About Women’s Legal Service WA

Women’s Legal Service WA is an accredited and specialist gender-specific community legal centre, providing trauma-informed services to women around Western Australia who are financially disadvantaged, prioritising assisting women who have or are experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence.

In addition to poverty and violence, WLSWA clients live with multiple vulnerabilities and complex unmet social and legal needs that creates additional barriers to accessing justice. We support cis and trans women, and non-binary people comfortable in women’s spaces.

WLSWA has the experience and expertise to represent women across areas of law, providing a continuum of support at the intersection of legal issues that are mostly unique to women.

WLSWA practice areas include family law, child protection and care matters, family and domestic violence, criminal injuries compensation, sexual assault and employment law. The specialised legal services provided by WLSWA ensure that clients access a single legal service, that is responsive to their different legal needs.

WLSWA works with the person, aiming to respond to women’s legal issues in context of their whole lives. Our tailored assistance includes an integrated and coordinated socio-legal response, aimed at ensuring continuity in support and mitigating re-traumatising clients.

WLSWA aims to empower WA women to make informed legal choices and participate fully in legal processes that greatly impact on their lives and the lives of their children.

WLSWA also promotes and advocates for women’s human rights to be upheld and fosters legal and social change through a range of strategic activities, including community legal education and policy reform.

About our partners

Goldfields Women’s Health Care Centre offers a diverse range of health services including information, counselling and running clinics on a number of different issues tailored specifically for women.

Luma: For her health and wellbeing, is an independent for purpose organisation providing integrated physical, mental health and social support programs and support services to WA women and their families.

Desert Blue Connect specialise in providing bulk billing and affordable women's health services, along with family and domestic violence support across the Mid West.

Together WLSWA and women’s health centres work towards the redress of inequalities, promotion of human rights, and legal and social change for women.

About the role

Women, particularly those experiencing gendered violence or harassment, have a range of needs, health legal and social support, that require an integrated and holistic approach.

This position is an expansion of the existing WLSWA Health Justice Partnership program which enables women to access specialist women’s legal services in specialist women’s health centres, to deliver a continuum of coordinated gender-specific, trauma informed and culturally secure services that respond to their needs in the context of their whole lives. The lawyer will provide information, advice, referral, advocacy, community legal education and court representation to women in outreach locations, in case management collaboration with the health team. This innovative strategy is part of a pilot project that also measures improvements in health, as well as justice, outcomes for women.

Based in the Perth WLSWA office, the lawyer will provide direct legal assistance to women referred to the service through a combination of actual and virtual outreach, delivered via a co-location model with local providers in Northbridge, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton. Travel will be a minimum of one week per month on a rotating basis.

About the candidate

The successful applicant will be highly professional, combining relevant experience with demonstrated empathy and understanding. They will value effective teamwork and have a supportive, cooperative approach to working effectively with all team members. They will be able to work under pressure, multi task and be flexible in approaches. 

Above all they will be passionate about advancing the interests of women, reducing gender inequality, and empowering women through the provision of excellent services to know and understand their legal rights.

About the conditions

In addition to the opportunity to join a great team, WLSWA offers flexible working arrangements, employee assistance program, targeted professional development, opportunity to salary sacrifice, additional paid leave between Christmas and new year, extra wellbeing leave and bonus payments.

Although this is a full time position, part time arrangements may be negotiable with successful applicant/s.

This position is currently funded for 12 months with probably extension.

For a confidential discussion about the position, please contact senior lawyer Jasmine Pavan at [email protected] using the subject line: Health Justice Partnership Lawyer - Outreach enquiry via EthicalJobs / 0477 735 581.

A position description is attached.