PAST WEBINARS
Missed a webinar? You can catch up in your own time!
The last 12 webinars are below and older webinars can be found on our Vimeo page.
Accompanying factsheets can be found in the Resources.
Applying for Divorce: a step-by-step guide.
Presented by: Rebecca Keys, Solicitor, Women’s Legal Service NSW
Divorce applications are now completed online via the Commonwealth Courts Portal. This webinar provides a step-by-step guide to completing the application form. There are tips for helping clients upload the correct documents, serve the application to the other side and attend the hearing. It also discusses what is required where parties have lived under one roof, where there has been a short marriage and options when they don’t know where the other person is living.
Broadcast: 6 March 2024
Practical Steps for Responding to Financial Abuse
Presented by: Erin Mulally, Senior Solicitor, Financial Rights Legal Centre
Bettina Cooper, Financial Counsellor and Strategy Lead with Mob Strong Debt Help
This webinar will help you to learn more about how caseworkers can help women who have suffered financial abuse.
Broadcast: 7 February 2024
Coercive Control Reforms - an overview of the new offence
Presented by: Liz Snell, Law Reform and Policy Coordinator, WLSNSW
This webinar will briefly outline the new coercive control offence expected to commence by 1 July next year in NSW and discuss the cultural and systems reform required to accompany these reforms. It will also outline the monitoring and review mechanisms to ensure continuous improvements and the opportunities for service providers to provide input.
Broadcast: 29 November 2023
Making sense of the Family Law Amendment Bill (Parenting)
Presented by: Gabrielle Craig, Assistant Principal Solicitor, WLS NSW
This webinar provides an overview of the changes to the Family Law Act and discuss what these changes will mean for our victim survivors of family violence. While there are some positive changes in the Bill, such as the removal of the presumption of Equal Shared Parental Responsibility, we are concerned that safety is no longer prioritised in the best interest factors. We will discuss how we can best make use of the new provisions to ensure evidence of family violence is appropriately before the court and given appropriate weight.
Broadcast: 1 November 2023
Family violence in property settlement cases
Presented by: Rishika Pai – Senior Solicitor, WLS NSW
This webinar looks at the ways in which family violence might have a bearing in determining how to divide property between parties to a relationship. It will include a discussion of the “Kennon argument” and recent case law on this issue.
Broadcast: 11 October 2023
Meet the First Nations Women's Legal Program
Presented by: Taritah Daugherty – Community Outreach Officer, FNWLP
This special program aims to support and meet the legal needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Developed in 1995, in consultation with Aboriginal women the program receives guidance and feedback from the Aboriginal Women’s Consultation Network, ensuring that services are culturally appropriate.
The First Nations Women’s Legal Program (FNWLP) is staffed by Aboriginal women and offers free legal advice via an advice line and outreach clinics; assistance in finding a lawyer; training and community workshops across NSW; resources and information. we also provide an overview of The Indigenous List at the Sydney Registry.
Broadcast: 13 September 2023
Recent reforms to the sexual harassment framework
Presented by: Ruby Catsanos – Solicitor, Working Women’s Legal Service (WWLS)
The implementation of the recommendations from the Australian Human Rights Commission Respect@Work report has seen significant reforms to Australia’s sexual harassment framework. This webinar looks at the major changes to the legislation, which include increased obligations on employers to maintain workplaces free from sexual harassment and expanded options for resolving sexual harassment complaints.
Broadcast: 9 August 2023
NSW’s first specialist criminal legal service for women
Presented by: Laura Russell – Criminal Solicitor, Homeless Person’s Legal Service
This webinar looks at a pilot program for a specialist criminal legal service for women who are victim-survivors of DFSV. The pilot provides free casework and advice to women charged with criminal offences. Noting the increase in incarceration of women and the growing body of work examining the nexus between domestic and family violence, sexual assault, homelessness and the criminalisation of women, the pilot hopes to demonstrate that a fully funded service such as this is needed.
Broadcast: 5 July 2023
Understanding the expansion of the Immigration Family Violence Provisions
Presented by: Ann Emmanuel, Senior Solicitor and Sarah Akanda, Solicitor – IARC
This webinar explains the recent expansion of the evidence victim-survivors of family violence can provide to continue with certain visa applications. The changes allow for more support services to provide documents in support of a family violence claim, as well as expanding the kinds of documents that can be provided. The Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (IARC) joined us to explain these changes, which will help to reduce additional barriers faced by some victim-survivors with immigration and visa issues.
Broadcast: 7 June 2023
Accessing the Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme
Presented by: Brendan Delahunty – Manager, Reparations & Strategic Projects, and Mary van Reyk – Senior Project Officer, Aboriginal Affairs and Lyn Carriage – Wodi Wodi/ Wandandian woman from the South Coast and Solicitor, Civil Law Service for Aboriginal Communities, Legal Aid NSW
This webinar gives an overview of the Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme. Applications to the scheme have been extended to 30 June 2023 and this webinar provides information about eligibility criteria, the application process and the support services that are available to assist applicants when applying to the scheme or requesting a review.
Broadcast: 5 April 2023
Understanding the work of the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services (WDVCASs)
Presented by: Dr Bridget Mottram – Senior Policy Officer – WDVCAS Program, DV NSW
Domestic Violence NSW will join us to explain the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services, what they do, how they fit into the larger Safer Pathway structure, their relationships with the court, police, and other services, and how people can help their clients access their services.
Broadcast: 15 March 2023
Legal options for survivors of childhood sexual abuse
Presented by: Emily Hirst-Johnson, Lawyer and Alexis Polidano, Senior Lawyer, Knowmore
In this presentation lawyers from Knowmore Legal Service explain the legal options available to survivors of child sexual abuse to receive compensation or redress. The presentation covers the Natioanl Redress Shceme, Victims Services and civil claims.