Recently endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, Marrickville Legal Centre launched its new Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) on Thursday 21 July 2022, hosted at the offices of MLC partner Colin, Biggers & Paisley.

The event was opened by Uncle Michael West from Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council with an official Welcome to Country followed by an address from Managing Principal Solicitor Vasili Maroulis who offered context about the Centre’s RAP journey and the ways this plan will help our Centre to improve access to justice for First Nations people living in our key catchment of Sydney’s inner west, south and south west.

“In creating our Reflect RAP, MLC has had to scope and develop our vision for reconciliation and identify what it means for us. At its core, MLC strives to achieve better and fairer outcomes to facilitate Justice for us all. MLC acknowledges the longstanding difficulties faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in accessing justice and fair outcomes within all facets of our legal system. Since our inception in 1979, MLC has endeavoured to provide free legal advice and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Reflect RAP has demonstrated that continuing business as usual is not enough to ensure we are facilitating access to justice and better and fairer outcomes for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. MLC is committed to ensuring that we are an accessible, inclusive, and safe space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

Guests also heard from Tempe-based Bundjalung artist Tracey L Bostock who shared a few words in a video message about reconciliation and her artwork Walking on Country for Reconciliation (2022) which features as the cover of MLC’s Reflect RAP.

The artwork illustrates the diversity of the community that surrounds Marrickville Legal Centre and the lands belonging to the Traditional Custodians of the Eora nation. The artwork features natural elements of Gadigal Country including the strong foundation of Sydney’s iconic sandstone and the Cook’s River that runs through Sydney’s inner west to the south west. Also represented is the man-made environment from the streets and terracotta rooves of Marrickville to the communities that exist within our communities, from those who have strong connections to others who may be in need of support.

Of the artwork, Tracey shares:

“My artwork expresses a community that is full of knowledge, richness in culture, strength and survival. Walking on Country for Reconciliation is about making an ongoing commitment to move forward with unity and integrity.

It’s about accepting relationships and the broader community, getting to know and understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, it’s true history, the importance of family, health, education and employment.

During our journey we can have a platform to voice, listen and share the stories.  Most importantly in this artwork is about how you walk the talk.  Involving yourself actively within community and the people.  Take time to reach out to your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and gain their insight and opinions.

I believe in taking those first small steps together on Country can embed a future with positive outcomes.”

The Reconciliation Action Plan, designed by MLC partner Hall & Wilcox, represents our commitment to taking positive action towards celebrating, connecting and collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their unique contributions to the communities we serve across New South Wales.

Read our RAP to learn more about Marrickville Legal Centre’s reconciliation journey. Further, our team invites you to pay our Illawarra Road office a visit to see Tracey Bostock’s commissioned artwork in person.

An opportunity is available to join Marrickville Legal Centre’s dynamic team delivering better and fairer outcomes for people who experience Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence.

How to apply

Submit your resume and a covering letter addressing the essential skills in the position description. For additional questions about the position or about working at MLC, contact Managing Principal Solicitor Vasili Maroulis vmaroulis@mlc.org.au.

Passionate about social justice and supporting the rights of renters? An opportunity is available to join Marrickville Legal Centre’s tenants’ services delivering better and fairer outcomes for tenants in the Inner West and Northern Sydney area.

Level: LC Band 4, Pay Point 4

Reports to: Senior Tenancy Advocates, Assistant Principal Solicitor

Staff Management: N/A

Type/Hours:Fixed Term (up to 9 months), Part-time employee, 35 hours per week.

Role overview

Marrickville Legal Centre offers free legal advice and assistance to the community of the inner-west, south-west, southern suburbs of Sydney, and beyond. There are 1.5 million people living in our key catchment: that’s 30 per cent of Sydney’s total population.

Marrickville Legal Centre solicitors provide access to justice through the provision of legal services, law reform and community legal education, particularly for people who are disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances.

The primary aim of the tenancy service is to help vulnerable renters and social housing tenants from within the Inner West and Northern Sydney to assert and advance their rights, assisting them to control and resolve their own disputes. The tenancy services provide legal information and advice as well as duty advocacy and representation for vulnerable tenants at NCAT. The service also engages in law reform and policy work to address systemic disadvantage and provides legal education to community workers.

This position is specifically for the provision of legal services (legal advice, casework and representation) in the area of tenancy services.

Essential skills

• Completed a Certificate IV in Community Services or equivalent Tenants Union training (desirable)
• Experience in client and or customer-facing roles.
• Penultimate LLB or GDLP – good to have.
• Commitment to social justice and tenant’s rights.
• Strong knowledge of legislation relating to tenants, boarders, residential parks and the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
• Experience advocating for vulnerable and disadvantaged tenants, boarders and lodgers in courts and tribunals.
• Proactive and independent attitude and result-oriented approach.
• Flexible, adaptable, able to challenge the status quo, and the ability to work as a team to deliver the best possible outcome for the community.
• Ability to present complex legal and other information clearly, accurately and in a way that can be understood by our clients.

