CCLCG Programs:

Aboriginal Legal Access Program (ALAP):

8 new Aboriginal Legal Access Programs in Community Legal Centres:
In December 2006 the Combined Community Legal Centres Group (NSW) (CCLCG) received funding from the Public Purposes Fund to run the CCLCG Aboriginal Legal Access Program (ALAP). ALAP is a state-wide program which aims to enable better access by Aboriginal people to legal services, increase the numbers of Aboriginal people receiving legal services, improve and enhance the capacity of Community Legal Centres (CLCs) to provide effective and culturally appropriate services to Aboriginal people, and increase awareness among Aboriginal people of their legal rights and the legal services available to them.
A key component of the ALAP is a Grants Scheme open to all NSW CLCs for projects which endeavour to meet the aims of the ALAP. In August CCLCG awarded grants for the following new Community Legal Centre Projects:

• The Hawkesbury Nepean CLC Aboriginal Legal Access Service Program will deliver services such as outreach programs, Community Legal Education (CLE), casework and community development for laocal Aboriginal communities.
• The Northern Rivers CLC Mirrung Ngu Wanjarri Program will undertake family violence work, engage in community consultations, legal advice and CLE outreaches, and develop improved service delivery strategies for local Aboriginal communities.
• The Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre Creating Spaces Program will support Aboriginal women and their children in accessing their legal, social and cultural rights to be free of sexual abuse and violence.
• The Environmental Defender’s Office Ltd (NSW) Caring for Country will focus on improving the delivery of environmental law services to Aboriginal people in NSW.
• The Illawarra Legal Centre Aboriginal Legal Access Worker Project will target the needs of Aboriginal clients with a credit and debt focus.
• The Macarthur Legal Centre Indigenous Legal Outreach Project will facilitate a consultation process to develop appropriate legal service delivery model for local Indigenous People and provide legal advice and community legal education to Indigenous people in the Macarthur region.
• The Shoalcoast Community Legal Centre Indigenous legal Access and Violence Prevention will provide education to local Aboriginal communities about legal issues relevant to both violence prevention and redress for victims.
• The Kingsford Legal Centre La Perouse Outreach Service will open an Outreach Clinic for the Indigenous Community who live in the Kingsford Legal Centre catchment area.
CCLCG would like to thank all centres who expressed interest in the ALAP Grants Scheme and congratulate all the centres which received grants. For further information on the ALAP, including the Grants Scheme, please contact Renee Williamson, ALAP Coordinator at the CCLCG State Office on 02 9212 7333 or Renee_Williamson@clc.net.au.

New Training Program underway for Community Legal Centres:

The Public Purpose Fund has funded the CCLCG Training Program up to June 2008. This program is being designed in recognition of the already skilled staff within Community Legal Centres (CLCs), to further enhance their skills as well as making training more accessible to Centres in Regional, Rural and Remote areas.

In dealing with the very diverse group of clients that come through the CLCs, the staff already have a vast array of skills and experience between them and the training program is being designed to further share and enhance these skills.
Since the Combined Community Legal Centres Group employed our Training Program Coordinator in May, a training needs analysis has been conducted within the CLC Sector. Now a Learning and Development plan is being created to explore non-traditional learning strategies to meet the practical training needs of the Centres. For more information contact Joanna Mantziaris at the State Office on joanna_mantziaris@clc.net.au

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