QIFVLS is enormously proud of our Principal Legal Officer, Thelma Schwartz who was named the Dame Quentin Bryce Domestic Violence Prevention Advocate Award winner in November.
Presented by Women’s Legal Service Queensland and administered by the Queensland Law Society, this important award reflects the commitment and professionalism of the recipient to addressing domestic violence and advocating for change within workplaces, through academia, the legal and/or social systems.
The award was presented to Thelma by Dame Quentin Bryce at a Legal Profession Breakfast fundraiser at Brisbane City Hall.
Accepting the award, Thelma spoke not only of her proud First Nations heritage and culture, but also spoke her truth. “I remain steadfastly committed to hearing, seeing and elevating the voice of victim-survivors with a particular focus on First Nations Queenslanders,” she told the captivated audience.
In addition to performing her role as QIFVLS Principal Legal Officer, Thelma also tirelessly devotes her time to many other reform initiatives, including as member of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, chaired by the Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC.
The taskforce heard from women and girls across Queensland contributing to the Hear Her Voice reports which resulted in multiple recommendations addressing coercive control and consent.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have had this opportunity to work alongside you Margaret and the other members of the taskforce,” she said. “I am in absolute admiration and awe of your tirelessness, fearlessness, tenacity and ability to cut through to the core issues with such surgical skill and precision.”
In her acceptance, Thelma thanked QIFVLS CEO Wynetta Dewis, who attended the event along with QIFVLS Deputy Principal Legal Officers Leah King and Brandon Begley.
“I am in awe of Wynetta’s courage, integrity, drive and absolute commitment to being able to deliver solutions and programs that are tailored by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” Thelma said.
Impressively, Brisbane office DPLO Leah King was also one of the final four finalists shortlisted for the award – another reminder of the commitment of our team to improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Queensland.
16 Days of Activism is a global campaign fighting against gender-based violence, occurring through November and December each year. In 2024, FVLPS across Australia have engaged with the campaign over a multitude of platforms including street marches, online conversations and in community activism.
Benefits of advocacy and law reform
The benefits of advocacy and law reform from our perspective are that it—
• Allows QIFVLS to directly have a say on issues that are impacting our service communities and staff;
• Acknowledges the interconnected and broad scope of the services we provide; and
• Is a conduit through which the experiences of QIFVLS frontline staff can be seen and acknowledged by policy makers and legislators.
QIFVLS’ Impact
As a peak body, Family Violence Prevention Legal Service and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation 2023-2024 has seen us advocating and driving reform in the family violence sector and in matters relating to closing the gap in outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our statewide footprint and our observations in over 90+ communities provide us with a perspective sought after and appreciated by various government agencies.
On 20 February 2024, Principal Legal Officer, Thelma Schwartz and Senior Policy Officer, Kulumba Kiyingi appeared at the Australian Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and children. At the conclusion of giving evidence, Senate Committee Chair, Senator Paul Scarr (QLD) stated the following: “Can I give our best wishes to your 11 lawyers and to the case managers they’re working side by side with. Please convey to them how much we appreciate the work they do under very difficult circumstances.”
In 2024-25, QIFVLS will continue advocating for policy makers to cater for victim-survivors of family violence and sexual assault with a particular regard for the majority of our clients who seek our assistance in dealing with a variety of complex, intersecting needs such as housing, health, child protection, family law and disability support among other complex needs. We will also join with our sister FVPLS members and calling for all jurisdictions, including Queensland to establish a Child Protection Notification and Referral Scheme.
Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce
Through the initial involvement of Principal Legal Officer, Thelma Schwartz, as a taskforce member of Queensland’s Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, we have seen groundbreaking reform in the way Queensland looks at the gendered nature of family and domestic violence through the Taskforce’s two Hear Her Voice reports.
At every step in the process, QIFVLS has more than carried its weight, imparting significant input into the process of reform.
Better Justice Together
On 29 July 2024, the First Nations Justice Office released Better Justice Together: Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice strategy 2024-2031. Created in partnership with a variety of organisations, including community-controlled organisations such as QIFVLS, Better Justice Together is the first step in the plan for a justice system that is culturally safe and free from discrimination. It outlines four focus areas for action to reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Queensland’s criminal justice system.
