Location: Tennant Creek

What We Offer

• Highly competitive salary based on experience and qualifications.
• Up to $30,000 tax-free Salary packaging
• SCHADS level 5/6 Salary based on experience
• Remote Area Allowance
• 6 weeks annual leave + 1 week paid Christmas shutdown
• 17.5% leave loading
• $1,200 annual airfare reimbursement (after 12 months), subject to funding
• 15 days personal leave, 10 days carer's leave, and 3 days mental health and wellbeing leave
• Cultural leave, ceremonial leave and mental health days
• 18 weeks paid parental leave (after 12 months of employment)
• Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Genuine work/life balance — regular hours, flexible arrangements, and no burnout culture!
• 15% total Super (12% + 3% CAAFLU top-up)
• Supportive, collaborative team environment with strong leadership

Hours of Work: Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5.00pm

Employment Status: Full time

Position Reports To: Principal Legal Officer (PLO)

About CAAFLU

The Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU) is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) providing culturally appropriate, holistic, trauma-informed legal and casework support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victim-survivors of family, domestic and/or sexual violence (DFSV) – predominantly women. We have offices in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and Jurnkkurakurr (Tennant Creek), and we also provide outreach services in several remote communities including Ntaria (Hermannsburg), Yuendumu, Warrumpi (Papunya), Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa), Atitjere (Harts Range), Ali Curung (Alekarenge), Kulumindini (Elliott), Mutitjulu, Finke and other communities nearby.

Our primary function is to provide Aboriginal victim-survivors of DFSV, particularly women, with culturally appropriate, high quality, confidential legal advice and casework, court representation, information, assistance, advocacy, support and referrals. Each lawyer works side-by-side with a Client Service Officer (CSO), which are Aboriginal identified positions, ensuring cultural safety is embedded in our unique wraparound model of service delivery.

CAAFLU’s key areas of law are Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs), Victims of Crime Compensation, Child Protection and Family Law. Our CSOs provide a wide range of non-legal casework support including safety planning, support with housing applications, transport, support/follow up throughout the legal process, arranging interpreters, and emergency relief (limited).

We also deliver community-led early intervention and prevention programs (EIP), community legal education (CLE) and undertake policy and law reform work. As both a DFV-specific legal service and ACCO, our solutions are specialist and community-led. CAAFLU’s governance, leadership team and many of our staff are Aboriginal, mainly women, with connections to both Central Australia and the Barkly region.

About the Role

We are currently seeking one Legal Practitioners to join our Tennant Creek teams to provide legal advice and representation in our key areas of Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs), Victims of Crime Compensation, Child Protection and Family Law. You will work with our Aboriginal Client Service Officers (CSOs) to offer both legal and non-legal support services, addressing complex client needs with a holistic approach. Offering a unique service to Aboriginal people across Central Australia and the Barkly Region, you will be based in one of our offices and be required to travel to remote communities with our CSOs.

About You

Our ideal candidate will demonstrate compassion, cultural sensitivity, and resilience and possess excellent communication skills, a commitment to social justice, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively. You will be well-organised, adaptable, and capable of managing a challenging and rewarding workload with professionalism and integrity.

As a practitioner working in the region, this role has an opportunity to be part of the Access to Justice in the Barkly project - a uniquely collaborative partnership between the four legal services working in the region (CAAFLU - Central Australian Aboriginal Family Violence Legal Unit Inc, CAWLS - Central Australian Women’s Legal Service Inc, The Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission and NAAJA – North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency) These services have a strong history of working together including commissioning a report in 2020 that made 16 recommendations to improve justice in the Barkly region. Since the report's release the group has been working to implement these recommendations through strategic community legal education, coordination of service delivery, building partnerships with government, NGOs and communities and advocacy to address systemic barriers.

Key Responsibilities

1. Provide culturally appropriate legal assistance and advice, court, and other representation to Aboriginal victim-survivors of domestic, family and/or sexual violence (DFSV) primarily in the areas of Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs), Child Protection, Victims of Crime Assistance and Family Law.
2. Work collaboratively with our team of Aboriginal Client Service Officers (CSOs) to ensure clients are supported through both legal and non-legal support services to address complex needs in line with CAAFLU’s holistic, wrap-around service delivery model.
3. Maintain a caseload of legal client files and enter data and other information in a timely and accurate manner.
4. Participate in the development and delivery of CAAFLU’s Community Legal Education (CLE) and deliver training and information to other services and relevant stakeholders in the areas of domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) and CAAFLU’s service delivery areas.
5. Maintain and promote networks and links with other organisations to increase knowledge of CAAFLU and ensure Aboriginal victim-survivors of DFSV have access to CAAFLU’s culturally appropriate legal and support services.
6. Support and participate in community development and community initiatives to address and reduce the incidence of domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, particularly Aboriginal women and their children.
7. Participate in law reform, policy and submission activities as required.
8. Undertake other relevant duties as directed by the Principal Legal Officer or CEO.

Key Selection Criteria

Essential:

1. Eligible to hold a restricted or unrestricted practising certificate in the Northern Territory.
2. Knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and communities and the issues affecting communities – including disproportionate rates of family violence and child protection involvement and the contributing underlying factors.
3. Demonstrated commitment to meeting the legal needs of disadvantaged groups, particularly Aboriginal victim-survivors of family violence and those living in remote Aboriginal communities.
4. Demonstrated capacity to provide high quality legal advice and casework, particularly in the areas of law related to family violence, including excellent written communications skills.
5. Excellent oral communication and listening skills particularly the ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with Aboriginal people and with clients who have experienced trauma.
6. Ability to work as a member of a small multi-disciplinary team as well as the ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
7. Good understanding of the organisation and management of legal practice, well developed time management skills and the ability to manage client matters and meet deadlines.
8. Hold, or the ability to obtain, a current NT Driver’s License, NT Ochre Card as well as undertaking a National Police Check and passing Aboriginal Land Permit requirements.
9. Post-admission experience in a community legal or family violence setting for one (1) or more years.

Desirable: Experience working with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

Next steps

Apply via Ethical Jobs, submit your resume and cover letter. We would request all candidate to please give us your response to the above "Key Selection Criteria" with cover letter.

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis and will close once a suitable candidate is selected. CAAFLU strongly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.