General Assistance & Casework

CLCs offer free advice services, with some doing so in evenings as well as daytime. Some of the centres do not require appointments for their sessions, but it is always advisable to telephone first.

CLCs have developed a mode of operation which is quite distinct from Legal Aid Commissions on the one hand and the private legal profession on the other. CLCs have a wider conception of what is involved in legal assistance, and are conscious, in delivering their services, of the socio-economic dimensions of many legal problems, as well as the fact that it may often be preferable to pursue non-legal remedies to such problems. This normally means that both the non-legal and legal aspects of the client’s problem can be dealt with.

Clients are encouraged to work through a problem so they can better understand its wider circumstances, and reach a solution themselves if possible. For many CLC services there is no means test applied, and there is generally no contribution required.

Where necessary, a client will be referred to the Legal Aid Commission Tasmania (if eligible) or a private lawyer. In some cases, follow-up work is done by lawyers employed by the CLCs.