Legal Advice
TEWLS provides free legal services in most areas of civil and family law, including legal advice, legal information and referral services, casework and representation services, community legal education and advocacy.
TEWLS can provide free once-off legal advice in most areas of civil, migration, and family law to all women and non-binary persons in the Greater Darwin region. Appointments for legal advice take place at our Darwin office, at one of our clinic locations, over the phone, or by video (using Microsoft Teams). Appointments are confidential, except where mandatory reporting is required under NT law.
TEWLS can arrange interpreters free of charge, including Auslan interpreters. If you would like an interpreter for your appointment, please let us know at the time of making your appointment.
For more information about what to expect when making an appointment, please see Our Process. To make an appointment for legal advice, please Contact Us.
TEWLS is unable to provide legal advice by email or via social media.
TEWLS provides casework and legal representation services on a case-by-case basis, including representing clients during Court proceedings or within a mediation setting.
As a small team, we can provide ongoing casework or legal representation only where there is hardship and/or some other barriers to accessing justice. When making this decision, TEWLS will take into consideration many different factors such as health and disability barriers, experiences of domestic, family, and sexual violence, cultural and/or linguistic barriers, financial hardship, and homelessness, as well as TEWLS’ capacity to assist at that time.
If we are not able to provide you with legal representation, we will provide you with appropriate referrals for other legal and non-legal services, including private legal practitioners, in your local area.
Areas of Law
Family Law
Family Law includes legal matters about relationships, children and property. Generally, family law matters can be separated into four areas: parenting, separation, divorce, and property.
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Migration Law
Migration law is the law about people entering and remaining in Australia. You might need to seek help with migration law if you have questions about your visa or want to know if your visa will be affected by separation, family violence, or other changes to your family situation.
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Employment Law & Workplace Sexual Harassment
Employment law is the law around going to work – it sets rules about workplace rights and obligations, including how employers must treat employees and how employees must act in the workplace. Every person working within a workplace has rights about how they should be treated, including experiences of sexual harassment.
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Housing & Tenancy
Having or needing a home is an important part of our lives. Whether you live in public housing, community housing, or are renting through a private landlord (including if a real estate agent is involved), you will have a “tenancy” – an agreement for you to live in your house in exchange for the payment of rent, among other things. Renting a home means you have legal rights and responsibilities.
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Deceased Estates & Superannuation
When someone dies, they might leave things behind, such as property, money, debts, superannuation, or other items. These things together are called a deceased estate. People sometimes leave behind a will that states what they want to happen with their deceased estate. If no will is made, then there are laws that decide who gets the deceased estate.
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Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence
Domestic and family violence is when someone who is in a ‘domestic relationship’ with you, including a partner, ex-partner, family member, or housemate, hurts you or makes you feel afraid, powerless, or unsafe. Sexual violence is being forced, pressured or tricked into doing sexual things when you don’t want to. Sexual violence can be a form of domestic and family violence, but it may also happen outside a current or previous relationship.
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Compensation
Compensation is something given to someone in recognition of a loss, suffering, injury, or experience of a violent act. Compensation is usually money (known as “financial compensation”), but can also be a replacement item or service. In the NT, the three most common types of compensation are Victims of Crime Compensation, Motor Accident Compensation, and Workers Compensation.
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Complaints & Discrimination
A complaint is a statement that you can make about something that has been unacceptable or unsatisfactory for you. Complaints can be about someone not following the rules, someone being treated unfairly, or other things. If you have been treated unfairly because of a certain characteristic, such as your race, gender, age, sexuality, pregnancy and/or an experience of domestic, family, and sexual violence – you can make a complaint of discrimination.
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Credit, Debt & Consumer Law
A debt is where a person owes money to another person or organisation. Some debts come from an agreement that allows a borrower to get money, products, or services immediately from a lender and then repay them later (‘credit’). Common types of debt include loans, credit cards, phone bills, and money owed to Centrelink or another government organisation. Fines are also a type of debt.
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