• Melbourne CBD
• Immediate start
• Flexible work options (hybrid working model)
• Fixed term (subject to funding) - Part time or Full time (min 0.8EFT)

Gender Specific Role

Women’s Legal Service Victoria relies upon an exception under the Equal Opportunity Act to employ women only

About Womens Legal Service Victoria

Women’s Legal Service Victoria is a specialised and state-wide organisation providing services and support to women since 1982. We exist to help build a gender equitable society, driving systemic change and advocating for solutions for equality, safety and economic security. We are committed to working alongside women experiencing disadvantage to promote their rights to live free from violence. We use our experience to inform our policy, law reform and education work.

Women’s Legal provides legal services within a multi-disciplinary and trauma-informed practice in the areas of family law, family violence, victims of crime, migration and child protection. Our model incorporates social work and financial counselling to provide wrap-around support to our clients.

Our culture

We are committed to our vision of building a gender equitable society.

• We are passionate, collaborative and solution-focused.
• We work alongside women experiencing disadvantage, to promote their rights to live free from violence, and make informed choices about their lives.
• We work in a way that is woman-focused, engaging and supporting the whole person and appreciating the complexity of her situation.

Your new role

Reporting to the Team Leader – Social Work, the purpose of the social worker role is to provide social work support and advocacy for women experiencing family violence, relationship breakdown, child protection and/or migration issues, family law, VOCAT and accessing legal assistance from WLSV.

Our social workers collaborate with our lawyers and financial counsellors in an integrated model to assist individual clients. Our social workers support women and their children in responding to legal and non-legal barriers on their pathway to recovery, working alongside them in identifying their unique needs, providing emotional support as we work together towards goals and accessing local services and resources. This role has ongoing opportunities to contribute to the development of systemic advocacy, policy and law reform to both address the causes of gender inequality and improve outcomes for women and their children.

Our specialist, cross-jurisdictional, and integrated approach provides holistic legal and non-legal support to our clients, increase their safety and wellbeing and lead to more positive outcomes overall.

This is a full-time or part-time (minimum 4 days) position, fixed term for 12 months – with a strong possibility of extension.

What you'll need to succeed

You will have at least a minimum of 2 years experience in providing a range of assessments, supports and advocacy. You are a driven, motivated self-starter who has the ability to work autonomously to deliver results that exceed the client's expectations. You have high attention to detail, strong communication skills and the ability to quickly build rapport.

Key to your success is your:

• High-quality social work including assessment, referral, safety planning, and case management to achieve the best possible outcomes
• Advocacy and referrals for access to relevant services
• Outreach support at court and other locations as appropriate
• Collaboration and co-case management with other professionals

What you'll get in return

We offer competitive remuneration, a strong commitment to your professional development, personal development and mental health, a genuinely flexible working environment that supports work-life balance, salary packaging (which can add up to $15,900 in tax-free pay per year) and a vibrant and collegiate work culture.

Equal opportunity and diversity

WLSV is committed to equal opportunity and diversity and promotes an organisational environment where individuals are treated with fairness, respect, equality and dignity. To deliver the best outcomes for our clients we want a staff team that reflects the diverse community that we serve, recognising the skills, knowledge and experience a diverse staff group brings to our organisation.

To Apply

Please submit a covering letter and resume ASAP as we will begin shortlisting immediately.

For enquiries, please email Lauren Wellington, People and Culture Manager at [email protected] using the subject line: Social Worker enquiry via EthicalJobs.

Click the "Apply Now" button to submit your application.

A position description is attached.