Report to NLAF
1. Meeting of members of the NLAF Employment Law Services Working Group
The working group met on 13 October 2010.
2. Activities / outcomes
Objective one of the terms of reference for the working group requires the working group to:
‘Map the current provision of employment law services in both the public and private legal sector of NSW’.
The activities of the working group relating to this objective are discussed below.
The working group decided to prioritise this objective this year and so meetings in 2010 are devoted to information gathering to further this objective.
At the last meeting, the working group invited pro bono legal service providers to address working group members about the scope of pro bono work that they undertake and their capacity to provide employment law services to disadvantaged people in NSW.
Representatives of the following legal service providers made presentations to the working group about their pro bono activities in relation to employment law:
- Blake Dawson Waldron (Anne Cregan and Amelia Davis)
- Allens Arthur Robinson (Nicky Friedman via telephone)
- Bartier Perry (Susan Price)
- Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH NSW)
- Law Society Pro Bono Referral Scheme
The working group also discussed the gaps in service provision in relation to employment law.
The next working group meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 15 December 2010 at Legal Aid NSW.
The following guest speakers will be attending the meeting to talk about the services provided by their respective agencies / experiences in dealing with demand for employment law services:
- Vicki Hodgson, Principal Lawyer, Fair Work Ombudsman
- Bernadette O’Neill, Director, Unfair Dismissals Branch, Fair Work Australia
- Emma Maiden, Senior Industrial Officer, Mark Morey, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Unions NSW.
It is expected that the first meeting for 2011 will take place in early February 2011.
Monique Hitter
Chair
1 December 2010
