Previous Training Sessions - Barwon Community Legal Service

Previous Virtual Information Sessions

Our Previous Training Sessions:

28th March 2024 12:00pm-1:00pm
Hosted by: Barwon Community Legal Service

 This session is designed to help equip community workers with essential knowledge about future planning documents – wills, powers of attorney, medical treatment decision makers, advanced care plans and more.

As Lawyers, we understand the importance of these legal instruments in safeguarding individuals’ futures but know they can be complex to navigate.

This session will not only help you understand the different types of powers that can be appointed, but will explain how and when they apply, as well as addressing common issues, enabling to better assist those you work with if you’re ever faced with any questions.

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29th November 2023 12:00 pm-1:15 pm
Hosted by: Barwon Community Legal Service with guests Tenants Victoria

We know that working with clients experiencing tenancy issues can be confusing and generate lots of questions.

We hosted Tenants Victoria for an informative session focused on supporting your clients with common tenancy issues, how to access answers and supports as a worker and where to refer your clients for help. 

The information session runs for 1 hour with 15 minutes at the end reserved for a Q&A. 

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Do you know how to identify and respond to suspected elder abuse?

Our Understanding and Responding to Elder Abuse session features a panel of local experts as they discuss ways of helping you identify, respond to and support someone who might be experiencing elder abuse in the Barwon region.  We discuss local referral pathways and the sometime complex intersecting issues relating to legal assistance, financial counselling, housing and support.

Our panel of local experts includes:

  • Carol Stuart, Senior Community Lawyer, Barwon Community Legal Service
  • John Sheehan, Financial Counsellor, Cultura
  • Rose Marsh, Service Development Coordinator, Wintringham
  • Mandy Strange, Clinical and Program Leader Elder Services, Better Place Australia

Discussion is facilitated by Alexandria Jones, Community Development Manager, Barwon Community Legal Service.

This Law for Community Workers Virtual Information session was presented as part of the Exploring Barwon series  – a monthly series of presentations sharing information about the available resources in the Barwon Area.

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Barwon Community Legal Service (BCLS) provides free legal information, advice and casework to people living in the Greater Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula, Surf Coast and Colac Otway communities.  We also convene the Barwon Elder Abuse Primary Prevention (BEAPP) Network.

Supporting your clients with Family Violence Intervention Orders and related legal issues

18th May 2023 from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Hosted by: Barwon Community Legal Service

In this information session join our community lawyers Brett Hogan and Sarah Eid for an informative session focusing on fines and infringements. This session focused on the following areas to help you support your clients with outstanding fines and infringements:

  • Who enforces fines in Victoria: the role of Fines Victoria and consequences of not dealing with a fine
  • The life cycle of a fine – different stages of fines and steps to take at each stage and why it is important to act early with fines
  • Special circumstances – How to know whether you client might have special circumstances
  • Connecting your clients to free legal assistance -how a community legal centre can assist your clients with fines
  • We also cover the Work Development Permit and Family Violence Schemes and provide some useful self-help resources that can be used to better support your clients with outstanding fines.

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In this information session join our Family Violence & Family Law Practice Manager Tamara Kotowicz and Community Development Manager Alexandria Jones for an informative session focusing on family law basics to assist you to support your clients with family law problems.

The session will focus on the following areas to help you support your clients through often complex family law issues:

  • Understanding the Family Law Process
  • Common Frustrations and Misunderstandings about the Family Law System
  • Intersection of Family Violence and Family Law
  • When should your client seek advice?

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Supporting your clients with Family Violence Intervention Orders and related legal issues
24th November 2022 from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Hosted by: Barwon Community Legal Service


In this information session join our Community Lawyer Sam Hawkins and Community Development Manager Alexandria Jones for an informative session focusing on supporting your clients with Family Violence Intervention Orders and other related legal issues.

This session focused on the following areas to help support your clients through what is often a very traumatic time in their lives.

This session covers:

Family Violence Intervention Orders –

  • What is a Family Violence Intervention Order
  • The process for applying for a Family Violence Intervention Order
  • Understanding the court process
  • Breaches of a Family Violence Intervention Order

Interactions with other areas of law

  • Fines and infringements
  • Residential Tenancy (House Rentals)
  • Loans/consumer credit
  • Family law
  • Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT)

Recording of our session is available here

PowerPoints available here.

Request a tailored training session for your team or organisation

In addition to our online training and monthly webinars, we may be able to provide a tailored training session for your organisation on a particular area of law. 

For a list of the areas we can provide training about please see our website.

If you would like to request a tailored training, please complete our online request form below.

Tailored training request