Eligibility Criteria
RLC provides a free legal advice and casework service to people living in our catchment area in these areas of law:
- Credit, debt and consumer
- Domestic violence, and associated family law, childcare and protection and victims compensation matters
- Employment
- Discrimination
- Complaints against the police and other government agencies
Advice is given in other areas of law (including criminal and traffic offences, fines, motor vehicle accidents, victims compensation, powers of attorney and guardianship) to people in our catchment area who are on low incomes and are Aboriginal, have a disability, or who cannot speak English fluently.
Advice is not given to
- Employers - employment responsibility matters
- Landlords - tenancy related matters
- Head tenants against sub-tenants
- Guarantors seeking a solicitor's certificate about a loan
- Male parties in domestic violence matters where the female party lives in our catchment area or when the case is at Downing Centre, Newtown, Balmain of Waverley Local Court
- Neighbours against neighbours
Advice is not given in
- Conveyancing
- Commercial law
- Immigration law
- Workers Compensation
When do we take on cases?
How do we decide what to take on?
The descision is made using the following process:
- You get some advice from a lawyer - it may be a RLC solicitor or a volunteer lawyer;
- If you want RLC to do some more work on your case or represent you, your case is considered by RLC solicitors;
- All possibilites of assistance for your case are considered, then;
- The RLC solicitors decide whether or not the Centre can do more work for you;
- We then contact you to let you know if we are able to take on your case
What criteria does the Centre look at
We consider:
- Is other legal assistance available?
- Is it an area of law the Centre has experience in?
- What are the chances of success?
- Will the case assist a large number of people or will it change the law?
- How much other work the Centre is doing at the time.
Why Can't the Centre take on all cases?
RLC can't take on all cases because:
- It is funded by the Government and has limited resources.
- Most of our advice is given by lawyers who volunteer after work hours.
- We have policy guidelines to try and make the best use of our resources and to help as many people as possible.
- We only have experience in some areas of law.