The National Children’s and Youth Law Centre (NCYLC) is Australia’s only national community legal centre dedicated to representing the rights and interests of children and young people. The Centre provides advice and information for children and young people about the law and their rights and responsibilities. It also works with those who support and advocate for children. The NCYLC lobbies governments to consider children and child rights when developing legislation and policies that may have an impact on young people.
The Beginning
The National Children's and Youth Law Centre was established in June 1993 with a three-year seeding grant from the then Australian Youth Foundation, now Foundation for Young Australians. The Centre was run as a joint project of the University of Sydney, the University of NSW and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
At the end of the three-year seeding grant, the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department agreed to on-going funding for the Centre. However, the Department funding provides for two solicitors only, not covering the full operation, promotion, staffing needs of the Centre and its services.
Quality legal programs providing service to children and young people
Since its inception the Centre has developed a national profile among children and young people, and is recognised as one of few peak national bodies advocating for children and young people. The NCYLC is often the first point of contact for media agencies seeking statements about youth issues, and the staff frequently address public and professional seminars on youth, legal and human rights issues.
The Centre has also played a fundamental role in the provision of legal advice to young people, and has been central in representing their interests in law reform. In April 1997, the Centre developed an innovative facility for providing these services online: Lawstuff. The site has radically transformed the Centre's ability to offer legal advice nationally.
In October 1998 LawMail was added to the LawStuff website. LawMail is an interactive Internet legal advice and information service aimed at young people across Australia, and is hosted on the NCYLC Lawstuff website. During the year from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 the Centre provided responses to 1102 LawMails. Over the past 4 year the topics of most concern to young people have been analysed as: a child’s own family relationship issues; issues arising from the break-up of the relationships between a child’s parents, property and goods; police powers; and employment issues.
In early 2007 the Centre built on its existing relationship with law firm Mallesons Stephens Jacques to pilot a new pro bono program in the Brisbane Mallesons office called the Cyber Volunteer Pilot Project. After the success of the pilot, the Centre and Mallesons agreed to roll out the Project nationally. During the past twelve months, the Project has been progressively rolled out in each of the capital cities where Mallesons has offices – Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and in July 2008 in Perth. The Project is a scheme whereby solicitors and other staff of Mallesons and other organisations with close links to Mallesons (Telstra and the Australian National University) volunteer 2 hours a week to help NCYLC answer LawMails, update and prepare LawStuff content and work on policy projects.
Our collaboration with the Child Rights Taskforce has continued to build and we can now claim strong direct relationships with the representatives from UNICEF, Oxfam and Save the Children. This network will steer the next Alternative Report on Australia’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
A vision to further enhancing access to justice
With one office (Sydney) staffed by the equivalent of 3 full-time people, the NCYLC operates under exceptionally limited resources. Through the support of a small team of volunteers and generous pro-bono services from sections of the legal community across Australia, the Centre is able to maintain its services.
Currently, the NCYLC is committed to attracting further sponsorship and support to ensure that children and young people have greater access to legal services and information.
The National Children's and Youth Legal Centre is a registered charitable, non-government organisation and donations are tax-deductible: CFN 10092. Should you or your organisation wish to support the ongoing work and the provision of services by the Centre, please contact our Director, James McDougall via the contact page.