Responding to unmet legal need near the Kensington campus
Kingsford Legal Centre
Kingsford Legal Centre
Kingsford Legal Centre (KLC) is a community legal centre providing free legal advice, casework and legal education to the community close to UNSW’s Kensington campus. Founded in 1981, KLC’s model was based on UNSW’s relationship with Redfern Legal Centre, which hosted UNSW students in community legal education projects and placements. KLC is jointly funded by the NSW Attorney General’s Community Legal Services Program and UNSW Sydney, where it sits in the Faculty of Law & Justice.
There are two community partnerships that exemplify KLC’s commitment to serving local community members: its Health Justice Partnership at Prince of Wales Hospital and contribution to Randwick City Council’s The Hub@Lexo.
Health Justice Partnership
What
The Health Justice Partnership (HJP) between KLC, Prince of Wales Hospital (POWH) and Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service (ESMHS) is a service partnership based on an established model. Formalised in 2019, the HJP involves a dedicated KLC solicitor working in the Health Translation Hub next to POWH one day a week, seeing clients with unmet legal needs referred by social workers and other health staff.
The fundamental goal of the partnership is for KLC to support people in the healthcare system with legal issues that they would not otherwise be accessing advice on. While the partnership sees clients with a wide variety of needs, there are recurring themes of legal issues being caused by the criminalisation of mental illness and declining capacity in older individuals.
Who
- KLC, UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice
- Emma Golledge, Director (leadership oversight)
- Dianne Anagnos, Deputy Director (leadership oversight)
- Naomi Delaney, KLC Solicitor/Clinical Supervisor
- Prince of Wales Hospital (POWH)
- Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service (ESMHS)
How
The HJP formally began when KLC, POWH and ESMHS formalised their existing collaboration where social workers at the hospital referred clients to KLC on an informal basis. KLC and its partners in the HJP know from their work with clients over many years that there is an urgent and ongoing need for this service—even beyond what they are currently resourced to provide—and so intend to continue to provide it indefinitely.
The Hub@Lexo
What
The Hub@Lexo is a community outreach space coordinated by Randwick City Council (RCC) and South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHS). Since 2019, the Hub has provided opportunities for members of the South Maroubra community and its surrounds to access a wide range of services in one place. KLC staff, often with students on placement, provide free legal advice, casework and legal education on a wide variety of topics, with a consistent theme being legal issues caused by a lack of safe and secure housing.
Who
KLC provides solicitors and legal students for a few hours each week to attend the Hub. There are over ten other organisations providing services and support:
- Community and non-government organisations (Botany Family & Children’s Centre, Headspace, Latrobe Community Health Service, WAYS Youth & Family, Counterpoint Community Services, Milk Crate Theatre)
- Charities (The Benevolent Society, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Orange Sky)
- Government agencies (Homes NSW, Kirketon Road Centre, Services Australia/Centrelink)
How
After RCC and SESLHD recognised that the South Maroubra social housing communities were experiencing high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage, in 2019 they pulled together local services they had worked with to provide a way for residents to have their needs met in one place. KLC has been regularly involved in attending the Hub since then (apart from during COVID restrictions), and it has become its busiest outreach site.
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