Legislating Coercive Control
From 26 May 2025, coercive control will be a criminal offence in Queensland. This reform will make it illegal for an adult to use abusive behaviour towards their current o former intimate partner, family member or informal carer with the intention to control or coerce them.
QIFVLS drafted a written submission and appeared personally at the Queensland parliamentary committee inquiry into the establishment of coercive control as a criminal offence. We have outlined that in order to avoid unintended consequences disproportionately affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the criminal justice system must continue with system wide reform and cultural capability training and furthermore the government must continue with implementing recommendations from the two Hear Her Voice reports together with Her Honour Judge Richards’ final report arising from the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service responses to incidents of domestic and family violence.
Office of Victims’ Commissioner
On 2 September 2024, the Queensland Government appointed Ms Beck O’Connor as the state’s first Victims’ Commissioner. The Victims’ Commissioner will play a crucial role in championing the rights of victims of crime and provide a platform for their voices to be heard within the criminal justice system, as well as addressing systemic issues impacting their welfare.
Through its policy and law reform advocacy, QIFVLS was involved in:
• Written submission to the Queensland Parliament Community Safety and Legal Affairs Committee regarding the Victims’ Commissioner and Sexual Violence Review Board Bill 2024.
• Appearance as a witness by Senior Policy Officer Kulumba Kiyingi before the Queensland Parliament, Community Safety and Legal Affairs Committee Public Hearing at the Inquiry into the Victims’ Commissioner and Sexual Violence Review Board Bill 2024.
• Current and active membership as part of the Office of Victims’ Commissioner Stakeholder Reference Group.
QIFVLS has joined other FVLPS and a raft of Aboriginal and First Nations advocates to urge the new Queensland Premier David Crisafulli to reconsider his decision to abolish the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry.
Mr Crisafulli, who just last year said Queenslanders should embrace truth-telling, announced in November that he was scrapping the inquiry.
On this damaging back-flip, QIFVLS’ CEO Wynetta Dewis said: ‘The decision to dismantle the Truth Telling Enquiry was a disappointing blow for First Nations peoples in Qld, who had placed their hopes in the enquiry. I attended the ceremonial hearing in Brisbane before our elections, a significant event that marked the potential for change. The inquiry would have given the Qld Government an opportunity to allow First Nations people in our communities to share from the heart the truth of their history’.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said the LNP’s decision to abolish the inquiry and repeal its Path to Treaty Act marks a major step backwards for First Nations rights.
Commissioner Kiss, a proud Kaanju and Biri/Widi woman who grew up in Rockhampton on the lands of the Darumbal people, was previously the executive director of the Interim Truth and Treaty Body, supporting Queensland’s Path to Treaty.
“The decision to scrap the inquiry, denying our First Nations people a chance to share their stories to help accurately convey our state’s history, is extremely disrespectful and harmful,” she said.
“It is disrespectful to communities, but also to the many people who put in years of work to make this inquiry happen. This includes the contributions of everyday Queenslanders – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – who provided invaluable input to support truth, justice and healing.”
The inaugural truth-telling hearings of the inquiry in September showed the enormous contribution that this process can make to public understanding of the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Queensland, Commissioner Kiss said.
“These hearings showed the immense benefits truth-telling has for everyone,” she said.
Commissioner Kiss has written to Premier Crisafulli, urging him to reconsider his decision and offering to work collaboratively with his government.
OCM: So Leah, tell us a little bit about where you born, brought up and raised.
Leah: My parents are Northern Irish immigrants, so they came over to Australia and I was born soon after. I’m the first generation of our family born in Australia and the first person in our family to finish high school and go to university as well. I was born and raised on the Sunshine Coast, went to uni at QUT in Brisbane where I got my Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Justice, and then my Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice as well.
After uni I was originally hired to work for a Government department but I got poached by Travis Schultz and then ended up working for Slater and Gordon for a couple of years practicing personal injury law, which I loved.
OCM: What did you find satisfying about that?
Leah: I think it was the forensics of it and the level of detail that is required with personal injury law. Some of these cases were incredibly complex – one was actually a bit of a whodunit. It was a motor vehicle accident where a family from overseas was involved. Our client was the teenaged son, who had been travelling in the back of the car at the time of the accident. The father normally worked overseas as a bus driver, and they were on a family holiday when their vehicle was being driven on the wrong side of the road and had an accident which tragically left the son a tetraplegic. I was involved in the original Supreme Court case when the insurer didn’t want to pay out, claiming that it was the son who was driving, and the entire case became a forensic examination. I consulted a specialist (who got Lindy Chamberlain off on in her matter) and the case became quite a big deal and eventually went to the High Court. It’s now a precedent from the High Court.
