Organisation : Justice Connect
Location : Sydney
Work type : Contract/Temporary
Sector : Law, Justice & Human Rights
Salary type : Annual Package
Application closing date : 31 Jan, 2020
About the organisation
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join one of Australia’s most successful public interest and social justice organisations. Justice Connect is a not-for-profit organisation with a vision of a fair and strong community in which people have a fair chance at a better life, the community sector is strong and vibrant and the legal/justice and non-legal social systems are fairer and better.
At Justice Connect, we believe everyone deserves a fair chance at a better life. That’s why we use the law to help people and community groups left behind by an unfair and complicated legal system. Whether it’s a single mother facing homelessness, a local community group struggling with overwhelming regulation or an older person dealing with family violence, real-life problems so often have legal solutions. That’s why we connect people with legal help. We use the power of the law to open up the legal system for those locked out of it, and to change the system where it is broken. The key to our impact is the passionate commitment of our people. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, driven by a desire to deliver real improvements in the lives of the people and communities we help.
The key to our impact is the passionate commitment of our people. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, driven by a desire to deliver real improvements in the lives of the people and communities we help.
About the role
Seniors Law NSW was established in 2016 to provide legal assistance to older people experiencing or at risk of abuse through the Health Justice Partnership (HJP) model, in which a lawyer is embedded in a health service to reach vulnerable people who would otherwise likely not access legal help. It builds on the work of Seniors Law Victoria, which has 10 years’ experience designing and delivering legal services in health care settings. In 2017, Seniors Law NSW established an HJP with St Vincent’s Health Network (SVHN), which consists of St Joseph’s Hospital in Auburn and St Vincent’s Hospital and Sacred Heart Health Service in Darlinghurst. In June 2019 we established a second HJP with War Memorial Hospital (WMH), a sub-acute hospital in Waverley with a focus on aged rehabilitation services and community-based care. Both HJPs involve our lawyers working on-site several days per week across the various health services. In November 2019 we also launched a Telehealth Pilot Project with SVHN, to examine how Justice Connect can use existing telehealth facilities to increase access to legal help for people experiencing or at risk of elder abuse.
Role purpose:
Working alongside health professionals in the hospital setting, support older patients identified as experiencing or at risk of elder abuse through the provision of direct legal assistance, and by building the capacity of health staff to respond to the issue through education and secondary consultations. Demonstrate leadership in the design and delivery of our existing HJP with SVHN, working closely with health teams, older clients, pro bono firms and evaluators to deliver improved legal and health outcomes for older people experiencing or at risk of abuse.
Key responsibilities:
- Provide secondary consultations on a broad range of legal issues to assist health professionals.
- Conduct intensive legal triage with clients experiencing, or at risk of, elder abuse and other legal issues associated with ageing.
- Provide targeted legal advice and discrete casework on-site at the health services — as well as at outreach locations in the community — and appropriate information, referrals and resources for older people.
- Oversee referrals to pro bono firms, including providing guidance to pro bono lawyers and responding to clients.
- Escalate risk and legal practice management issues to the Manager.
- Develop strategies to be visible within the health services and to engage with health professionals, such as attending case conference meetings with multi-disciplinary teams, aimed at supporting staff to identify potential legal issues and appropriate referral pathways.
- Identify casework trends and systemic problems impacting on older people and engage in various initiatives — including projects, law reform and advocacy activities — to address these problems.
- Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, in particular, health professionals, pro bono lawyers, evaluators, other community services, networks and funders.
- Develop resources and deliver education promoting the legal rights of older people tailored for health professionals, pro bono lawyers and community members.
- Collect data to assist with monitoring and evaluation.
- Participate in working groups and committees focused on the legal rights of older people.
- Actively participate in promotion activities, including by representing Justice Connect in a range of public forums, delivering presentations and contributing to internal and external publications.
- Assist with the governance, fundraising, reporting and evaluation requirements of the program including reports for the Justice Connect Board and funders.
- Contribute to program and organisation-wide projects
- Perform other duties as directed and necessary to the proper performance of the role.
Selection criteria
- Please view the attached PDF for further information regarding the selection critera.
How to apply
Applications not allowed for this job listing.
Please quote in application: Lawyer, Seniors Law (NSW) via Pro Bono Australia.
Sector: #Law_Justice_and_Human_Rights
