Where do you go if you need legal advice or representation?
Sometimes things happen and we need to access legal info or even legal representation.
Things like car accidents, inability to pay fines, AVOs, Centrelink issues and work issues can all require legal advice.
The good news is there are services called Youth Legal Centres, across Australia, that provide FREE legal advice and usually court representation for young people, like yourselves.
As it differs from state to state (unfortunately NT & Tas don't have dedicated services but I've included an Australia wide youth law resource at the bottom) I've listed each service with a link to the website, a bdesciption of what they do and contact details.
I highly reccommend making a note of the youth legal service in your state and storing it somewhere. Just in case.
http://youthlaw.asn.au/ VICTORIA
Youthlaw provides free and confidential legal information and advice to young people up to the age of 25. We are a not-for-profit Victorian free community legal centre for young people under 25
- Free Legal Advice for Young People
- Help with Fines
- Learn About the Law
Contact: (03) 9611 2412 – (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday)
http://www.theshopfront.org/ NSW
The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre is a free legal service for homeless and disadvantaged young people aged 25 and under. We provide:
- court representation on criminal charges, traffic matters and apprehended violence orders
- advice on dealing with police
- help to deal with unpaid fines
- assistance with victims compensation claims
Contact: Phone: 02 9322 4808 Email: shopfront@theshopfront.org
http://www.yac.net.au/ Queensland
YAC offers free legal services, youth support and family support assistance and services to young people generally 10 to 18 years (including 10 & 18) particularly those who are involved in, or are at risk of involvement in, the youth justice and/or the child protection systems, and/or are homeless or at risk of homelessness and live in or around the greater Brisbane region. We provide more limited support to those under 10 and over 18 years of age; and to young people outside of Brisbane via telephone, website and publications.
YAC can assist young people with:
- legal hassles – including being charged with breaking the law or child protection issues.
- problems at home or school
- lack of accommodation and/or income
- being the victim of a crime (including abuse)
- discrimination issues
- general hassles
Contact: (07) 3356 1002 admin@yac.net.au
http://youthlegalserviceinc.com.au/ WA
Youth Legal Service provides free professional legal services to children and young people (under 25 years) residing in Western Australia. We also provide casework and court representation services within the Perth metropolitan area. Unfortunately, our court representation service is currently restricted to Children’s Court matters as a result of various funding cuts.
Contact: Regional 1800 199 006 Perth 9202 1688
Children's and Youth Legal Service of SA http://www.saccls.org.au/centre_details.php?centre_id=23 SA
The Children's and Youth Legal Service of SA is a free legal service for children and young people under 18 years of age. We are dedicated to promoting the rights of children and young people and empowering them through the provision of information and appropriate assistance to manage their legal problem. Law areas
- Information
- Advice
- Representation
- advocacy and referral
Contact: (08) 8342 1800
http://www.youthlawact.org.au/ ACT
Youth Law Centre assists young people between 12-25 years of age in the ACT with their legal problems, especially people who are socially or economically disadvantaged. We provide free and confidential legal advice in person, over the phone or by email.
Contact: (02) 6173 5410
Australia Wide –
Information about young people's legal rights and obligations in every Australian state and territory.
Comments
Thank you for contacting Youthlaw with your query. Youthlaw is a specialist community legal centre that helps young people under the age of 25 in Victoria. Please note that we do not give advice via email, but can provide some general information about your question.
I understand from your email that you have an intervention order which protects you from your mother. I understand that your mother has been breaching the intervention order by attending at your home and committing family violence.
I also understand from your email that there is a another person who has been physically violent towards you.
I understand from your email that you have reported these incidents to the police, however your understanding is that they were not followed up.
In order to provide advice in relation to your specific situation, it may be best for you to attend at our drop-in service at Frontyard (29 King St Melbourne) between 2-5pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday and bring along your intervention order paperwork.
It may be that if the other perpetrator is not named on the order, that you need to apply at your local Magistrates Court for an order specifically protecting you from that person.
Further, you should continue reporting the breaches of intervention order to the police. It may be a good idea to make a note of the time and date of your calls to police and who you spoke to, and to call back to follow up any action taken after 1 week.
It may also be a good idea to keep a diary and note down the dates, times and description of any alleged breaches of the Intervention Order by your mother and threatening or violent behaviour by the other perpetrator.
I hope this assists.
I'm definitely going to go in there
Well done @j95 That's so awesome!
I'm so glad you're going to take advantage of their free service and go in there.
I'm quietly confident that you'll be happy with the support you receive. The service has a great reputation.
And don't forget, when you head in there, you go with the full support of the RO community behind you. All these people cheering you on and wanting you to get what you need.
Just imagine them all chanting "Go J, go J, go J".
Don't forget, bullying behaviour often extends into illegal practices. If you're feeling bullied it might be time to get some legal advice.
