Civil Lawyer CAWLS

NTCOSS; Alice Springs; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

NTCOSS in Alice Springs is seeking a Civil Lawyer to provide legal advice, representation, and holistic support to women across Central Australia, addressing family violence, housing insecurity, financial abuse, and related civil matters.

You will advise, represent, and refer clients in family law, DV, tenancy, and employment, and appear in courts and tribunals as needed. Collaboration with a trauma-informed, multidisciplinary team is essential.

Qualifications

• Practising certificate in the Northern Territory required.
• Ideally 2+ years post-admission experience in civil law, community legal services, or related DV/civil matters.
• Strong advocacy, research, and client-relations skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice, representation, and referrals in family law, domestic violence, tenancy, and employment.
• Represent clients in courts and tribunals, including as a duty lawyer.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to deliver trauma‑informed support.
• Engage in outreach and occasional remote travel and community legal education.

Skills

Advocacy

Legal research

Client relations

Trauma-informed practice

Communication

Education

Practising Certificate (NT)

Job description

As a Civil Lawyer, you will provide legal advice, representation, and holistic support to women across Central Australia, including those facing domestic and family violence, housing insecurity, financial abuse, employment issues, and interconnected civil matters.

More specifically, your responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Providing legal advice, representation, and referrals across areas including family law, domestic violence, tenancy, and employment
• Representing clients in courts and tribunals, including as a duty lawyer
• Collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team to deliver holistic, trauma-informed support
• Participating in outreach work, including occasional remote travel
• Delivering community legal education and building legal literacy
• Building partnerships and engaging with community-based organisations
• Participating in law reform and advocacy projects
• Maintaining legal files, reports, and administrative compliance
• Undertaking professional development and contributing to internal staff training

This role is challenging and meaningful in equal measure, and CAWLS provides strong support structures to ensure your ongoing wellbeing and growth.

What You'll Bring

To qualify, you will need to hold (or be eligible to hold) a Practising Certificate in the Northern Territory. Ideally, you will also bring a minimum of 2 years' post-admission experience in civil law, community legal services, domestic and family violence matters, or a related legal practice area.

Additionally, the following skills and background will be highly valued:

• Experience or strong interest in domestic and family violence and civil law matters
• Confidence working alongside First Nations women and culturally diverse communities
• Understanding of trauma-informed and culturally safe legal practice
• Strong advocacy, legal research, and client relationship skills
• Experience working collaboratively within multidisciplinary environments

As our ideal candidate, you will possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, along with empathy, resilience, emotional intelligence, and a genuine commitment to social justice and gender equality. You will thrive in a collaborative environment and demonstrate a reflective approach to wellbeing and trauma-informed practice.