• Fixed term contract to 30 June 2025
• Part-time (0.8FTE) or full-time role, negotiable
• Fitzroy or Reservoir based, with travel around Melbourne to outreach and service locations

ABOUT FLS

Fitzroy Legal Service (FLS) is dedicated to assisting the most marginalised members of the community with legal information, advice and representation, as well as championing law reform and conducting public interest litigation.

Fitzroy Legal Service provides legal services for communities who are disproportionately impacted by law and policy, and those who face systemic barriers to accessing justice. We provide various multidisciplinary outreach programs reaching communities of colour, people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, LGBTIQA+ communities and people who use drugs.

Our vision: A fairer Victorian community, where the legal and social systems support equality and justice for all.

Further information about FLS can be found on our website: fls.org.au.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The WILO (Women’s Integrated Legal Outreach) service provides women, trans and gender diverse people who are on remand, or at risk of incarceration, with skilled and gender-specific legal representation integrated with social support to keep them out of prison and support them to address the drivers of their incarceration while living in the community. Situated within the broader Generalist and Integrated Services team, WILO is a sub-team consisting of a Senior Women’s Criminal Lawyer, and two WILO Social Workers. The WILO team also works collaboratively with FLS’s Social Action and Public Interest Law team to enable systemic change in the criminal justice system by building and consolidating understanding of the links between, gender and women’s criminalisation, collecting data and information, and influencing the development of laws and policies through systemic advocacy.

You will make a difference by:

• Providing legal advice and casework assistance to women and trans and gender diverse clients facing criminal charges, and as needed, in a range of legal areas associated with their experience of systemic disadvantage, including criminal law, infringements, family violence, VOCAT, tenancy;
• Working collaboratively within a holistic, therapeutic setting with professionals across different disciplines both internally and externally

See attached position description for more information.

ABOUT YOU

To be successful in the role you will ideally have:

• Demonstrated experience providing legal advice and representation, including court advocacy for clients experiencing multiple forms of systemic disadvantage. Significant experience working with criminalised women is highly desirable;
• A commitment to the principles of social justice and gender equality;
• A demonstrated understanding of the drivers of women’s incarceration in Victoria and the legal and social issues that relate to women from diverse backgrounds with multiple and complex needs

If you meet some, but not all, of the above, we encourage your application. We appreciate that people obtain skills and experience in a range of ways, and value people’s curiosity and openness to learning.

WHAT WE OFFER

• 5 weeks annual leave, 17.5% leave loading plus paid leave over the Christmas shutdown period.
• Above-award salary and the ability to increase your take-home pay by accessing salary packaging benefits (use this link to see how much this benefit could mean to you).
• A range of leave options, including 16 weeks parental leave for primary carers, gender affirmation leave, cultural and ceremonial leave, the ability to swap public holidays as well as purchase additional leave.

For more information about this position, please contact Lauren Gordon, Managing Lawyer - Generalist & Integrated Services Team, [email protected].

Fitzroy Legal Service is an inclusive employer and complies with the laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age, race, sex, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, family responsibilities, irrelevant criminal record and other protected attributes. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from members of diverse communities and people with relevant lived experience.

To be eligible to apply for this position you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, permanent resident, or hold a valid work permit or visa.

The successful candidate must undergo a National Police Check.

NOTE: Disclosure of a criminal record does not necessarily preclude employment with FLS, but if needed, we invite applicants to address this issue early in the application phase. Should a criminal record disclosure be advised by a candidate, FLS will endeavour to provide clarity over whether the conviction would preclude a candidate from being able to carry out the position duties.

A position description is attached.