9 August, 2021

9 August 2021

NSWALC Renews Legal Support Funding for Local Aboriginal Land Councils

The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is pleased to announce that funding will continue for free legal assistance for the Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) Network.

NSWALC values the importance of independent legal advice and knows that accessing quality assistance can be cost-prohibitive for the network.

NSWALC has been funding legal assistance for LALCs since 2017, through a collaboration with lawyers at Justice Connect.

The Local Aboriginal Land Council Service provides valuable advice on matters including compliance and managing legal and governance requirements.

The Justice Connect team has assisted LALCs with a range of issues over the past four years including:

• Employment law advice (including advice about staff contracts and employer obligations);
• Making non-claimant applications to determine whether native title exists on LALC land so that LALCs can progress to dealing with their land;
• Planning, environment and cultural heritage matters;
• Reviews of contracts, project/funding agreements or similar;
• Legal obligations surrounding volunteers.

The current COVID-19 pandemic context means LALCs may have specific legal issues, which could include insurance, changing forms of employment (such as ‘work from home’), funding arrangements and/or governance issues. These are all areas of law that Justice Connect can help you with.

If you need legal assistance, you can contact Justice Connect on 02 9160 7171 or email Senior Lawyer Annabelle Nilsson on  Annabelle.Nilsson@justiceconnect.org.au