Are you an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?

Looking for a legal career?

Judge BoB Bellear LEGAL CAREER PATHWAYS PROGRAM

legal aid NSW offers employment opportunities through this program. This brochure outlines how you can benefit and where to apply.

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About Legal Aid NSW

Aboriginal people are a priority client group for

Legal Aid NSW.

To help ensure services and the work environment are culturally sensitive and appropriate, Legal Aid has an Aboriginal Services Unit (ASU).

The ASU coordinates, develops and implements initiatives relating specifically for Aboriginal clients, communities and staff.

Legal Aid NSW is established under the Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 and is an independent statutory body. We provide legal aid and other legal services to disadvantaged people.

We assist socially and economically disadvantaged people to understand an protect their rights. One of the functions of the legal system is to safeguard people’s rights. The legal system can only perform this protective role if people have equitable access to it.

Legal Aid NSW plays a special role in improving access to justice by providing a range of legal service to disadvantaged people. Legal Aid NSW also works with LawAccess NSW, community legal centres, the Aboriginal Legal Service and private lawyers to provide legal services to people throughout New South Wales.

Legal Aid NSW is one of the largest practices in NSW, with 22 offices across metropolitan and regional areas.

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Judge Bob Bellear was a Noonucal/NI-Vanuatu man from Mullumbimby, on the north coast of New South Wales.

Surrounded by poverty, he was forced to leave school at a young age

to support his large family.

after witnessing one too many instances of racism towards aboriginal australians, he went back and completed his Higher School Certificate before continuing on to university, where he studied law. Bob became a barrister and Public defender before being appointed australia’s first aboriginal judge in 1996.

He was also a mentor to many young aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, encouraging and supporting them in the pursuit of a career in law.

Bob helped establish the first aboriginal legal Service in redfern and the aboriginal Medical Service redfern.

Bob also founded the Aboriginal Housing Company. He conducted three successful Land Claims for the traditional

owners in the Northern Territory and was Counsel Assisting in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Bob Bellear was an immensely respected community member, a trailblazer, a role model, and a tireless advocate of Aboriginal Australia*.

Bob has spent his life fighting for Aboriginal people, and his dedication to social justice has never faltered.

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About Judge Bob Bellear

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• Scholarships for secondary school students to help complete their studies beyond year 10 and complete a Higher School Certificate with a view to embarking on tertiary training.

• Cadetships for full-time undergraduate law students to provide support in obtaining a law degree through financial assistance and a paid work placement(s) of twelve weeks each year.

• Graduate positions in legal aid NSW’s Career development Program which involves a two year placement in two legal practice areas for law graduates who have completed Practical legal Training and are eligible to practice.

• Professional legal placements which enable law graduates to complete their practical legal training to gain admission; and provide subsequent temporary employment to gain

further work experience.

The Judge Bob Bellear Legal Career Pathways Program offers:

“I commenced my cadetship with Legal Aid in late 2008. It allowed me to focus more time on my studies and not worry about having to work two jobs or paying for bills and uni fees. I found that I had great support at Legal Aid NSW, and had the opportunity to get a taste for different areas of practice. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have become a lawyer until much later on in life, as most agencies that offer the cadetship program are usually in the areas of health and social policy. The Bob Bellear Program is a great legacy to a great man, and will lead to what I am sure will be a new generation of Aboriginal lawyers.”

Young graduate, Kirsten Cheetham says:

”The Bob Bellear Program is a great legacy to a great man, and will lead to a new generation of Aboriginal lawyers.“ Kirsten Cheetham, Graduate

To find out if you qualify, visit www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au

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Employment with

The Koori Mail and National Indigenous Times advertise regularly for positions or programs that are identified for aboriginal people and/or Torres Strait Islanders.

legal aid NSW also has a number of positions that are identified for recruitment of an aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander, including legal officer, legal Support officer and other administrative positions. Identified positions are only open to aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants.

In line with the New South Wales government’s erecruitment Project, it is no longer possible to accept applications by email or in hard copy.

all applications must be submitted online at: www.jobs.nsw.gov.au

What support is available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members?

The legal aid NSW aboriginal Services unit provides the following support:

• an aboriginal Staff Network • a mentoring program

• aboriginal Cultural awareness Training for all staff.

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For more information, contact the Legal Aid NSW Aboriginal Services Unit on:

For details of Legal Aid NSW Aboriginal Employment Programs visit:

www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au

Artist Michael Clarke’s painting represents new home ground (in Duduk language): Aboriginal people would teach the law to white people.

Nov 2010

The Judge Bob Bellear Legal Career Pathways Program

9219 5109, 9219 5146 or 9219 5708

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