National NAIDOC Week runs from 2 – 9 July 2023, and celebrates and recognises the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. This year, the theme for NAIDOC is ‘For Our Elders’.
To celebrate the week, we will be manning a stall at the Perth NAIDOC opening event in Wellington Square on Sunday 2 July, and will also be attending the Mookaroo Festival in Merriwa on 7 July. Additionally, there are multiple events being coordinated both in Perth and the regions.
At Legal Aid WA, we are committed to demonstrating a positive social impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and increasing their access to justice, by providing equitable, timely, quality and culturally sensitive legal solutions. Our newly launched Legal Yarn service is staffed by mob, for mob, and provides First Nations people the opportunity to yarn about their legal worries with First Nations information officers.
Elders have historically played and continue to play an important role in the community – their advocacy, knowledge, strength, and guidance has paved the way for generations. Our staff are privileged to have the opportunity to train with Elders in the community to build cultural awareness within the organisation. We pay deep respect to those, and all Elders, both past, present, and emerging.
We recognise the disadvantage faced by many Aboriginal people and aim to build respectful and inclusive relationships with their communities. As well as improved services for First Nations people, Legal Aid WA also aims to provide opportunities for employment within the community legal sector for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
We are committed to increasing First Nations staffing levels to better reflect the diversity of our community. We strive to provide a working environment that is culturally safe and supportive to all our employees and be recognised within the First Nations communities as an employer of choice. We strongly encourage First Nations people with suitable skills and experience to apply for all advertised positions with Legal Aid WA.