• Award / Classification: ​Level 7 or 8.1 Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (“SCHCADS”)
• Position Status:​​​ 35 hours per week, permanent
• Working Hours / Days​​: Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm (or as otherwise agreed)
• Salary Range:​ Salary range $102,546.00 - $120,331.12 depending on experience, (plus 11% employer superannuation, leave loading, salary packaging options, plus an additional 3 weeks paid ex gratia leave, inclusive of public holidays, over the Christmas/New Year period).
• Responsible to:​​​ Principal Solicitor

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. We were 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, a senior solicitor, four part-time solicitors, a paralegal and a team of 5 volunteers, including volunteer solicitors from law firms. 

ROLE SUMMARY 

The role of the Solicitor or Senior Solicitor is to provide legal services in disability discrimination and generalist areas of law to people with disability and their associates, supervision of the Advice Line service and other outreach clinics, undertaking projects in community legal education, legal reform, legal policy analysis and other projects as they arise. The Senior Solicitor role will have management responsibility over the Adviceline legal practice.

This position will require travel to locations outside the Sydney metropolitan area to deliver legal services at outreach clinics and community legal education seminars.

This role comprises the following legal services:

1. Legal information and referral
2. Legal advice and tasks
3. Casework, including representation at court and tribunals
4. Legal policy analysis and law reform
5. Community legal education 
6. Attending outreach clinics in metropolitan Sydney and rural, remote and regional areas.

ESSENTIAL SELECTION CRITERIA

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

• Hold or eligible to hold an unrestricted practising certificate in NSW and at least three (3) years’ post admission experience and 5 years post admission and supervisory experience for the Senior Solicitor role.
• Demonstrated understanding and experience, or the capacity to acquire understanding, in disability discrimination legislation and other disability-related legislation, policies and practices, and experience in at least two other areas of law affecting people with disability such as trustee and guardianship, employment law, fines, consumer law, family law and domestic violence. 
• Civil litigation experience, including representation at conciliation conferences in the Australian Human Rights Commission, Anti-Discrimination NSW or Fair Work Commission.
• Undertaking legal research, law reform projects, legal policy analysis, community legal education, outreach programs throughout NSW and other special projects that may arise.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously with minimal supervision, manage priorities, timelines, and multiple tasks, undertake own administration and assist in the general day to day administration of the Centre, including assisting other staff members during periods of leave, maintain data collection and prepare reports, take initiative and accept responsibility.  
• Work professionally and collaboratively with team members and stakeholders in a positive environment of communication and collegiality to provide legal and non-legal support to people with disability and their associates.

DESIRABLE

• Experience in managing / supervising volunteers
• A current drivers licence.

Pre-Employment Checks

• Working with Children Check

APPLYING FOR THE POSITION

To apply for this position, you will need to carefully read the selection criteria in the Position Description attached and click the "Apply Now" button.

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 more information, please phone on (02) 7229 0068.

A Position Description with a Selection Criteria is attached.