Recent Work

   
Our recent law reform and policy work

Women’s Legal Services NSW undertakes a range of law reform and policy work. Below are some of our public submissions, reports, briefs and media releases.

Some of this work has been undertaken with other organisations and coalitions, such as Women’s Legal Services Australia (WLSA), National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Legal Network (NATSIWLN), Community Legal Centres NSW (CLCNSW), National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC), Equality Rights Alliance and Australian Women Against Violence Alliance. Women’s Legal Services NSW convenes or co-convenes WLSA, NATSIWLN, CLCNSW Domestic Violence Committee and CLCNSW Aboriginal Advisory Group.

These documents are generally provided in Adobe PDF format . If you require these documents in another format for accessibility reasons, please contact us at womens_nsw@clc.net.au.

Browse documents by year of publication

2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009

2012

Submission to the Review of the NSW Victims Compensation Scheme (May 2012)

Background paper or Background paper and suggested ways to respond to the NSW Victims Compensation Review (April 2012)

Submission on Marriage Equality to the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. Ours is submission number 239 (April 2012)

Submission to Australian Attorney-General's Department on the Draft National Human Rights Action Plan (5 March 2012)

NACLC submission to the Australian Attorney-General's Department on its Consoidation of Commonwealth Anti-Discrimination Laws Discussion Paper (1 February 2012)

Submission to Australian Attorney-General's Department on forced marriages aspect of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Bill (23 January 2012)

Submission to the National Pro Bono Resource Centre on Alternative Dispute Resolution and the possible role of pro-bono lawyers (18 January 2012)

Blog post on a human rights agenda for the new Australian Attorney-General - violence against women (January 2012)

2011

Blog post on women and the National Human Rights Action Plan (November 2011)

Submission to Australian Communications and Media Authority on its proposed Number Plan (30 November 2011)

Submission to NSW Department of Attorney General and Justice on the Statutory Review of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007(18 November 2011)

Background paper and template submission on Australian Communication and Media Authority's consultation on its Numbering Plan (November 2011)

Submission to Australian Attorney-General's Department on priorities for its Convention Against Torture Report (3 November 2011)

Submission to NSW Department of Attorney General and Justice on Legal Services Review (31 October 2011)

Submission to NSW Legislative Council Social Issues Committee on Domestic Violence Trends and Issues (16 September 2011)

Submission to Australian Attorney-General's Department on the National Human Rights Action Plan Baseline Study (7 September 2011)

Media statement: 'First NSW case places lesbian parent on birth certificate under equal parenting laws' (17 August 2011)

WLSA submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on international child abduction (5 August 2011)

NACLC submission to Australian Attorney-General's Department on federal court fees (8 July 2011)

Submission to the Family Law Council on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and the Family Law System (7 June 2011)

WLSA brief for politicians on the Family Law Legislation (Family Violence and Other Measures) Amendment Bill (May 2011)

Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Commitee on the Family Law Legislation (Family Violence and Other Measures) Amendment Bill (29 April 2011)

WLSA submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Commitee on the Family Law Legislation (Family Violence and Other Measures) Amendment Bill (29 April 2011)

WLSA submission writing kit on theFamily Law Legislation (Family Violence and Other Measures) Amendment Bill (April 2011)

WLSA position paper on the Family Law Legislation (Family Violence and Other Measures) Amendment Bill (12 April 2011)

Submisson to the Australian Law Reform Commission on its Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws: Employment & Superannuation Law Issues Paper (11 April 2011)

NACLC submission to the Australian Attorney-General's Department on its proposal to consolidate anti-discrimination laws: areas for increased protection (April 2011)

Submission to the Australian Government on the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme (4 April 2011)

NACLC submission to the Australian Attorney-General's Department on its proposal to consolidate anti-discrimination laws: access to justice and systemic issues (March 2011)

ERA submission to the Australian Attorney-General's Department on its proposal to consolidate anti-discrimination laws (March 2011)

CEDAW Action Plan for Women in Australia – an NGO Resource Kit with YWCA Australia and the CEDAW NGO Advisory Group; 8 March 2011)

Evaluation Report on the Australian Universal Periodic Review NGO Coalition’s Advocacy in Geneva (with the Human Rights Law Resource Centre – 8 March 2011)

Submission to the Attorney-General’s Department on Forced and Servile Marriage (4 March 2011)

Opinion piece on the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children in the Human Rights Law Resource Centre Bulletin, pp 5-6 (March 2011)

Brief on Victims Compensation Changes (with CLCNSW; 23 February 2011)

Submission to Australian Attorney-General’s Department on the National Human Rights Action Plan (18 February 2011)

