JOINT MEDIA RELEASE Issued in partnership with the NSW Bar Association and Law Society of NSW 20 March 2023   The peak bodies for NSW solicitors and barristers have joined the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) to call for a fairer justice system in the lead-up to the state election. CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited Karly Warner said continued commitment to...

2 March 2023 JOINT MEDIA RELEASE Issued in partnership with Public Interest Advocacy Centre and NSW Bar Association A new report from the Law Enforcement Conduct Committee (LECC) shows that ‘consorting laws’ are being misused and disproportionately targeting Aboriginal people in NSW, and continue to be used against people under 18. Consorting laws allow police to charge people simply for associating with...

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE  Issued in partnership with Redfern Legal Centre and Public Interest Advocacy Centre Tuesday 13 December 2022   The NSW Government’s ‘law and order’ response to the pandemic created significant fines debt and damaged community-police relations in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the state, according to a new UNSW Law School report. The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), Redfern...

MEDIA RELEASE Friday 9 December 2022   The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited (ALS) has congratulated Sarah Hopkins on her appointment as a NSW District Court Judge following yesterday’s announcement by the NSW Attorney General. Ms Hopkins has worked at the ALS since 1997 in various positions, most recently as Principal Solicitor of Justice Projects, Policy and Practice. She is the first...

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE  Issued in partnership with AbSec Thursday 1 December 2022, 1:30 p.m.   More than 40 community organisations, legal centres and human rights defenders have penned an open letter urging the next NSW Parliament to reform the child protection system, saying it is actively harming Aboriginal children. The letter comes a day after the latest Closing the Gap report revealed...

MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday 29 November 2022, 5:00 p.m.   Today’s cancellation of 33,000 COVID fines is a huge victory for the people of New South Wales. The Aboriginal Legal Service commended Revenue NSW for its quick decision to withdraw the fines after the NSW Government conceded in the Supreme Court that two fines were invalid – putting the legality of thousands more...

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE  Issued in partnership with AbSec Thursday 10 November 2022   The state’s peak organisations for Aboriginal children, families and legal services have cautiously welcomed the passage of a bill to reform the NSW child protection system but much more is needed. The Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment (Family is Culture) Bill 2022 seeks to implement 13...

MEDIA RELEASE Wednesday 2 November 2022   The Aboriginal Legal Service has expressed disappointment in the NSW Government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry into the Coroner’s Court. The Select Committee on the coronial jurisdiction in NSW issued 35 recommendations in May. On Tuesday, the Government gave its response, supporting only 15 of those recommendations and noting the rest. “The parliamentary inquiry put...

MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday 25 October 2022, 8:00 am   The Aboriginal Legal Service has re-issued its call for COVID fines to be cancelled following the release of a damning independent review into Australia’s response to the pandemic. The review is highly critical of the unequal impact of COVID policies on disadvantaged people, accusing governments and law enforcement of overreach by enforcing rules...