This role offers a rare opportunity to lead a specialist women’s legal service and contribute to meaningful change for women and families across the Big Rivers region.

Katherine Women’s Information and Legal Service (KWILS) is seeking an experienced and values-driven lawyer to lead our legal practice and help shape the future of a specialist women’s legal service in the Northern Territory.

This is a senior leadership role within a small, high-performing organisation delivering vital legal services to women across Katherine and the remote Big Rivers region. As Principal Legal Officer, you will lead a dedicated legal team, guide complex casework and litigation, and contribute to law reform and advocacy aimed at improving safety and access to justice for women and children.

Working as part of KWILS’ Leadership Team, you will play a key role in shaping legal strategy, strengthening practice standards and supporting a collaborative and supportive workplace. The role offers meaningful frontline legal work combined with genuine leadership influence and significant autonomy in how legal services are delivered.

About KWILS

Katherine Women’s Information and Legal Service (KWILS) is a specialist Women’s Legal Service based in Katherine, Northern Territory, on Jawoyn, Wardaman and Dagoman country.

KWILS provides free civil and family law services to women experiencing disadvantage across the Big Rivers region. Our work focuses primarily on domestic, family and sexual violence, child protection, family law and victims of crime compensation. We work in ways that are respectful, culturally aware and sensitive to trauma, providing legal advice, representation and practical support so women can navigate the legal system and access the help they need.

In addition to individual legal assistance, KWILS delivers community legal education, systemic advocacy and law reform aimed at advancing gender equity and improving access to justice for women and children.

KWILS is a values-led, community-connected organisation committed to diversity, inclusion and creating a safe, collaborative and empowering workplace. As a small but high-performing service, we offer a supportive environment where staff are valued and respected, along with generous leave entitlements, wellbeing initiatives and a high level of autonomy in how we design and deliver our work.

About the Role

The Principal Legal Officer (PLO) provides strategic, operational and professional leadership of KWILS’ legal practice.

As a member of the KWILS Leadership Team, the PLO works closely with the CEO and colleagues to ensure KWILS remains a high-quality, responsive and forward-looking service. The position carries significant autonomy and responsibility – shaping legal strategy, supervising practitioners, managing legal risk and contributing to organisational direction.

The PLO ensures high-quality legal services are delivered to women across Katherine and the remote Big Rivers region in ways that are respectful, culturally aware and sensitive to the experiences of people who have faced violence and trauma.

The role offers exposure to complex legal work, leadership responsibility and the opportunity to influence law reform and service design in a regional justice context.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading KWILS’ legal practice and supervising the legal team
• Providing high-quality legal advice, casework and representation, including complex matters
• Maintaining oversight of legal risk and professional standards
• Supporting staff development and mentoring lawyers
• Contributing to law reform and advocacy priorities arising from casework
• Working with community partners to strengthen access to justice across the region
• Supporting community legal education and outreach across the Big Rivers region

Salary and Benefits

Salary: $145,000 – $160,000 per annum (dependent on experience) plus 12% superannuation

Annual leave: 6 weeks annual leave per year plus 17.5% leave loading

Retention bonus: An additional 3% of salary paid after 12 months of continuous service

Personal leave: Generous personal leave provisions beyond national standards, that also increase with length of service. 

Salary packaging: Increase your take-home pay through tax-effective salary packaging and remote area benefits.

Professional development: Access training opportunities and a dedicated professional development budget.

Wellbeing support: A choice of two free and confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services.

Flexible work: Flexible working arrangements available where possible.

Relocation support: Relocation assistance is available for candidates moving to Katherine from interstate or other regions.

About You

You will bring:

• Admission as a legal practitioner in Australia and eligibility to hold an unrestricted Northern Territory practising certificate
• At least 5 years post-admission experience, ideally in family law, child protection, domestic and family violence or related areas
• Demonstrated leadership or supervision experience within a legal practice
• Experience providing high-quality legal advice and representation, including in complex matters
• A commitment to respectful, culturally aware legal practice, particularly when working with people who have experienced violence or trauma
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• Ability to work effectively in a regional and remote context, including travel to remote communities

Lifestyle – Why Katherine?

Katherine offers a unique lifestyle in the heart of the Northern Territory, with easy access to spectacular national parks, strong community connections and a relaxed regional pace of life. Living and working here provides the opportunity to build meaningful relationships, contribute to real change in the community, and enjoy the natural beauty of the Top End.

Special measure statement

Katherine Women’s Information and Legal Service (KWILS) is a specialist women’s legal service supporting women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence across the Big Rivers region.

This recruitment process is being undertaken as a special measure under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) and the Anti-Discrimination Act 1992 (NT) to promote access to justice for women who have experienced violence.

Women (including trans women and gender diverse people) are strongly encouraged to apply and will be given priority consideration for this role.

For further information about the role, please contact KWILS CEO, Hannah George, at [email protected] using the subject line: Principal Legal Officer - Katherine enquiry via EthicalJobs or (08) 7925 1035.

A position description is attached.