Circle Green at the National Community Legal Centres Conference 

Last week, Circle Green Community Legal staff had the privilege of attending the Community Legal Centres Australia National Conference – Law and More in Canberra. Our team came together with colleagues from across the country to reflect, learn, and contribute to the national conversation about the future of community legal services.

Sharing Our Work on Measuring Outcomes 

Circle Green was honoured to present alongside the Victoria Law Foundation and the Federation of Community Legal Centres on the topic: Outcomes Measurement: It’s Not That Hard. 

Our Principal Lawyer – Humanitarian, Katy Welch, and Social Impact Advisor Jess Moniodis shared insights from the Protection Visa and Appeals Project, with contributions from Rohini Thomas, who was unable to attend. Their presentation outlined Circle Green’s journey in embedding a data-driven, social impact approach in humanitarian law, and the value of measuring outcomes in strengthening advocacy, service design, and accountability. 

It was inspiring to hear about Victoria’s progress toward developing system-wide outcomes and the potential for a more mature evidence base across the sector. A big thank you to Dr Hugh McDonald, Skye Forster, and Tim McMahon for contributing to this important discussion.

Engaging in National Human Rights Conversations 

We were also pleased to participate in the Human Rights Network, where international, national, and local perspectives came together. Bill Mitchell OAM HonLLD shared insights into the recent UN resolution to draft a new convention on the rights of older persons—a step forward for global human rights, with Australia co-sponsoring the resolution. 

We also heard from Abbey Kendall at Working Women’s Centre Australia, who highlighted the critical importance of NDA reform to better protect workers’ rights. 

Launch of the Vision for Justice 

Another conference highlight was attending the launch of the Vision for Justice at Parliament House. As lived experience advocate Samantha Schulte so powerfully said: “Justice that isn’t for all of us, is really justice for none of us.” 

It was encouraging to hear strong support from Susan Templeman MP and Senator David Shoebridge, alongside CLCA Chair Arlia Fleming, reinforcing the essential role that community legal centres play in advancing justice and equality across Australia. 

Our Principal Lawyer – Workplace, Varny Poinern, also reflected on the launch as a valuable opportunity to connect with colleagues across the sector, including Amber Cooper from NSCLC and Shabnum Rashid from Wheatbelt Community Legal Centre. These connections strengthen the collaborative spirit that underpins the community legal movement nationwide.

Reflections and Takeaways 

The conference was a welcome opportunity to step back from day-to-day pressures and reconnect with colleagues nationally. We were reminded that while funding uncertainty continues to challenge the sector, there is enormous strength in the innovation, collaboration, and resilience demonstrated by community legal centres everywhere.

A key theme that resonated deeply was the importance of First Nations justice and embedding cultural safety across all areas of our work. Reconciliation is not a tick-box exercise but a daily practice, and one that must be across all areas of our work.

We return to WA with fresh ideas, strengthened networks, and renewed motivation to continue building fairer, more accessible systems of justice.

Circle Green is committed to embedding evidence and impact into everything we do. Our Protection Visa and Appeals Project is one example of how outcomes measurement strengthens advocacy and service design. Explore the results in our 11-Month Snapshot Report.