About Women’s Legal Service Tasmania
Women’s Legal Service (WLST) is a community-based, not-for-profit organisation that provides free, confidential legal advice and support to women. Receiving our baseline funding from the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, Women’s Legal Service Tasmania offers statewide services from our Hobart, Burnie, and Launceston offices.
Our mission
Women’s Legal Service Tasmania exists to ensure that all women are empowered. In a system that promotes their economic, civil, social, and cultural rights.
We do this by;
Working alongside all women to improve their lives.
Working in an integrated way that meets their legal, social and financial needs.
Delivering services that are trauma-informed.
Challenging the systems and culture that perpetuate inequity.
Taking a leadership role and working in partnership with others.
What makes us different
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Trauma-informed
Our services are tailored to be trauma-sensitive, recognising the unique challenges faced by women who have experienced violence or abuse.
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Holistic Support
In addition to providing support for legal matters, we offer a holistic approach by working closely with our own social workers and financial counselors to ensure our clients receive comprehensive care.
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We understand women
We are sensitive to the diverse needs of the women we work with. We strive to create a space where women feel safe, heard, and supported.
What we do
Our primary focus is assisting women* with legal issues related to family violence, family law (parenting matters and property divisions after separation), and child safety, running special programs to assist women on temporary visas who experience family violence, and helping women who experience workplace sexual harassment. We recognise that legal matters often are complex and might involve more than one area of law - our highly skilled Women's Legal Service Tasmania team is also able to provide information or advice on other matters when needed, such as civil law and criminal law, and estate planning.
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We offer telephone and face-to-face advice to women statewide, and work with trusted service providers in the community to meet with clients, ensuring that you can access legal support regardless of where you are in Tasmania.
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In addition to our telephone or face-to-face legal information and advice, we can sometimes provide casework and legal representation in specific situations where we are able, providing support to clients with complex legal matters who otherwise would not be able to be supported.
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We deliver workshops and legal education sessions, and produce informative resources such as brochures and fact sheets to make legal information more accessible. We’re also involved in law reform, working to ensure the legal system is more responsive to the issues affecting women.
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Women’s Legal Service Tasmania is also deeply committed to the safety, well-being, and empowerment of children and young people in Tasmania. We believe that every child deserves to feel safe, respected, and happy. Our team diligently supports this mission through our legal services and educational efforts.