We are working to improve access to justice for newly arrived and culturally diverse communities in Victoria, Australia, by working in partnership with and building the capacity of community agencies and community legal centres, in the following ways:
creating a shared understanding of unidentified legal need within newly arrived and culturally diverse communities
supporting the sector in developing services and programs for communities that are culturally relevant and appropriate
building the sector’s capacity to collect, share and analyse data about the holistic needs of communities, and to make effective referrals
raising awareness within communities about legal and social support services
improving referral pathways to effectively address the problem of unmet legal need within communities
HOW IT WORKS
We work in partnership with organisations to remove the barriers that prevent individuals from newly arrived and culturally diverse communities from accessing justice. In consultation with individuals from the communities we seek to reach, we design and deliver innovative and holistic community initiatives which provide organisations with opportunities to reach and build relationships with the communities they are seeking to provide assistance to.
In the delivery of these community initiatives, our team focuses on:
identifying legal need, making warm referrals to our partner organisations and providing assistance and support to the community member to ensure continued engagement with the service
engaging in processes of inquiry and dialogue to identify emerging issues within the community, and passing that information on to partner organisations to support them in their strategic planning and systemic advocacy work
understanding the cultural dimensions of the legal issues and supporting partner organisations in modifying their services and strategy - where required - to be more relevant to the realities of individuals from newly arrived and culturally diverse communities
Interested in working with us?
Our vision is for a joined-up sector, with a strong culture of collaboration - we’d love to work with you! Here is what we ask of all partner organisations that we work with:
deliver an initial information session to our team on the services you provide, so that when we deliver our community initiatives we are able to spot the issues effectively and make appropriate referrals to your services
develop a memorandum of understanding with us so that we can be confident that when we make referrals to your service, community members will receive a response that is in line with their expectations
meet with us no less than once every quarter to discuss emerging issues that community members have identified and to consider suggestions for making your services and responses more culturally relevant and appropriate