At Legal Aid WA, we are proud to support and be active participants in National Reconciliation Week 2023. We are members of Reconciliation Australia and Reconciliation WA and are excited to be participating in the City of Perth and Reconciliation WA banners project - you can see our banner on St. Georges Terrace!
The theme this year is ‘Be a Voice for the Generations’.
The theme encourages communities to be active in tangible ways when it comes to reconciliation. It encourages us all to consider how we can be more active in our everyday lives – whether that be in our workplace, home life, or social group.
This week we are launching our new Reconciliation Action Plan, which lays a strong foundation for several initiatives that will come to fruition over the coming months.
At Legal Aid WA, we have several services and employment opportunities for First Nations people and are proud to be one of the leading organisations of First Nations recruitment in Western Australia. We offer a diverse range of roles, and regularly run recruitment campaigns specifically geared to First Nations talent.
Currently, we have a First Nations Law Student Internship available, which aims to provide First Nations law students with the opportunity to get to know Legal Aid WA by undertaking voluntary work in our legal practice. Students will work alongside experienced lawyers to develop their legal skills and gain insight into the legal system, our clients, and our work culture.
We are passionate about creating culturally accessible and relevant resources and services, and our employment of First Nations people allows us to better serve the Indigenous community.
This week, we are excited to see the launch of our new First Nations legal and information referral call centre, Legal Yarn. Staffed by mob, for mob, this platform will allow First Nations clients to have referrals and information provided to them by First Nations agents.
We have also recently partnered with Wungening Aboriginal Corporation and opened two new Virtual Office locations in Wungening’s Head Office in East Perth and Wooree Miya, their domestic violence refuge. Our Virtual Offices use high quality visual and audio technology to allow clients to have face-to-face legal advice appointments from an office in their local community or safe space with a Legal Aid WA lawyer working from a different location.
These initiatives are just some of the ways that Legal Aid WA proactively engages in reconciliation. We are committed to the continual improvement of our employment opportunities, resources, and services for First Nations individuals and communities – not just this week, but every week. By acting today, we work towards a just, equitable and reconciled country, not just for generations to come, but for generations past as well.