Redfern Legal Centre has an exciting opportunity for a senior credit, debt and consumer lawyer to join our Financial Abuse Service which is an integrated, best practice model to assist victim survivors experiencing financial abuse in intimate partner relationships to recover and thrive.

• Permanent, full time or part time role;
• Salary and benefits: $111,697.22 - $138,308.60 (pro rata for part time) depending on qualifications and experience.

Our Financial Abuse Service is an innovative and dynamic statewide practice with a specialist, cross-jurisdictional, and integrated approach that provides holistic legal and non-legal support to clients, increasing their safety and wellbeing and leading to financial independence and empowerment. We also drive systemic change through test cases, advocacy and law reform.

The senior credit and debt lawyer will supervise a credit, debt and consumer law solicitor and financial counsellor and work collaboratively with social workers and other specialist lawyers (family law, corporations law, tax law and immigration law) in an integrated model to assist people across New South Wales by telephone, teleconferencing, email and in person. Our specialist, cross-jurisdictional, and integrated approach provides holistic legal and non-legal support to our clients, increasing their safety and wellbeing and leading to financial independence and empowerment.

The lawyer will work closely with the Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer to contribute to the development of systemic advocacy, policy and law reform to both address the causes of financial and economic abuse and improve outcomes for victim survivors.

Redfern Legal Centre

Redfern Legal Centre is a non-profit community legal centre that promotes social justice and creates change. We provide free legal advice, legal services and education to people experiencing disadvantage in New South Wales. We drive innovation and change through policy and law reform work to address inequalities in the legal system, policies and social practices that cause disadvantage.

We provide effective and integrated free legal services that are client focussed, collaborative, non-discriminatory and responsive to changing community needs - to our local community as well as state-wide. Our specialist legal services focus on tenancy, credit, debt and consumer law, financial abuse, employment law, international students, First Nations justice, police accountability, and provide outreach services including through our health justice partnership.

Position Responsibilities

• Manage the FAS credit and debt service, including processes and systems to ensure the service is an effective integrated legal, financial counselling and social work practice.
• Manage the FAS financial counselling service, including processes and systems to ensure the service is an effective integrated legal, financial counselling and social work practice.
• Supervise a credit, debt and consumer law solicitor and financial counsellor within the Financial Abuse Service.
• Provide trauma informed advice, representation and referrals in complex credit and debt cases, according to the centre’s eligibility criteria, including the preparation of applications to internal and external dispute resolution, and the preparation of applications and appearances in Courts and Tribunals.
• Identify and undertake test cases.
• Coordinate the roster, training and supervision of volunteer solicitors.
• Identify systemic legal and policy issues and contribute to policy and law reform, as directed by the Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer.
• Provide community legal education with an emphasis on areas of frequent inquiry, perceived need and recent innovation.
• Work with community, government, professional and media organisations and attend stakeholder and sector events and meetings.
• Contribute to Redfern Legal Centre through attendance at staff meetings, contribution to board and funding reports, assistance with intake including intake supervision shifts, and contribution to the effective implementation of our Reconciliation Action Plan.

Knowledge, skills and experience

Essential:

• Qualified to practice as a solicitor in NSW and eligible to hold a current practicing certificate with at least four years relevant post admission experience.
• Experience supervising staff and/or volunteer lawyers.
• Demonstrated experience providing legal advice and representation in complex credit, debt and consumer law cases that involve financial abuse.
• Demonstrated understanding of the credit, debt and consumer law issues faced by people experiencing financial abuse, and the intersection with other areas of law, specifically company law, tax law, family law and immigration.
• Experience working with First Nations clients and/or culturally and linguistically diverse clients, and a commitment to culturally safe practice.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex information in a practical, accurate and accessible way to clients in stressful and emotionally charged situations, and to engage professionally with interpreters, government, creditors, regulators and other support services.

Desirable:

• Experience supervising financial counsellors.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience conducting law reform, policy work, campaigns or strategic litigation.

Conditions

Salary and benefits: $111,697.22 - $138,308.60 (pro rata for part time) depending on qualifications and experience.

Superannuation and annual leave loading are paid in addition and salary packaging is available.

Redfern Legal Centre offers a 35-hour working week, time in lieu options and a paid end of year closure of two weeks (including public holidays) on top of four weeks annual leave. We prioritise staff wellbeing through external debrief supervision, a generous training and professional development budget and flexible working conditions.

How to Apply

Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible because the position may be filled earlier if a suitable candidate is identified. 

Your application should be no more than six pages long, and must include:

• a cover letter,
• your resume; and
• must include a statement addressing the Knowledge Skills and Experience criteria in the position description.

Only applications that include a cover letter, resume and responses to the selection criteria will be considered.

Redfern Legal Centre welcomes applications from First Nations people, people from diverse cultural backgrounds and people with disabilities.

Redfern Legal Centre is a diverse, culturally safe and inclusive workplace that offers flexible conditions and supports wellbeing.

Please submit your application via Employment Hero by clicking the "Apply Now" button.

Enquiries should be directed to Catherine Hewett at [email protected] using the subject line: Senior Credit, Debt and Consumer Lawyer - Financial Abuse Service enquiry via EthicalJobs.