About Marrickville Legal Centre’s goals

Marrickville Legal Centre’s vision is to promote social justice through the provision of free and accessible legal and related services to people who experience social and economic disadvantage. Each and every team member has a role to contribute to our strategic pillars:

• For all people: We’re proud to stand alongside individuals who are disadvantaged by our justice system, helping them toward better & fairer outcomes.
• For progress: We work with community partners to make sure the voices of disadvantaged people are heard I the processes that lead to policy reform.
• For working together: We are proud to bring people together to promote justice and protect human rights.
• For lasting change: We aim to resolve any immediate legal issues, and to link our clients to resources and services that will support them towards positive and lasting change in their lives, and in our community.

How to apply: Submit your resume and a covering letter addressing the essential skills in the position description. For additional questions about the position or about working at MLC, contact acting Managing Principal Solicitor Justin Abi-Daher at jabidaher@mlc.org.au.

Do you want to complete your practical legal training with Marrickville Legal Centre?

Marrickville Legal Centre is looking for motivated PLT volunteers with a demonstrated commitment to social justice. Preferred volunteer commitment is 60 days, 2-3 days per week.

Position:  Practical Legal Training Volunteer  

Level: Graduate or otherwise eligible for early PLT commencement 

Location: Marrickville Legal Centre, 338 Illawarra Road and/or Hut 21, 142 Addison Road Marrickville NSW 2203 

Role and Context of the Position

Marrickville Legal Centre (MLC) is a not-for-profit community legal centre based in Sydney’s inner-west but working across NSW. Our vision is to promote social justice – by providing free and accessible legal and related services to people who experience social and economic disadvantage. 

MLC’s services include General Legal Service, Employment Law Service, Family Law Service, Domestic & Family Violence Support Service, Strata Service NSW, Youth Legal Service NSW, and two specialised tenant services – Inner West Tenants’ Advice & Advocacy Service and Northern Sydney Area Tenants’ Service. 

PLTs are supervised by a solicitor for the duration of their placement. After an orientation period, all PLTs undertake a broad range of information, referral, administrative, and legal work under supervision. 

Position expectations

All PLTs are expected to perform two main tasks: intake and paralegal work. Intake includes interviewing clients and taking initial instructions, performing conflict checks, making client appointments, and legal research. 

See our Get Involved page for more information. 

How to apply: Please submit your application via our website attaching your resume, details of two referees, your academic record, and a cover letter highlighting your commitment to social justice and the work of Community Legal Centres.

As a tenant you have a range of rights under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW). This factsheet is designed for tenants. If you are unsure of your tenancy status, seek legal advice.

It is important to determine what kind of agreement you have with your landlord. These agreements are either; fixed, which means that it is only for a specific period of time, or periodic, meaning that it continues indefinitely.

Access

You have the right to ‘reasonable peace, comfort and privacy’ in your premises. The landlord/agent cannot interfere with this.

This means that they should not come to the property without your consent.

A landlord or agent can only enter the premises if you give consent, and they provide notice. The only exception is where there is an emergency, urgent repairs or the Tribunal gives them permission to do so.

Repair

You have the right to premises being in a reasonably clean state and fit for you to live in.

You can request for the landlord to resolve any urgent maintenance issues. Urgent repairs may include;

• Gas/electricity/water failure,
• Damage which makes the premises unsafe,
• Damage from a natural disaster,
• Serious roof leak, or
• An appliance is not working.

If requests for repair are refused, you may be reimbursed for reasonable costs incurred to have repairs done yourself. This is usually limited to $1,000 for repairs. A strict process needs to be followed so seek advice.

You can also request for non-urgent repairs to be completed. Ensure you give the landlord a clear deadline of when you expect work to be complete and ensure you keep record of all conversations and negotiations with the landlord and/or agent.

If no repairs are done to the property after following these steps, do NOT go on a rent strike.

Apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Contact our Centre for more information on this process and your options.

Rent reduction

You can make a written request to the landlord during your tenancy for a reduction in rent if:

• Any of the goods, services or facilities which came with the property are reduced or withdrawn because of your landlord’s failure to make repairs; or
• The property is completely or partly uninhabitable/unusable.

Request that the rent for the property be reduced until the issues are resolved. If this is unsuccessful, apply to NCAT.

Contact Marrickville Legal Centre for more information on this process.

Rent increases

A landlord or agent may only increase the rent if:

• You have been given correct notice, and
• Rent increases are permitted under the tenancy agreement

For notice to be correct, it must:

• Be given within 60 days of the increase; and
  • If posted, extra 7 days for delivery
• Be in writing;
• Specify the amount of the increase; and
• Specify the day from which the increase applies.

If the notice is incorrect, you do not need to pay the increased rent. However, continue paying the current rent and notify the landlord in writing.

