Women’s Legal Service Queensland is continuing to provide free legal advice to women with domestic violence, family law, child protection and some sexual assault matters during the pandemic, while maintaining social distancing protocols to keep clients and staff safe.
Women residing in Queensland or those with relevant court matters in Queensland can arrange free telephone legal advice appointments by calling the State-wide Helpline on 1800 957 957 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm).
Evening drop-in legal advice sessions usually held on Monday and Wednesday evenings have been suspended. Subject to availability, evening telephone appointments with the experienced family lawyers who volunteer at these sessions can still be arranged by calling the State-wide Helpline.
Women’s Legal Service Queensland also offers free Duty Lawyer Services at Magistrates Courts including Caboolture (Thursdays), Holland Park (Wednesdays) and Ipswich (Monday and Tuesdays). For the foreseeable future this service will be delivered remotely. To access duty lawyers, at court on the relevant days women with listed matters can advise the registry staff that they are seeking legal advice from Women’s Legal Service Queensland. The registry staff will then provide a number to call. Alternatively, they may call (07) 3392 0644, select option 2, and ask to speak to a duty lawyer.
The free lawyer service operating every second Thursday at Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre is currently continuing as normal. Inmates may request appointments through offender development.
Parenting and COVID-19 Information Sheet
Over the coming months many women will have questions about parenting matters but they may have difficulty obtaining legal advice. To assist, Women’s Legal Service Queensland have prepared an information brochure. The brochure is available here.