ROLE SUMMARY

The Health Justice Partnership (HJP) Solicitor will be key to ACDL’s Health Justice Partnership project with South-Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) Community Mental Health Service (Health Partner).  This is an exciting project for ACDL which will run until at least June 2025.  Your role will be focused on providing legal advice and assistance to patients of the community mental health service, in the South-Western Sydney Area.  This role will be best suited to a lawyer who has strong generalist legal skills in a number of civil law areas, such as fines/consumer law, family law and domestic violence, guardianship, employment law, tenancy law, disability discrimination law. Experience in criminal law or understanding of criminal processes also advantageous.

Your work will involve working closely with medical and allied health staff of our Health Partner in Bankstown, providing legal advice and assistance (where appropriate) ongoing legal representation, developing and running training / legal education for health staff in relation to legal issues, and working closely with other legal service providers with respect to referrals of clients.  

A position description is appended below.

ACDL OVERVIEW

The Australian Centre for Disability Law (ACDL) is a specialist legal centre based in Sydney, which operates a disability discrimination law practice across NSW, and a disability and human rights law practice across Australia. It was established in 1994 to assist people with disability and their associates to learn about and pursue their rights under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).

ACDL is governed by a community-based Management Committee and is staffed by an Executive Officer/Principal Solicitor, 4 solicitors and volunteers.  ACDL IS co-located with a national peak disability advocacy organisation in 2014.

ESSENTIAL SELECTION CRITERIa 

Applicants are required to respond to the following essential selection criteria:

1. Hold or eligible to hold a practising certificate in NSW and at least three (3) years’ post admission experience.
2. Demonstrated understanding and experience in at least two areas of law affecting people with mental health conditions, such as fines/consumer law, family law and domestic violence, criminal law, guardianship, employment law, tenancy law, disability discrimination law. 
3. Demonstrated understanding and commitment to social justice, as well as the ability to identify legal and non-legal issues facing people with mental health conditions.
4. Capacity to undertake independent legal research in relation to new and varied legal problems, upskill and problem solve to achieve legal outcomes. a.
5. Willingness and ability to travel to Bankstown on a two-day per week basis.
6. Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to effectively communicate with people from diverse backgrounds.
7. Demonstrated ability to work autonomously with minimal supervision, manage program priorities, undertake own administration, maintain data entry, engage in ongoing evaluation activities, prepare reports and assist in the general day to day administration of the HJP.
8. Work professionally and collaboratively with team members and Health Partner stakeholders to provide legal and non-legal support to people with mental health conditions and their associates.

DESIRABLE

1. Project management experience.
2. Civil litigation and ADR experience, including representation at mediation or conciliation.
3. Insight / familiarity with mental health services.
4. A current drivers licence.

Pre-Employment Checks

• Criminal record check
• Working with Children Check

APPLYING FOR THE POSITION 

To apply for this position, you will need to carefully read the selection criteria. 

All applications must include a covering letter, CV and individual responses to the Essential Selection Criteria and Desirable Selection Criteria. Each selection criterion should appear as a heading with your response below.  Applicants who do not individually address each of the selection criteria will not be interviewed.

People with disability and their associates, people from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait background or culturally and linguistically diverse background are encouraged to apply. 

For enquiries, phone Anastacia Totoeva on 0448 780 103.

Suitable candidates will be interviewed on a rolling basis upon receipt of applications, so please apply at your earliest opportunity.

A full position description is attached.