Albany Community Legal Centre

The Albany Community Legal Centre (ACLC) has been providing legal and advocacy services to the Great Southern community of Western Australia since 1995. Our services are directed to those community members who would not otherwise be able to access legal and advocacy services either because they are ineligible for legal aid or because they cannot afford the services of a private lawyer.

We are an independent not-for-profit community organisation. We provide legal information and advice, undertake negotiation, court representation and conduct community legal education sessions. We also engage in advocacy to address systemic justice issues within our community. ACLC plays an important and pivotal role in the local community in breaking down barriers that prevent access to justice in the Great Southern region.

Working towards a more just and fair society through providing access to legal services and legal education to members of the community.

We do this through providing a collaborative and responsive legal and educational service that assists and supports the socially and economically disadvantaged community members of the Great Southern region.

At the start of 2021, we implemented a new service model which highlighted four distinct priority groups. Our previous service discretions were resulting in inconsistent client experience. The pandemic highlighted a critical need for clear and consistent models.

Our model prioritises service delivery to four key groups:

• people experiencing poverty

• people living in insecure housing

• people with disability or mental health issues

• people experiencing