Ultimately there wasn’t enough court work for me in that role and it’s very easy to get pigeonholed in that kind of practice. I have always done Community Legal, like volunteering at Suncoast Community Legal for 11 years – so I wanted to give back. I left Slater and Gordon to work at YFS in Logan doing generalist Community Legal there. After that, I worked for a small private firm, and basically ran that for a while whilst the principal was on maternity leave. After that, I came to QIFVLS and have been here for nearly six years.
OCM: What is it about the community side of the legal profession that it really excites you?
Leah: From working in private practice, I’ve seen how it all comes down to whether someone can afford a lawyer – and how much that person can afford to pay. When we’re dealing with people’s children, we’re dealing with life-altering decisions that can affect their children over long term. This isn’t just suing someone for compensation – this is very serious. I fundamentally disagree that just because you can’t afford a good lawyer, you shouldn’t have access to good representation or good advocacy. So for me, I would rather put my skills and experience into helping members of the community who would benefit for it – so everyone’s got an equal platform.
This includes providing equality for people in the court system with representation so that they can have their voices heard in a culturally appropriate and empathetic manner. It’s about empowering these clients and delivering long term, sustainable outcomes. When you look at child protection, for example, we see the multi-generational effects of this, and going to court is just a band aid. We need this holistic wraparound service where we support and empower on a more foundational level, so that we can get these families out of the system and keep them out. So that’s what drives me to Community Legal.
OCM: With all your experience here you’ve clearly learnt to work within the nuances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
Leah: It’s been interesting – I’ve learned more in my time here than I think I would have learned anywhere else. I’ve been able to do it, practically, by going into community. And every single community is different. They all have their little differences, and it’s about respecting those individual communities and the cultures within those communities. I’ve been extremely privileged to have I lived up in the Torres Strait briefly when we established the office up there, and I did that specifically so that I could kind of immerse myself in the community and really get an eye on what is the culture and what is the vibe in that region so I could better deliver for that region. But yes, it’s a challenge, but it’s not a challenge that I shy away from. It’s something that I embrace and I’m always learning. You know, I’ve got so much respect for these communities and consider working with them a privilege.
OCM: You’re based in Brisbane but you work with offices across the state.
Leah: I was actually just joking with the staff here in Brisbane before that feels like I’m very rarely in the office here now, because I’m traveling so much, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. I do enjoy going to all the different regions and all the different offices. They’re all different.
I oversee Thursday Island, Bamaga and Brisbane, which I share with Brandon. So, for Brisbane, I cover the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane and out to Ipswich. Brandon also covers Mount Isa and Rockhampton. We both cover Emerald, although Brandon’s taken the lead with that and I help out as needed.
OCM: Tell us a little about your family.
Leah: I have two brothers, one of who I’m very, very close with – he’s based here in Brisbane. His name’s Matthew and he’s a mental health nurse. He lived with me until recently but has just moved out so I am missing him.
OCM: At least when you either of you need to vent, there’s someone close by who understands.
Leah: We deal with a lot of the same issues I find, so it’s good to have someone to talk to. Even with him moving out we still talk daily. He actually works at AODs (Alcohol and Other Drug Services) on Roma Street, so he’s very close by.
OCM: And what do you like to do during your time off?
Leah: To be honest, I don’t do an awful lot in my downtime, just kind of relax and recharge. You know, I don’t mind a little bit of fishing which is good, but I don’t get to do it very often anymore. I just kind of enjoy going out by the ocean or the water somewhere and just go for a walk or somewhere. That’s my quiet, safe zone. Anywhere out by the water, which is why I think I took to the Torres Strait so well. Otherwise just at home with the dog, my partner, socialising – things like that.
OCM: So how long have you been at QIFVLS now?
Leah: I’ve been at QIFVLS for five and a half years now. It’ll be six years in March.
OCM: Broadly speaking, have you seen change within the organisation during that time?
