Youthlaw is a specialist state wide community legal centre for young people. We provide free and confidential legal advice to young people up to the age of 25.
- provide free and confidential legal advice, information and casework services to young people up to the age of 25 years
- provide education programs for young people about their legal rights and responsibilities
- provide advice and information to advocates for children and young people about how the law affects young people
- advocate on justice policy issues for young people
- work with young people to make a difference.
- Getting around - rules for riders and drivers
- Public transport - dealing with transit police, inspectors and fines
- Police - your rights, going to Court, what to do about unfair treatment
- Security Guards - when can they search you and your bags?
- Alcohol and drugs - smoking, marijuana. What does the law say?
- Family issues - your parents are breaking up, who listens to you? (Read Information sheet)
- What to do about violence or abuse at home - when can you leave home?
- Relationships - laws about sex, becoming a young parent and personal safety
- Schools - suspension, expulsion, harassment from other students (Read legal factsheet)
- Discrimination - what is it, when is it unlawful and what can you do about it?
- Financial support - what if Centrelink says you are not eligible for benefits or cancels your benefit? (Read legal factsheet)
- Working - do young casual workers have any rights?
Youthlaw is a free legal service for young people. Your issues and options will be discussed confidentially. We will not tell others what you tell us, unless you want us to.
Youthlaw is a specialist Community Legal Centre which was established in 2001 as a partnership between private legal service providers and a community legal centre.
Youthlaw is funded by the Commonwealth and State Governments and Blake Dawson, a commercial law firm.
Youthlaw is based at Frontyard Youth Services in central Melbourne. Frontyard consists of an integrated team of collocated services, that work collaboratively to address the needs of young people at risk, including, accommodation, financial, legal and health needs.
Youthlaw is a fearless advocate for young people. Youthlaw works within a social justice and human rights framework. Our work is based on principles of community development and we work together with young people to realise our shared vision. We recognise and value the diversity of young people and we strive to reflect that diversity in our work. Youthlaw works collaboratively to stimulate and create systemic change in the community for the benefit of young people.
To provide an accessible legal service to young people under the age of 25, focusing on areas of unmet legal need. To address systemic legal and social justice issues in Victoria through community education, advocacy and law reform both for and with young people and their advocates.
Youthlaw is governed by a Management Committee of 7 members which includes at least two young people. Current members of the Committee are:
- Michelle Marven
- Noelle de Clifford
- Simon Gauci
- Jenny Lawton
- Marina Lou
- Ari Nagar
- Sophie Osborn
- Director - Ariel Couchman
- Principal Solicitor - Anna Radonic
- Lawyer - Hala Atwa
- Secondee Lawyer - Jordana Cohen
- Advocacy & Human Rights Officer - Tiffany Overall
- Projects Officer - Tamar Spatz
- Outreach Lawyer - Annie Davis
- Finance Officer - Sally Goldner
- Providing young people with ongoing support.
- Providing young people with a sense of belonging and ownership in relation to decision-making.
- Providing young people with a sense that their participation is valued.
- Providing adequate resourcing including time, space, funding and information.
- Acknowledging the contribution of young people (e.g. reimbursement of costs).
- Acknowledging some of the barriers young people may face (e.g. timing of meetings) and modifying or removing these barriers.
Young people are currently involved in Youthlaw in the following ways:
An exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act (1995) granted by the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria has allowed for 2 positions on the management committee to be restricted to people under the age of 25 years.Youthlaw supports these members by providing mentors, financial assistance where required and training.
Young people are valued members of Youthlaw and we are considering different ways to increase young people's access to and participation in our organisation.
Membership is FREE and is a great way of finding out what we are doing and getting involved in issues you are interested in. Fill in the application form by downloading it here.
Young people have been involved in staff recruitment processes including the recruitment of the Director and the Advocacy and Human Rights Officer.
Currently all volunteers are young people.
If you're interested in volunteering at Youthlaw download the Volunteer information and application form [135Kb Word file] and we'll be in contact to let you know if there are any opportunities.
Resources
The Youth Affairs Council and the Office for Youth have produced the Taking Young People Seriously handbooks which are a series of resources exploring young people's participation in their communities.
See the Youth Affairs Council website for more information.
the lowdown, is Youthlaw's bi-monthly electronic newsletter. the lowdown keeps you updated on Youthlaw's law reform and campaign work and other burning issues that arise. So get the lowdown and feel free to pass it on to your networks.
2006/2007 Annual Report [2.57Mb PDF]
2005/2006 Annual Report [1.93Mb PDF]
2004/2005 Annual Report [1.74Mb PDF]
2003/2004 Annual Report [479kb PDF]
2002/2003 Annual Report [466kb PDF]
2001/2002 Annual Report [1.29Mb PDF]
If you are a young person in need of free legal advice, drop in and see us:
Mondays – Fridays 2pm-5pm
@Frontyard
19 King Street
Melbourne 3000 (Between Flinders Lane & Flinders Street)
If you would like information by phone or email:
Phone: 9611 2412
Fax: 9620 3622
Email: info@youthlaw.asn.au
To find your closest community legal centre, visit the FCLC website.
The information on this site is of a general nature only and is not a substitute for legal advice. It is for information only. You should not rely or act on the basis of any information contained here without first obtaining legal advice from a lawyer about your specific situation.
No claim is made as to the accuracy or authenticity of the content of the web site. The information on the site is provided on the basis that all persons accessing the site undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content.
The Young People's Legal Rights Centre Vic Inc disclaims all liability in respect of any action taken or not taken in reliance on the contents of this site. The Young People's Legal Rights Centre Vic Inc disclaims all liability for anything contained on or accessed via this site.
The content of any web site which is referred to at this site or hyper-linked to this site is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by the Young People's Legal Rights Centre Vic Inc unless expressly stated to the contrary.