Western NSW’s only legal centre of its kind is one of fourteen organisations across the state to share in $52 million funding over four years in an effort to expand critical legal services to vulnerable communities. 

The fourteen free legal services - including the Western NSW Community Legal Centre - will direct the funding to increasing and improving available assistance for family violence victim-survivors, people with mental health issues, and workers who have experienced sexual harassment and discrimination. 

Western NSW Community Legal Centre (WNSWCLC) Principal Solicitor Pat O’Callaghan said that the funding will allow them to further the services they can offer in what is a vast district. 

‘Specifically, it’ll allow us to do two things. One is to be able to expand some of our outreach work that we do so that women on the ground can get face to face access to support and discuss what they need help with,” Mr O’Callaghan said. 

“The second thing is that it will allow us to provide some specific support around mental health assistance.”

Currently, outside of the Dubbo-based office, WNSWCLC offers outreach programs across the Western Plains, including Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, and Lightning Ridge. 

“We hope that we will be able to expand a bit further and go to places like Condobolin and down to West Wyalong…Across the region where there are gaps in some delivery of services, especially out west, we hope to try and fill those gaps even further.” Mr O’Callaghan said. 

Those outreach programs are critical in building access for women across the region who may not otherwise be able to receive assistance. 

“We certainly don’t want barriers impacting who can and can’t get access. It’s difficult enough for women especially in regional and remote areas where isolation in terms of geographic, but also being cut off from family and friends through the behaviour of the perpetrator of violence can make things even more complicated,” Mr O’Callaghan said. 

“Obviously, a lack of financial support and assistance to have access to this service being free is a really crucial part of them being able to get that help,” he said. 

With Western NSW having an infamous reputation for its high domestic violence rates per capita, there will sadly always be a demand for the services, and a need for the funding to continue flowing. 

Mr O’Callaghan said that regardless of the amount, there will always be room to spend it to better connect victims to support and legal services. 

“Unfortunately, the need and demand for this type of assistance isn’t going away anytime soon. If there were increased funding support in this space it would allow us to employ more staff and to obviously be able to have more people on the ground so that we can continue to build the bridge,” he said. 

“We still have a relatively small team doing it, so there’s always scope to grow and to build on what we do,” Mr O’Callaghan said. 

The funding will also be received by other organisations who, while not specific to Western NSW, offer services across the region, including Women’s Legal Service NSW, Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre, Financial Aid NSW, and Australian Centre for Disability Law.