Additionally, rent increases are only permitted for:

• A fixed term of 2 years or more: ONCE in any 12-month period
• A fixed term of less than 2 years: ONLY if the increase amount and date of increase is in the agreement
• A periodic agreement: ONCE in any 12-month period

If you believe the increase is excessive, you can negotiate with the landlord or apply to NCAT for an excessive rent order. Contact Marrickville Legal Centre for advice on this process as strict time limits apply.

Leaving a lease

This table outlines the reasons you may leave a fixed and/or periodic agreement and how you can do so.

 NB: Notice should be in writing and given to the landlord or agent.

If you are seeking to leave your fixed term early without reason, you are required to pay a break fee.

Contact Marrickville Legal Centre to discuss what actions are best suited to your situation.

Domestic & Family Violence

There are options if you need to leave a tenancy due to domestic violence.

As a co-tenant of the perpetrator, you can leave a fixed term or periodic lease in the following ways:

• If you have an AVO or other evidence of domestic violence, you can give a domestic violence termination notice and leave.
• Otherwise, you can apply to NCAT for an order to terminate or give a 21-day termination notice.

If you want the perpetrator to leave, you can:

• Apply to NCAT for an order to end their tenancy
• Apply for a final AVO, which excludes the perpetrator from the premises – this automatically ends their tenancy

As a sub-tenant of the perpetrator in a periodic agreement, you can leave by:

• Giving termination notice of 14 days for breach of peace, comfort and privacy – and leave
• Giving a termination notice of 21 days and leave
• Issuing an immediate domestic violence termination notice – if you have an AVO or other evidence of domestic violence

As a head-tenant of the perpetrator in a periodic agreement, you can make them leave by:

• Issuing a termination notice of 90 days
• Issuing a termination notice of 14 days for breach of your peace, comfort and privacy
• Seeking a final AVO which excludes the perpetrator from the premises
• Applying to NCAT for termination of their tenancy

If you are experiencing concerns regarding your current lease, please contact Marrickville Legal Centre below or call us on 02 9559 2899. Our solicitors and tenancy advocates can identify what you can do if your rights as a tenant are being dismissed.

This factsheet contains legal information. It is not legal advice. The legal information is current as at 17 May 2022.

A new opportunity is available to join our passionate team delivering holistic legal & related services in Sydney’s inner west, south & south west.

Position: Domestic & Family Violence Support Worker
Organisation: Marrickville Legal Centre 
Location: Marrickville, New South Wales
Applications due: Now extended to Monday 11 July 2022 5pm

Role overview

Marrickville Legal Centre offers free legal advice and assistance to the community of the inner-west, south-west, southern suburbs of Sydney, and beyond. There are 1.5 million people living in our key catchment: that’s 30 percent of Sydney’s total population.

A significant proportion of people who seek assistance at Marrickville Legal Centre (MLC) have been affected by family and domestic violence. The role of the Domestic Violence Support Worker is to provide short-term case management, including information and referral, to clients of MLC affected by family and domestic violence and occasionally clients affected by other significant non-legal issues such as mental health, substance abuse and homelessness.

The role of the Domestic Violence Support Worker also involves raising awareness of family and domestic violence (including options for assistance) in the community, through community legal education with community organisations and groups in the MLC catchment area.

The Position will be based primarily at the Marrickville Legal Centre’s office. This position may also involve regular travel to outreach locations across metropolitan Sydney and out-of-hours work to assist in delivering community legal education and weekend work to participate in community activities and events (occasionally).

Essential skills

• 1-3 years’ experience as a social worker or domestic violence support worker
• Sound understanding of domestic and family violence and the intersection between domestic and family violence and legal issues.
• Sound judgment and outstanding analytical and contractual skills.
• Strong commercial acumen and pragmatic approach to all work
• Proactive and independent attitude and result oriented approach.
• Flexible, adaptable, able to challenge the status quo, and the ability to work as a team to deliver the best possible outcome for the community.

About Marrickville Legal Centre’s mission and values

Marrickville Legal Centre’s vision is to promote social justice through the provision of free and accessible legal and related services to people who experience social and economic disadvantage.  Each and every team member has a role to contribute to our strategic pillars:

For all people: We’re proud to stand alongside individuals who are disadvantaged by our justice system, helping them toward better & fairer outcomes.

For progress: We work with community partners to make sure the voices of disadvantaged people are heard I the processes that lead to policy reform.

For working together: We are proud to bring people together to promote justice and protect human rights.

For lasting change: We aim to resolve any immediate legal issues, and to link our clients to resources and services that will support them towards positive and lasting change in their lives, and in our community.

How to apply: Submit your resume and a covering letter addressing the essential skills in the position description at Ethical Jobs. For additional questions about the position or about working at MLC, contact acting Assistant Principal Solicitor  Lucy Carroll at lcarroll@mlc.org.au.