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| Redfern Legal Centre | |
|---|---|
| Name | Redfern Legal Centre |
| Type | Community legal centre |
| Location | Redfern, New South Wales, Australia |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Key people | Julian Burnside, Jenny Macklin, Dorothy Tangney |
| Services | Legal advice, casework, community education, law reform |
Redfern Legal Centre is a community legal centre based in Redfern, New South Wales, providing legal services, advocacy, and community education. Founded in the late 1970s, the centre operates within a network of Australian legal, social and health organisations and engages with public institutions, activist movements and legal reform bodies. Its work intersects with landmark matters, policy debates and grassroots campaigns across Sydney and beyond.
The organisation emerged during the era of community legal movements influenced by events such as the 1970s reform momentum, the activism of Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the urban campaigns surrounding Redfern Park, and responses to decisions like Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen. Early supporters included figures associated with Australian Council of Trade Unions, advocates from Law Council of Australia circuits, and academics from University of Sydney law faculties. The centre responded to crises highlighted by inquiries such as the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and inquiries into policing practices in New South Wales Police Force, engaging with civil liberties groups like the Australian Civil Liberties Union and social justice organisations including Mission Australia and Anglicare Australia. Over decades the centre adapted to shifts from the Whitlam Government era through reforms in the Howard Government period and into contemporary policy frameworks under state administrations like those led by New South Wales Labor Party.
Services include legal advice clinics influenced by models from the Law Society of New South Wales, pro bono arrangements with firms such as MinterEllison and Herbert Smith Freehills, and training partnerships with universities including University of New South Wales, University of Technology Sydney and Macquarie University. Programs address tenancy issues highlighted in rulings from the High Court of Australia and welfare matters related to legislation such as the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth), working with advocacy groups like Shelter NSW and Council of Social Service NSW. Health-justice partnerships echo initiatives from Legal Aid NSW and integrate referral pathways to services like Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service and wayside chapels-style outreach. Specialist clinics focus on employment law resonant with cases in the Fair Work Commission, family law aligned with judgments from the Family Court of Australia, and consumer matters paralleling actions under the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The centre’s advocacy has intersected with campaigns connected to Aboriginal rights movement organisations, anti-eviction protests near sites like Glebe, and housing policy debates involving bodies such as NSW Land and Housing Corporation. It has contributed submissions to inquiries like those conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission and engaged with inquiries into policing such as oversight by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission. Public education efforts mirror initiatives by groups including Justice Connect and Tenants' Union of NSW, while strategic litigation has involved matters touching on statutes like the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and civil liberties issues championed by the Human Rights Law Centre.
Governance structures reflect practices found in organisations such as the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission registrants and boards similar to those of Community Legal Centres NSW. Funding streams have included grants from bodies like Legal Aid NSW, project funding tied to federal agencies such as the Attorney-General of Australia portfolio, philanthropic contributions from trusts akin to the Ian Potter Foundation, and pro bono support from corporate firms like Allens and Clayton Utz. The centre has navigated funding dynamics present during policy periods under ministers including Mark Dreyfus and state ministers from the New South Wales Government.
The centre has been associated with strategic matters comparable to test cases heard by courts including the High Court of Australia and the Federal Court of Australia, and activism paralleling campaigns led by groups like Amnesty International Australia and Human Rights Watch. Campaigns have targeted policies linked to statutes such as the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and contested administrative actions overseen by bodies like the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The centre has also campaigned on tenancy reforms reminiscent of proposals debated in the New South Wales Parliament and on policing practices investigated in inquiries such as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Partnerships span legal education linked to faculties at University of New South Wales, clinical placements with University of Sydney, collaborative projects with specialist organisations like Women's Legal Service NSW, and networked action through Community Legal Centres Australia. Cross-sector collaborations include referrals to health providers such as Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service, social services like Mission Australia, and joint advocacy with unions including the National Tertiary Education Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union. International links mirror exchanges with entities such as Amnesty International chapters and legal aid models from organisations like Legal Aid England and Wales.
Category:Legal aid in Australia Category:Organisations based in Sydney