ROLE SUMMARY

The Health Justice Partnership (HJP) Solicitor is a key role within ACDL’s Health Justice Partnership project with SWSLHD’s Community Mental Health Service (Health Partner). The role will be focused on providing legal advice and/or assistance to consumers of community mental health services across SWSLHD. This position is ideal for a lawyer with broad legal expertise across several civil law fields, including fines and consumer law, family law and domestic violence, guardianship, employment law, tenancy law, and disability discrimination law. Experience in criminal law and Section 14 applications or understanding of criminal processes would be highly advantageous.

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

Australian Centre for Disability Law

ACDL is a specialist legal centre based in Sydney, which operates a disability discrimination law practice across NSW, a Health Justice Partnership with South West Sydney Local Health District 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-led Management Committee and is staffed by an Executive Officer/Principal Solicitor, 5 solicitors and volunteers.

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. Capacity to undertake independent legal research in relation to new and varied legal problems, and the ability to upskill and problem solve, to achieve legal outcomes, often in a fast paced and timely manner.
4. Demonstrated understanding and commitment to social justice, as well as the ability to identify legaland non-legal issues facing people living with a mental health condition.
5. Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, with minimal supervision, manage program priorities, administrative duties, data entry in client management systems, evaluation, report preparation, and daily project support.
6. Capacity to supervise and mentor junior staff providing legal services and intake duties.
7. Travel at least twice weekly to Bankstown Community Health Centre or other sites designated by ACDL and SWSLHD, such as Liverpool Hospital or Fairfield Community Mental Health and other sites as required.
8. Work professionally and collaboratively with Health Partner stakeholders to provide legal and non-legal support to people with mental health conditions, as well as their family/carers from time to time.

DESIRABLE

1. Experience working with consumers of our Health Partner in a patient and empathetic manner. Understanding of the principles of recovery and trauma-informed care is extremely important in this context.
2. Experience with Section 14 applications, civil litigation, and ADR experience, including representation at mediation or conciliations.
3. Insight / familiarity with working with people living with a mental health condition and the way theyinteract with mental health services in the community.
4. A current driver’s licence.

Pre-Employment Checks

• Criminal record check
• Working with Children Check
• Health NSW Contingent Worker 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.

Phone Kimia Randall on 0484 077 008 for enquiries.

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

For full duties and responsibilities please read the attached position description.