Community Legal Centres NSW

18/06/2026

Do you care about Human Rights?

🗓️ You have until 3 July 2026 to make a submission to NSW Parliament's Human Rights Bill inquiry.

This inquiry is an essential step towards getting a Human Rights Act in NSW.

Currently, NSW has no human rights protections. A Human Rights Act would mean our government has to consider human rights whenever it creates new laws and policies.

The NSW Parliament wants to hear from you about the importance of a Human Rights Act and why it matters to you personally.

📢 To make your voice heard, visit the Human Rights Act for NSW website and use our Submission Guide to write a clear and effective submission: https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0-4m00

16/06/2026

🚨Attention all Sydney-based community workers🚨

The Victims Services Training for Community Workers is coming to Marrickville Library next Monday, 22 June 2026.

This training will help community workers navigate the Victims Support Scheme application process and ensure that victim survivors are receiving the payment they are owed.

The process of applying for financial recognition is complex and small mistakes often lead to applications being denied. Join us next Monday to learn how to achieve successful Victims Support outcomes for your clients.

If you're a social worker, health worker, or community worker, this training is for you!

🗓️ 22 June 2026, 9:30am - 4:30pm
📍Marrickville Library Pavilion Hall

Register: https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0ZHjw0

15/06/2026

Meet Alana Brennan, a student in the Community Legal Centres NSW Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program.

Alana is studying Law and International Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. Her mob is Dharawal. Alongside her studies, Alana works full-time with the Gujaga Foundation, a Dharawal language organisation, where she teaches Dharawal language to children in pre-schools and primary schools.

Alana is undertaking her two-week placement at Central Coast Community Legal Centre through the CLCNSW Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program. She is passionate about the legal system and its potential to support and empower disadvantaged communities, and hopes to build a career in humanitarian and human rights law and advocacy.

Alana's interests include human rights, international law, civil disputes, working with children, and addressing violence against women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Through the internship, she is looking forward to gaining practical experience and learning more about how community legal centres help people access justice.

The CLCNSW Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and emerging professionals to gain hands-on experience with community legal centres serving regional and rural NSW communities.

🔗Read more about the Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program here: https://www.clcnsw.org.au/first-nations-rural-regional-and-remote-internship

10/06/2026

10/06/2026

✨ New South Wales is one step closer to a Human Rights Act, with NSW Parliament currently holding an inquiry into the Human Rights Bill 2025.

Submissions to the Inquiry are due by 5pm, Friday 3 July 2026.

This is an historic opportunity to tell our parliamentarians that we want our state to legally protect human rights for all NSW residents.

To make sure the inquiry is a success, it’s important that the Inquiry hears from as many people and organisations as possible about how their communities will benefit from a Human Rights Act.

The Human Rights Act for NSW Alliance has created submission guides, a template and other resources to help you get started with a submission.

🔗 Access the submission guide and resources here: https://bit.ly/4ol6DNa

09/06/2026

🚨There are only three days left to Have Your Say on the NSW Government's use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to police the Moree community🚨

These remotely piloted police drones were introduced to Moree in early 2026 in response to perceived high rates of youth crime.

According to several representatives of human rights organisations, the program infringes upon the privacy of the Moree community and is likely to contribute to existing police mistrust, in particular among Moree's Aboriginal community.

This was highlighted by Aboriginal Legal Service Principal Solicitor Lauren Stefanou, “Any further over-policing and surveillance of Aboriginal communities seriously risks further damaging police-community relations.”

Community Legal Centres NSW's Executive Director, Sarah Marland has also expressed concerns about the program, “The government should be supporting families and communities to help kids in trouble get out of harmful cycles. Law and order auctions don’t make people safer.”

If you have concerns about the Moree drone program, you have until Friday 12 June 11:59pm to share your thoughts: https://bit.ly/4awdjCf

To gain a better understanding of the program, read these articles:
👉 https://bit.ly/3ScYyOt

👉 https://ab.co/4agGjxS

09/06/2026

Meet Olivia McKenny, a participant in the Community Legal Centres NSW Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program.

Olivia is a proud Gamilaraay and Wiradjuri woman studying a Bachelor of Laws at the University of New England. Alongside her studies, Olivia works at Miromaa, an Indigenous language centre, where she says she has learned a great deal about identity and culture. She describes this work as an important part of her journey into law.

Olivia took her two-week placement at Western NSW Community Legal Centre through the CLCNSW Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program. She is deeply passionate about becoming a lawyer and advocating for First Nations people, Country, ancestors, and future generations.

Olivia's interests include social justice, human rights, criminal law, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, and the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The CLCNSW Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and emerging professionals to gain hands-on experience with community legal centres serving regional and rural NSW communities.

🔗Read more about the Rural, Regional and Remote Internship Program here: https://www.clcnsw.org.au/first-nations-rural-regional-and-remote-internship

02/06/2026

*Important information for people supporting victim-survivors*

Did you know there will be an alert test on all mobile devices across Australia on 27 July 2pm AEST? There will also be community testing in select locations between 10 to 21 June 2026.

The Australian Government is launching AusAlert – a new national warning system that sends emergency messages to compatible mobile devices.

The national AusAlert resources for the domestic and family violence sector are now available - designed to support services to begin preparing staff, clients and communities ahead of upcoming AusAlert testing.

The kit (available here https://bit.ly/4vmVrlh) includes practical resources for services, including posters, factsheets, social media content, explainer animations and translated materials.

Domestic Violence NSW

27/05/2026

Today marks the beginning of National Reconciliation Week.

This year’s NRW theme, All In, reminds us that reconciliation is not passive work. It requires action, accountability and commitment, every day.

We all have a responsibility to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, support self-determination, strengthen partnerships with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, advocate for systemic change, and continue building a more culturally safe and capable sector for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients, communities and workers.

Community legal centre workers in NSW will have received an invitation to our NRW event next week on strengthening Reconciliation Action Plans through locally informed self-determination. We encourage workers to attend.

🔗 Find out more about National Reconciliation Week here: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/our-work/national-reconciliation-week/

26/05/2026

Today, on National Sorry Day, we acknowledge the harm caused by the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, communities and cultures.

This year marks 29 years since the Bringing Them Home report documented the devastating impacts of the Stolen Generations and called for truth, justice and reparations.

Almost three decades later, many of the report’s key recommendations remain unimplemented, with only 5 out of 83 recommendations fully carried out.

The impacts of these policies continue today, including through the ongoing overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care systems.

This year’s National Sorry Day theme, “From Sorry to Action”, reminds us that acknowledgement alone is not enough.

For Community Legal Centres, action means listening to First Nations communities, supporting self-determination, working in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, and advocating for meaningful law and policy reform.

Stolen Generations survivors need:
• culturally safe and affordable aged care, health and healing services
• prioritised access to records that hold their histories and stories
• access to redress, regardless of the state or territory they were removed from.

Learn more about National Sorry Day:
https://healingfoundation.org.au/stolen-generations/national-sorry-day/

Read the Bringing Them Home report:
https://humanrights.gov.au/resource-hub/older-peoples-rights/bringing-them-home-full-contents-page