Press release from the Australian NGO Delegation (including WLSNSW) following Australia’s Periodic Review (1 February 2011)

Updates from the Australian NGO Delegation (including WLSNSW) at Australia’s Universal Periodic Review (January 2011)

WLS NSW Submission to Attorney-General’s Department on the draft Family Law Amendment (Family Violence) Bill (14 January 2011)

WLSA/AWAVA submission to Attorney-General’s Department on the draft Family Law Amendment (Family Violence) Bill (14 January 2011)

2010

Australian NGO Coalition’s Information Booklet and Thematic Fact Sheets for Australia’s Universal Periodic Review (December 2010)

WLSA submission writing kit for the Attorney-General’s Department’s consultation on the draft Family Law Amendment (Family Violence) Bill (December 2010)

WLSA position paper on the draft Family Law Amendment (Family Violence) Bill (14 December 2010)

Letter to the Prime Minister regarding equal pay for women (25 November 2010)

Supplementary submission to the Senate Reference Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the Review of Government Compensation Payments (11 November 2010)

Election 2010: What’s in it for Women? (with Equality Rights Alliance; August 2010)

Submission to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the Sex and Age Discrimination Legislation Amendment Bill (27 October 2010)

Article published in the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights newsletter on Australia’s review under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (19 October 2010)

Article published in Hobart Women’s Health Centre’s newsletter on Australia’s review under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (October 2010)

Submission to the Australian Government on its Draft Universal Periodic Review Report (20 August 2010)

Letter to the Premier and other politicians on the Adoption Amendment (Same-Sex Couples) Bill (27 July 2010)

Submission to NSW Department of Justice and Attorney General on the Review of Laws Surrounding Criminal Incidents involving the Death of an Unborn Child (23 July 2010)

Joint NGO Submission to the Universal Periodic Review (July 2010)

Australian NGO’s Recommendations for Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women’s’ Concluding Observations on Australia (July 2010)

Australian NGO Issue Sheets for Australia’s review under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (July 2010)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s NGO Issue Sheets for Australia’s review under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (July 2010)

Media release regarding NGO involvement at Australia’s review under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (9 July 2010)

Submission to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 (9 July 2010)

Letter to the Prime Minister regarding her new appointment and gender inequality in Australia (24 June 2010)

Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission and the NSW Law Reform Commission on Family Violence: Improving Legal Frameworks (22 June 2010)

Update to the Australian NGO Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (June 2010)

Addendum to the Australian NGO Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (June 2010)

Update to the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Parallel NGO Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (June 2010)

Submission to the Senate References Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the Review of Government Compensation Payments (8 June 2010)

Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission on its draft submission to the Universal Periodic Review (2 June 2010)

Letter to the Minister for Fair Trading and other politicians regarding the domestic violence provisions of the Residential Tenancies Bill (20 May 2010)

Submission to the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills into the future direction and role of the Committee (8 April 2010)

Submission to the Australian Government on its Universal Periodic Review (April 2010)

Submission to NSW Fair Trading on the domestic violence provisions in the draft Residential Tenancies Bill (24 February 2010)

2009

WLSA submission to Professor Chisholm on the Family Courts Violence Review (19 October 2009)

Opinion piece in Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse Newsletter 38 on the National Plan of Action to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children, p 7 (September 2009)

Submission to Victims Services on Strengthening the NSW Charter of Victims Rights (10 September 2009)

WLSA submission to the Australian Institute of Family Studies on the 2006 Family Law Reforms (24 August 2009)

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Parallel NGO Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (August 2009)

Australian NGO Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (July 2009)

WLS NSW submission to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee (15 June 2009)

WLSA submission to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee (15 June 2009)

WLSA submission to Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on its Inquiry into Access to Justice (29 May 2009)

WLSA submission to the Standing Committee of Attorneys General on a Proposal for a National Model to Harmonise Regulation of Surrogacy (24 April 2009)

WLSNSW submission to the NSW Office for Women on the development of the NSW Domestic and Family Violence Strategic Framework (17 April 2009)

CLCNSW submission to the NSW Office for Women on the development of the NSW Domestic and Family Violence Strategic Framework (10 April 2009)

NACLC submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission on Freedom of Religion and Belief (6 March 2009)

Interview with ABC Broken Hill Online regarding women’s human rights workshops held in Broken Hill (5 March 2009)

Submission to the NSW Legislative Council’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice on adoption by same sex couples (17 February 2009)

WLSA submission to the Australian Attorney-General’s Department on the Review of Future Governance Options for Federal Family Law Courts in Australia (6 February 2009)