The Gosnells Community Legal Centre (GCLC) is a finalist for the Attorney General’s Community Service Law Awards in the not-for-profit category.
The annual awards celebrate the lawyers and organisations who go the extra mile to help vulnerable and disadvantaged clients through pro bono, Legal Aid and community legal centre work.
GCLC assists low income and vulnerable people in Gosnells and Armadale with family and civil law matters, providing more than 4000 legal services in the past financial year.
Among the Centre’ services are: a weekly family law walk-in advice clinic serving 15-22 people per day; a self-funded criminal injury compensation program for victims of crime; an evening legal clinic with 10 private practitioners who provide pro-bono legal advice to clients on matters GCLC does not handle; and a family dispute resolution practice with 20 volunteer mediators who coordinate parenting plans for people negotiating a separation.
This year the centre became an integral part of the Department of Justice’s Leave Safe, Stay Safe pilot program, providing legal advice for women prisoners at risk of family and domestic violence, before and after release from prison.
GCLC also provides a duty lawyer service at Armadale Magistrates Court for residential tenancy and family violence matters, advising and representing up to 20 people per week.
The awards are being announced at an event on Friday night.
