients live

626 clients gave this information. 91% of clients live in the ACT.

The remainder 9% were mostly from the surrounding NSW area.

ethod of Service Delivery

Advice and information were given to our clients in the following ways:

Telephone 66%

Face to Face 14%

Mail 17%

Email 3%

Telephone

Face to Face

Mail

Email

Legal Advice & Information


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reas of Law

The 3,271 instances of legal advice and information dealt with 6,369 problems (each advice

often covers more than one problem type). The 6,369 problem types can be divided into three

key areas of law:

∗∗∗∗ Relationship breakdown 4,950

∗∗∗∗ Civil law 1,186

∗∗∗∗ Criminal law 94

elationship Breakdown

The 4,970 relationship breakdown law problems were made up of the following:

Contact & Residency 43% Child Support 3%

Property 24% Child/Spousal Maintenance 4%

Domestic Violence 13% Child Protection 3%

Divorce & Separation 9% Other Family Law 1%

ivil Law

The matters dealt with under civil law were:

Employment 29%

Discrimination 30%

Injuries 12%

Other Civil Law 29%

riminal Law

The matters dealt with under criminal law were:

Offences against Persons 67%

Offences against property and other offences 33%

Relationship

Breakdown

78%

Civil Law

20%

Criminal Law

2%

Problem Types

Relationship

Breakdown

Civil Law

Criminal Law


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ommunity Legal Education The Women’s Legal Centre undertakes a number of community legal education activities each

year. Below is a list of some of the workshops and seminars held during 07/08.

awSupport Once again ,the Centre ran the it’s popular 2 day ‘Lawsupport’ train-

ing course. ‘Lawsupport’ is designed for community workers,

support workers, court personnel, counsellors, mediators and mem-

bers of the public. It aims to give participants information and

resources to assist them to support clients dealing with family law

and domestic violence matters.

‘Lawsupport’ training covers the following:

�� Family law, domestic violence & an overview of the

Australian legal system

�� Supporting people dealing with the legal system

�� Looking at how personal values impact client-support

relationships

omen and Justice Forum On the 14th May 2008, the Women's Legal Centre held it’s Annual

Women & Justice Forum as a part of Law Week.

We were fortunate to have Larissa Behrendt as the guest speaker.

The topic chosen for the forum was ‘Access to Justice for Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Women’. Larissa gave an excellent over-

view of the current problems Indigenous people are facing in relation

to the Northern Territory intervention. Larissa also spoke about the

many problems Indigenous people face elsewhere in Australia.

Prior to the lunchtime Forum, the Centre also held a workshop with

Larissa Behrendt involving key stakeholders in the community

sector. Workshop discussion focused on the problems Indigenous women face in accessing

community services in the ACT.

Participants also explored ways in which our services could breakdown the barriers to access.

Overall, there were 14 participants in the Workshop, and over 90 people in attendance at the

forum.

Professor Larissa Behrendt


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ther Community Legal Education

�� “Hypothetical” The voice of the Child in Family Dispute

Resolution. The Centre participated in this hypothetical scenario

which illustrated the various pathways available to separated or

separating couples attempting to navigate parenting after

Separation.

�� The Centre hosted a Vietnamese Legal Aid delegation where we shared comparative

information regarding our Legal Aid and Court Systems.

�� Centre staff were invited to speak about the difficulties Indigenous women face accessing

the legal system at the ‘Australian Lawyers for Human Rights International Women’s Day

Forum’.

Community Education sessions were also run for

Groups including:

�� Canberra Girls’ Grammar on employment and discrimination issues for young women

�� Women’s Information and Referral Centre on family law matters (every 6 weeks)

�� University of Canberra Family Law Class

�� Australian National University Law Students Society

�� ACT Community Housing & Gungahlin Child and Family Centre

�� YWCA Young Mum’s Group on family law matters

�� DVCS training on domestic violence orders and personal protection orders

ccess, Equity & Community Development Work

Centre Staff participated in the following networks:

� ACT Family Pathways Network � Free Legal Advice Forum

� ACT Community Legal Centres Forum � ACT Women’s Services Network

� ACT Women & Prisons Network � ACT Human Rights Act Network

� ACT Court Stakeholder’s Forum � Legal Aid Forum

� Law Society Pro Bono Clearinghouse Assessment Panel & Management Committee

� National Association of Community Legal Centre networks, including:

� Administration Network

� National Association of Community Legal Centres’ LGBTI Network

� Women’s Legal Services Australia

� Access to Justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women Network


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ommunity Activities: Each year the Centre supports various community organisations with their events. This year the Centre participated in the following:

�� NAIDOC Day Stall

�� ANU White Ribbon Fair

�� ANU Law Student's Society Careers Night

�� Young Lawyers function

�� Gungahlin Interagency Meeting

�� ACTEWAGL Contact Canberra

�� WomenSpeak

�� International Women’s Day

�� Domestic Violence Crisis Service 20th Birthday

varian Cancer Breakfast

Each year the Centre holds a fundraising breakfast to promote and

raise funds for women’s health. This year the staff decided to fundraise

for Ovarian Cancer. The breakfast was a huge success raising over

$900.00 for ovarian cancer research.

each Out and make a Difference The Centre was fortunate to receive funding through the

ACT Office for Women’s ‘Women’s Grants Program’ to

run a domestic violence campaign in 2007/2008. The

campaign was designed to make people in the community

aware that Domestic violence is not acceptable, and we

can all make a difference when it comes to preventing the

use of violence in our homes and communities. The

Centre’s campaign involved the development and

distribution of three different brochures. Each brochure provides a brief overview of an

individual’s experience with domestic violence, highlighting the fact that sometimes taking

simple steps to ‘reach out’ to someone who may have been experiencing violence can make

a huge difference . The brochures have been warmly received by a range of community

service and health providers.

Joan Palmer won

first prize

Minister Katy Gallagher launching the brochures

White Ribbon Fair ANU


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aw Reform

The Centre contributed to a wide range of law reform activities in 2007/2008. In addition to written submissions, the Centre participated in a number of ongoing law-reform projects and meetings, a selection of which are outlined below.

Women’s Legal Services Australia

In July 2007, Heidi Yates took on Rosemary Budavari’s previous role as ACT representative on the National Association of Community Legal Centres’ ‘Women’s Legal Services Austra-lia’ (WLSA) network. WLSA is a national group of community legal centres specialising in women’s issues. WLSA has a particular interest in ensuring that women experiencing domestic violence are adequately protected in the family law process, and that disadvantaged women, such as those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Indigenous women, women with disabilities and rural women are not further disadvantaged by the Family Law process. Through WLSA, the Centre collaborates with colleagues from around Australia in lobbying for improved access to justice for women across a range of areas. In 2008, WLSA members attended monthly phone link-ups and two face-to-face meetings, including a two-day strategic planning session. Thanks to support from the Federal Attorney-General’s Department, WLSA was able to run a two day training workshop for Community Legal Centre staff in March 2008 entitled ‘Working in the New Family Law Environment’.

Written Submissions

The Centre wrote or contributed to the following submissions in 2007/2008:

� Comments on the Family Court of Australia’s Guidelines for use in parenting disputes where family violence or child abuse is alleged.

� Submission (and face-to-face consultation) regarding the Government’s report to the United Nations on Australia’s implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Australia’s Accession to the CEDAW Optional Protocol.

� Submission to the Federal Attorney General regarding Family Relationship Centres and Family Violence.

� Submission to the Productivity Commission on their National Inquiry into Paid Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave.

� Letter to the Attorney-General’s Department on the proposed Framework for screening, assessment and referrals in Family Relationship Centres and the Family Relationship Advice Line.

� Submission on the Australian Government’s Green Paper, Which Way Home? A National Approach to Homelessness focusing specifically on Domestic Violence as a major cause of homeless-ness in Australia.

� Comments to Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Tania Plibersek (Minister for the Status of Women) on key law reform priorities for 2008/2009.


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Meetings

The Centre participated in a range of Law Reform meetings including discussions with:

� the Restorative Justice Unit regarding the development of Restorative Justice Guidelines for use in Family Violence Matters.

� the Family Pathways Branch of the Federal Attorney-General’s Department regarding the Centre’s work and how Victims of Family Violence can be best supported in the Family Law process.

