ABOUT THE role - solicitor

Passionate about gender justice? Committed to driving meaningful change?
Join us in advocating for women’s safety and economic security in a dynamic, feminist organisation that puts values into practice every day.

We are expanding the capacity of our legal programs and are seeking Solicitors with expertise in our areas of legal practice and a deep commitment to working with clients experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage.

As a Solicitor, you will provide legal advice and representation to women experiencing discrimination, violence, and other forms of disadvantage across a range of practice areas. Our legal practice operates across three specialist programs:

• Women’s Rights Program
• First Nations Women’s Legal Program
• Working Women’s Centre

Together, these programs provide free, trauma-informed, culturally safe, and client-centred legal services grounded in a gender justice framework.

You will bring strong expertise in the law and legal processes within our areas of practice. Your legal work will be high-quality, holistic, and trauma informed. You may work across all the programs or bring specialist expertise to either the Working Women’s Centre or the Women’s Rights Program:

• Working Women’s Centre: Focus on workplace issues including underpayment of entitlements, unfair dismissal, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
• Women’s Rights Program: Focus on family, domestic and sexual violence, family law, discrimination, victims support, and compensation.

In this role, you will provide advice, manage complex matters, collaborate on strategic litigation in support of our law reform and advocacy priorities. You’ll work with our legal team and assist private solicitors and pro bono barristers.

This is a unique opportunity to work in a collaborative, supportive environment where your work directly contributes to systemic change for women across legal, social justice, and community sectors.

If you're organised, values-driven, and committed to making the law more accessible and equitable for all women, then this is the role for you.

Your role in the Team

Key Responsibilities include

• Providing high-quality, trauma-informed legal advice to clients via phone, online, in person, and through outreach clinics
• Managing a caseload, including representation in courts and tribunals
• Assisting with legal service delivery in specific practice areas or projects
• Contributing to the development and delivery of community legal education and training
• Participating in rural, regional, and remote outreach trips across NSW
• Helping to driving law reform and advocacy projects aligned with feminist, intersectional, and systemic change goals
• Upholding best practice standards in legal ethics, client care, and culturally safe, trauma-informed service delivery

You’ll be joining an organisation that values lived experience, intersectional feminism, and strong, respectful relationships with community. As a Solicitor, your work will directly support women experiencing disadvantage and contribute to systemic change through strategic casework, legal reform, and advocacy. You will play a key role in shaping a more accessible, safe, and equitable legal system for women across NSW.

About us

Women’s Legal Service NSW advocates for an end to gender-based violence and for gender equity in Australia. As a state-wide specialist women’s legal service, we assist women and non-binary people across NSW to obtain legal advice and representation from our client centred, trauma informed, culturally safe, holistic legal practice to address women’s safety and economic security.

We use our experience gained from working with over one hundred thousand women and our expertise in a feminist analysis of social issues and the law to determine where we can make the most meaningful and impactful interventions that make positive change structurally and systemically. We have invested in the development of our specialist expertise to advocate for structural changes in legislation and policy through law reform and through the provision of education and training to our colleagues in the legal profession, the community services sector, and the community.

We advise and represent women in a range of practice areas including discrimination, employment, sexual harassment, family law, domestic/family and sexual violence, and compensation and victims support for victims of crime.

workplace of choice

Women’s Legal promotes gender equality by creating a workplace of choice for women that is:

• Safe. We have clear and effective policies on sexism, discrimination, harassment, bullying and abuse.
• Diverse. We acknowledge, encourage and respect diversity and lived experience.
• Culturally Safe. We acknowledge and respond to the need for cultural safety for First Nations staff.
• Flexible. We support flexible work arrangements that accommodate caring responsibilities, disability or health needs, and study commitments.
• Supported. We practise trauma-informed care that recognises the impact of vicarious trauma. Staff have access to debriefing as needed and are supported through regular external professional debriefing supervision.
• Focussed on Career Growth, Leadership and Training. We support staff to build careers in social justice by offering structured opportunities for professional development in legal practice, leadership, training delivery, and contributing to strategic organisational development, equipping you for roles within the legal assistance and advocacy sectors.

Solicitor - Salary range 2025-2026

Women’s Legal seeks to close the gender pay gap by providing job and economic security with an Enterprise Agreement that pays above Award and provides generous leave provisions. You have the option to salary package which can add up to $15,900 in tax-free pay annually.

Grade 5 $ 96,794.51 to $ 117,251.58 per annum (plus 2025-2026 indexation) and salary packaging.

The position is based in our office at Lidcombe. The role may require travel across Greater Sydney as well as to rural, regional, and remote NSW on our community outreach trips.

Women’s Legal considers being a woman is a genuine occupational qualification for this position under s. 31 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).

selection criteria

Selection criteria must be addressed for you to be considered for an interview.

Essential criteria

1. Commitment to Social Justice and Gender Equity. Demonstrated understanding of, and commitment to, social justice issues for women, particularly First Nations women, and women experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage (social, economic and cultural) and lack of access to legal services.
2. Qualifications. Admitted (or eligible for admission) as a legal practitioner in NSW and holds a current NSW practising certificate.
3. Legal Ethics and Risk Management. Familiarity with ethical and professional obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Law, and sound understanding of risk management and confidentiality.
4. Legal Knowledge and Practice Areas. Experience, post-admission, in managing complex legal matters and practical experience in providing sound legal advice in at least one of the following areas: discrimination, employment, sexual harassment, family law, domestic/family and sexual violence, compensation and victims support for victims of crime.
5. Client-Centred and Trauma-Informed Legal Practice. Proven ability to work with clients facing disadvantage, trauma and legal complexity across diverse client groups, and experience in the provision of client-centred, trauma-informed, culturally safe legal advice, casework, and court/tribunal representation.
6.  Legal Research and Analysis. Strong legal research, analysis and drafting skills.
7. Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, negotiation, and written and verbal communication skills.
8. Technical & Systems Proficiency. Proficiency in Microsoft Office and legal practice management tools, (e.g. Actionstep) and data reporting.
9. Time Management and Organisational Skills. Strong organisational and problem-solving skills with capacity to manage competing deadlines and priorities.
10. Law Reform and Advocacy Engagement. Ability to contribute to law reform and policy submissions.
11. Legal Education and Community Engagement. Ability to research, write and deliver legal education resources spanning the range of Women’s Legal Service NSW practice areas, including contributing to community legal education initiatives

Additional criteria

12. Pre-Employment Screening. Satisfactory Working with Children Check.

13. Willingness to Travel. Ability to travel in line with work commitments.

14. Professional Development. Commitment to ongoing professional development and compliance with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements

Desirable criteria

15. Sector Experience. Experience in the legal assistance sector or not for profit sector.

For enquiries about the position contact Gabrielle Craig, Assistant Principal Solicitor, Women's Rights, at [email protected] using the subject line: Solicitor enquiry via EthicalJobs.

A position description is attached.