Legal Education for New Migrants

The Legal Services Commission has a specialised program for the provision of legal education to people from new and emerging migrant communities. Since 2004, Legal Services has worked with migrant communities to meet their legal educational needs and ensure their access to justice.

For people who face the complex challenges of resettling in Australia, legal education and information about accessing legal services can significantly reduce the risks of hardship and social isolation. Traditionally, migrant communities have negotiated the first years of settlement in Australia with a limited understanding of the laws and operation of our legal system.

Community legal education (CLE) plays a key role in assisting new migrants, particularly those of non-English speaking backgrounds, achieve greater self-reliance and social mobility through improved awareness of their rights and responsibilities under Australian law.

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Current Resources 

Law For You

This is a basic guide to the law for new migrants living in South Australia. It is intended to help non-English speakers learn key laws and find out about services available to assist people with legal problems. It is available in 14 languages.

Please visit our Law For You page for more information.

Protection Visa Program

These flyers and posters are available in 13 languages to help new migrants access legal help and representation in relation to protection visas. Please visit our Protection Visa Program resources page to access these resources.

Linking the Law

Community Legal Guides from new migrant communities trained to help their communities identify legal issues and access legal help feature in 8 short videos produced in community languages. Please visit our Linking the Law page to access the videos.

Audio Recordings

Audio recordings in 9 community languages about accessing our services originally produced for radio by SBS. Please visit our Audio Recordings in Community Languages page to listen to the recordings.

Our Approach

 Our approach to working with new migrant communities in legal education is based on:

• community-based service delivery models;
• non-academic, practical and culturally appropriate methodologies; and
• ongoing support for relevant community leaders and organisations working with new migrants in the process of their settlement.

The community-based service delivery model is aimed at ensuring our legal education meets the specific needs of new and emerging migrant communities. We work with these communities to find out what they need to know about Australian law and how they like to learn.

We have close working relationships with the Adult Migrant Education Program, Humanitarian Settlement Services and a variety of other organisations working with new and emerging migrant communities.

Our workshops cover topics such as:

• Introduction to the Australian legal system
• Laws that affect families, including:
  • age of consent
  • marriage and divorce
  • de facto relationships
  • children and separation
  • property and separation
  • rights and responsibilites in relation to parenting
  • child protection and mandatory reporting
  • family violence
• Landlord and tenant law
• Contract and consumer laws
• Employment laws
• Discrimination
• Traffic laws (driving and motor vehicles)
• Criminal laws (dealing with police, assaults, weapons and fraud)
• How to get legal advice

All workshops contain practical examples of how and why the law applies to our everyday life.