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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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 see our Law For You page for more information.
Audio recordings in 9 community languages about accessing our services originally produced for radio by SBS. Please see our Audio Recordings in Community Languages page to listen to the recordings.
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. See Linking the Law to view the videos.
Our approach to working with new migrant communities in legal education is based on:
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:
All workshops contain practical examples of how and why the law applies to our everyday life.