Leah: There’s been huge changes. Because I’ve been here both pre and post COVID, so I’ve seen it all. It feels like there’s been an evolution within QIFVLS. I feel like there’s a higher standard of practice now compared to when I kind of first started. In terms of the advocacy and the skills and representations, we have some extremely skilled lawyers here that you wouldn’t normally see in a community legal sector. So I’m very thankful that I do have a really good team and some really strong lawyers here.
I think the biggest challenge we’re seeing the sector right now is the issues with recruitment. It’s extremely difficult to recruit in a legal arena right now, regardless of whether you’re private or a community legal and even private firms are struggling.
OCM: What do you put that down to? A lack of young people studying law?
Leah: We still have plenty of graduates around, but the turnover of lawyers who stay over the long term has dropped off. I can’t remember the exact stats, but I think a recent study showed an alarming rate of solicitor’s changing their jobs or change their career completely. I recall a recent study that said 1 in 10 solicitors intended to leave to profession entirely within a year. So, you’re not getting as many competent and skilled senior lawyers in the open market as you once used to and recruiting them in such a competitive market is difficult. Making the investment in graduates is the way to go in my view because you can really mold and train them, and mentor them to build their skills, and you’ll get some long-term outcomes from that.
OCM: And what about within the legal sector? With more awareness and conversation building around domestic violence, are you seeing change?
Leah: I do think domestic violence is taken a lot more seriously compared to when I first started practicing. It’s always been a serious matter before the court, but I think of lot of the myths and misunderstandings about domestic and family violence were still evident. Now, we’re seeing a lot more caution in decisions. There’s a lot more seriousness placed on the weight of the evidence.
From a family law perspective, the changes that we’ve had in the courts in the last couple of years with the amalgamation turning it into the FCFCOA are amazing. Previously I had matters that would easily run four or five years long without even finishing. They would be in court as parenting matters, just churning for years and years with no end in sight. Now we’re getting matters done very quickly. I had one matter last year which initiated as a recovery order where a very, very young baby was taken from the mother, and I had the entire matter resolved with final orders within three months, which was a personal record for me.
OCM: So about community understanding of what’s acceptable and what’s not are you seeing any sort of movement out in the regions that you visit?
Leah: It varies from community to community. But I do find education is extremely important and it shouldn’t be just targeted towards victims or perpetrators – it needs to be a wider thing, and actually needs to be driven by the elders in those communities. We’re here simply as a tool for them. We’re not going into a community to tell them this is how it should be. This is about giving them the information for the community to then empower themselves to bring on that change.
What I do see in the Northern Peninsula Area (the NPA region) is the phenomenal, brilliant stakeholder network there. We’re very close with NPAFACS, NPAWS and the Justice Group there. They all do a wonderful job, really linking in with our services. We do events together and education sessions within the community, which always seem to be popular. So that is definitely a community where they’re really trying to build change.
OCM: Inspiring stuff, thanks Leah!
It was with great pleasure that we welcome Samantha Fernandes to the team as she takes up her new role as Deputy Principal Legal Officer in Rockhampton. This is exciting news with Craig Ottoway, who has performed so impressively in Rocky throughout 2024, transferring to Mt Isa – giving a fantastic boost to our service delivery capability in that region.
When an individual or organisation makes a tax deductible donation to QIFVLS, they can be confident that their funds are going towards making a tangible difference to the safety and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing or at risk of domestic and family violence.
Our team are grateful for all donations that help our not-for-profit organisation to continue offering this critical service. Donations of $1,000 or more help fund outreach services to some of Queensland’s most remote ATSI communities.
Are you in search of a rewarding profession that will take you on journeys through the breathtaking landscapes of Queensland? One that promises not only career advancement and skill enhancement, but also attractive perks, substantial travel allowances, and one-of-a-kind professional adventures? Are you drawn to a career that enables you to make a positive difference in the lives of others?
Look no further – your new career awaits you! At QIFVLS, we are dedicated to combating Family and Domestic Violence within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. Our methods encompass education, advocacy, legal reform, court support, and casework assistance. By focusing on early intervention and prevention, our aim is to empower individuals impacted by Family Violence to regain control over their lives. We are in search of outstanding and dynamic individuals who can join us in achieving this mission.
If you envision yourself fitting into this scenario, we encourage you to see what’s available here.
