28 March 2024
Interim CEO Hamish McLachlan speaks to the launch of FLS’s Migration Law Project, the need for fearless advocacy amidst the federal government backtracking on its commitment to protect LGBTIQA+ students and teachers, and the upcoming launch of the 46th edition of The Law Handbook.
It has been an exciting month at Fitzroy Legal Service as we launched a vital new addition to our service, our new Migration Law Project.
This is a three-year project generously funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, and will have a focus on sector-wide capacity building and providing assistance where migration law issues intersect with other pressing community law issues, such as family law, family violence, criminal law, employment law and social security.
Demand for migration law assistance is always high among our clients, particularly with clients accessing our Night Service, our brilliant Migrant Employment Law Clinic and, more recently, Q+Law. We have been reminded just how crucial services like this are these past weeks as visa holders struggled to enter Australia from Palestine.
You can read more about the project and its leader, Senior Migration Lawyer, Nick Newlands, in FLS’s March eNews.
This month we have also been reminded of the need for fearless advocacy to hold governments to account. We used our voice to urge the federal government not to backtrack on its commitment to protect LGBTIQA+ students and teachers from discrimination on the grounds of sexuality and gender.
We also joined the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and other sector partners in calling for the Victorian government to honour its commitment to improve our youth bail laws, so they do not disproportionately impact First Nations youth.
We have a number of upcoming workshops that we would love for you to be involved in. Please read about them below, make sure you register and look out for more events to be announced next month.
Lastly, the final touches are being put on the 46th edition of The Law Handbook. If you are a past or present contributor and would like to join us to celebrate this iconic publication, please email supporter@fls.org.au for details.
Hamish McLachlan
Interim Chief Executive Officer
