• Organisation: Office of the Legal Aid Commission
• Job Category: Legal and Justice / Solicitor
• Job Location: Central & North Coasts - Newcastle & Hunter Valley / Sydney Region / Sydney City / Sydney Greater West
• Work Type: Full Time
• Total Renumeration Package: Up to $146,956. Package includes salary ($129,311 - $131,799), employer's contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading

Are you looking for innovative, interesting work in a multi-disciplinary team? Are you committed to helping the most vulnerable members of our communities? Are flexible work arrangements and training, development, and mentoring opportunities important to you?

We are looking for lawyers to join our two specialist family law services. We have offices in different locations and provide face-to-face and ‘virtual’ services to people across NSW. 

Our Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) is a specialist team of lawyers, specialist domestic violence case workers, mental health workers and financial counsellors who work together to help clients who have experienced domestic and family violence with their legal and other needs.

We use a trauma-informed approach to provide advice and assistance, duty services at court, some complex casework and community legal education.

We are looking to create a talent pool of Senior Solicitors for the Domestic Violence Team at Newcastle and other locations across the State for ongoing or temporary vacancies we have over the next 18 months.

Our Early Intervention Unit (EIU) helps our high priority clients, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse people, sort out their family law and care and protection legal issues.

We provide duty services at all NSW registries of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. We also give advice and assistance at over 30 outreach locations each month and provide community legal education across the state.

We are looking to create a talent pool of Senior Solicitors for the Early Intervention Team at Parramatta and other locations across the State for ongoing or temporary vacancies we have over the next 18 months.

About us

We are the largest legal aid agency in Australia. We have an office in Central Sydney and 28 offices in metropolitan and regional centres in NSW — including 2 ‘satellite’ offices at Walgett and Bourke. We also have several specialist services and advice clinics.

If you work with us, you’ll work with people with disabilities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women and children, Indigenous people and people with mental illness who may need help to enforce and defend their rights.

About the role

You will:

• Provide legal advice, assistance, and some casework — including in more complex matters
• Attend outreach and duty services at court
• Manage relationships with our important stakeholders
• Senior solicitors will supervise and support junior legal staff in their work

About you

You’re a lawyer with experience in family law, an ability to respond to the needs of victims of domestic and family violence and commitment to delivering excellent service for clients.

You enjoy working in a multi-disciplinary team with social workers and financial counsellors.

You can maintain a busy practice while also supervising and supporting other solicitors.

You’ll also have experience managing stakeholder relationships and an enthusiasm for mentoring and developing others.

Essential requirements

You must:

• Be admitted, or eligible for admission, as a legal practitioner in NSW
• Be able to provide a valid Practising Certificate when you start
• Be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before you start
• Hold Australian or NZ citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency (essential for ongoing vacancies) or a valid working visa (for temporary vacancies)
• Have a driver’s licence
• Ability to travel to regional and remote areas
• Be willing to have a Criminal Record Check or Working with Children Check (or both) done 

The Family Law Division have a number of roles where it is a statutory obligation for staff to hold a valid Working with Children Check. If you are successfully placed on the Talent Pool, please note you will be required to provide your Working with Children Check details prior to commencement in any role requiring the check.

How to apply

You MUST submit your application online through, use the Apply Now link below and be redirected. If you submit your application late or by email it will NOT be accepted.

You should read the role descriptions and consider the focus capabilities and key accountabilities when you prepare your resume and cover letter:

• Role Description – Solicitor Grade IV – Domestic Violence Unit
• Role Description – Solicitor Grade IV – Early Intervention Uni

In your application, please attach:

• Your current resume (no more than 5 pages)
• A cover letter (no more than 2 pages). In your cover letter please respond to these questions: 

1. Please outline your relevant experience as a family lawyer and in providing community legal education to culturally diverse communities.
2. These roles require extensive stakeholder engagement. Please outline your experience in engaging with significant stakeholders within a work environment.  

Make sure your application is complete and you have answered all questions before you submit it.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion

We are committed to creating a culturally safe and genuinely inclusive organisation and workplace for everyone who works and interacts with us. We strive to be a place where people from diverse backgrounds want to work, where voices and cultures are valued and where people feel valued, welcomed, respected and heard.

We want a workforce that reflects our clients, so we can deliver a service that meets the needs of the community. We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, the LGBTQI+ community, culturally diverse people and other diverse communities. 

We acknowledge, support and accommodate the diverse access needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities. If you need an adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, or you’d like information about what we can do to help you, please contact our team at [email protected].

Other benefits of working with us

• You will have access to training, development and mentoring opportunities
• We are an accredited Flex Ready certified employer and are recognised as leaders in the area of flexible work. Most of our staff work flexibly — for example, from home some of the time or in a way that helps them balance family and work life

Other information to help you prepare 

We’ll use a few different assessment techniques in the recruitment process to help us assess your capability and suitability for the role. We may conduct interviews and assessments by video, telephone, Microsoft Teams meetings or other methods. 

We’ll use this recruitment to fill any current vacancies we have, and also to create a Talent pool we can draw from to fill any similar temporary or ongoing vacancies that may arise over the next 18 months.

If you have questions about the roles, you can contact the Hiring Managers:

• DVU – Gabrielle Cantrall on 02 4337 6653 or [email protected]
• EIU – Ruth Pilkinton on 02 9066 6068 or [email protected]

 For all enquiries please use the subject line: Solicitors / Legal Officers Grade IV – Family Law / Domestic Violence Unit & Early Intervention Unit - Flexible Location enquiry via EthicalJobs.

If you are an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and are thinking about applying, you can contact the Aboriginal Services Branch to arrange a confidential conversation about any questions you may have.

•  Applying for a Role 
•  Working at Legal Aid NSW