� the ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety regarding amendments to the Domestic Violence and Personal Protection Orders Act 2001.

� the ACT Women & Prison’s group regarding Access to Justice issues for women at the new Alexander Maconachie Centre.

� community stakeholders regarding the need for a Mental Health Legal Centre in the ACT.

Other Law Reform Activities

Some of the Centre’s other Law Reform Activities for 2007/2008 include:

� Coordinating and drafting material for the ‘family life’ chapters of the two Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity: Action (‘FREDA’) reports, comprising:

• the major NGO Report to the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights regarding Australia’s implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and

• the major NGO Report to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding Australia’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

� Participating in a panel presentation and discussion at three Attorney-General’s Department training sessions for new Family Relationship Centre staff, including discussion about the implementation of the 2006 Family Law Amendments.

� Representing the National Association of Community Legal Centres at the Federal Government’s National Roundtable on People Trafficking.

� Participating in community consultations regarding the Federal Government’s new National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children.

� Raising issues in relation to the impact of Work Choices and amendments to Unfair Dismissal laws on women earning minimum wages at the National Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s ‘Listening Tour’ community consultation.

� Presenting Law Reform Papers at the 2007 National Association of Community Legal Centres’ Annual Conference in Brisbane titled:

• Love in a Very Cold Climate: the Continuing Heterosexism of “Family” Law in Australia

• Indigenous Women’s Law and Justice: An ACT Project.


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olunteer and Pro Bono Work

The Centre was fortunate to receive help in a number of ways from volunteers during the year.

20 solicitors gave up their time to assist the Centre with its Tuesday evening advice service.

The Tuesday evening service provided over 100 hours of client assistance during the year. Many

more voluntary hours, including some pro bono hours, are provided by solicitors in their offices.

We would like to thank the following solicitors for their help and support:

�� Meredith Allen, Farrar Gesini & Dunn

�� Fiona Bowden, Elrington, Boardman & Allport

�� Barbara Campbell, Campbell & Co

�� Lois Clifford, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson

�� Julie Dobinson, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson

�� Andrea Evans, Evans Yeend Family Lawyers

�� Kasey Fox, Farrar, Gesini & Dunn

�� Judy Harrison, ANU

�� Melinda Luke, Lessli Strong & Associates

�� Pam Lyndon, McGuinness Eley

�� Alison Osmond, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson

�� Rhonda Payget, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson

�� Elizabeth Bell, Farrar Gesini & Dunn

�� Di Simpson, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson

�� Brigitte Smithies, Legal Aid Office (ACT)

�� Lou Pope, pappas j attorney

�� Lessli Strong, Lessli Strong & Associates

�� Anna Szczepanek, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson

�� Gillian Yeend, Evans Yeend Family Lawyers

�� Rosa Raco, Deacons

�� Fergus Thomson, Silk Chambers

Alison Osmond

Andrea Evans

Lou Pope


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raining and Student Supervision

Each year the Centre is fortunate to have a number of students and graduates volunteer their

time at the Centre. These volunteers undertake office administration and legal research tasks.

The students each spent an average of 2 hours per week at the Centre throughout the year.

We acknowledge and thank the following students and graduates for their help over the 07/08

year, we heavily depend on their generous assistance to keep the Centre running.

�� Ashleigh Benda

�� Rose Bollard

�� Thea Coventry

�� Georgia Hitch

�� Victoria Jackson

�� Lynn Nguyen

�� Sneha Rangnath

�� Caroline Rozano

�� Marina Salas Lynn Nguyen

Georgia Hitch


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OMEN’S LEGAL CENTRE

(ACT & REGION) INCORPORATED

Financial Statements

For The Year Ended 30th June, 2008

Houston & Hanna

Chartered Accountants

15/11 McKay Gardens

TURNER ACT 2601

Phone: 02-62498515 Fax: 02-62496792

Email: [email protected]


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omen’s Legal Centre (ACT & Region) Inc.


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Documents

WOMEN’S LEGAL CENTREwomenslegalact.org/.../uploads/2015/04/2007-08-WLC-Annual-Report.pdf · Co-researchers are Andrew Byrnes ... for Non-Fiction. 103 books later, ... The Women’s