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This year we again partnered with services across the Barwon region to deliver the 2018 Respect Cup which brought ten schools and 150 students together for an interactive day of netball and workshops at the Kardinia Netball Complex. The event engages young people through combining interactive workshops which explore elements of respectful relationships with a

Not all intimate partner violence is physical. There is often financial control imposed within abusive relationships, and devastating, long-term financial impacts after leaving the relationship. Family violence survivors can inherit debt or poor credit ratings, lose property or have to deal with fines incurred by their abusive current or ex-partner. As part of the Barwon

Peter* has been paying child support for his daughter since she was born. In December 2014 he was incarcerated at the Geelong Withdrawal Unit for 15 months. During this time he was unable to contact the Child Support Agency (CSA) to advise of the change in his circumstances. While he was incarcerated, the CSA assessed

Since 1 July 2015, when the Commonwealth Government made changes to the way the Disability Support Pension (DSP) was assessed, it has been increasingly difficult for clients with long-term disabilities to receive this important support. Many people who could be eligible remain on Newstart Allowance with no ability to work or to meet their ‘mutual

Alex Jones has joined BCLS as the new Community Legal Education and Development Worker. Alex has recently returned back home to Geelong after spending the last three and a half years in Darwin working in the Community Legal Education team at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. We offer free community legal education and information

  I came to this position expecting to be inundated by calls and complex paperwork, however, I was pleasantly surprised to be working in such a supportive and manageable team. I primarily worked alongside Charmaine who knows everything there is to know about the service and very happily showed me the ropes. In the event

BCLS often works with other Victorian and National Legal Centres. Last year over 9 weeks from August to October, an informal training secondment program was set up between BCLS and Social Security Rights Victoria*. Our lawyer, Elsie Stokie, trekked to Melbourne for a day each week to experience a barrage of social security problems and

The Seeking Refuge Project (SRP) is a partnership between local group Bellarine for Refugees, Refugee Legal and BCLS. The project has been in operation since January 2016 with Marijana Hawkins coordinating as the Project Worker for two days a week. The SRP has assisted Asylum Seekers who arrived by boat between 13 August 2012 and

This work is being undertaken within the framework of a broader project led by the Federation of Community Legal Centres which aims to improve the interplay between the 24 generalist and 25 specialist Community Legal Centres (CLCs) across Victoria, so that all CLC clients receive the expert assistance they need. The Project is funded and

The end of 2017 and the start of 2018 saw us welcome several new Deakin Interns (Jessica, Chelsea and Ian) and Practical Legal Training (PLT) students (Jon, Helen, Shane, Daniel and Victor) to BCLS. Shane impressed us so much that he was offered a job at the end of his placement! We have also been

Susan* had been on a Disability Support Pension (DSP) for almost 10 years until Centrelink conducted a review in late 2015. Due to huge medical advancements, Susan’s condition was significantly better than when she was first granted the DSP. As such, Susan did not now meet the 20 point requirement and her DSP was cut