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.
In 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.
I 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.
As part of National Child Protection Week, QIFLVS offices across Queensland held community events throughout September to raise awareness and offer support to families.
Just a few months into his new role in our Bamaga office, graduate lawyer Ocholamero Oroto (Lamero) is already making many great connections in this tight-knit community. In September, Lamero hosted a Child Protection Week event featuring a children’s colouring-in competition with some amazing prizes, including push bikes and a Bluetooth speaker. It was a successful and memorable community engagement opportunity.
As part of Child Protection Week, the Cairns team attended a South Side Celebration hosted by Hambledon House Community Centre. Always creative, the Cairns team created a fun activity where children had the opportunity to create their own yarning sticks. This activity was designed to encourage children to feel comfortable having conversations that help keep them safe, fostering open communication and trust within the community.
QIFLVS, in collaboration with Ngukuthati Family Children Centre’s Playgroup, held a Child Protection Week event at the Mt Isa Family Fun Park. QIFVLS hosted a big breakfast consisting of bacon and eggs, fresh fruit and cereal. We also had an activity table for the kids making their own iced biscuits, which was a hit and each child received a gift bag at the end of the event. Brandon also delivered a CLE on Child Protection.
The QIFVLS Townsville team were delighted to partner with Feros Care Townsville to host this year’s RUOK? Day event at Bulletin Square in the heart of the city.
The event was a significant step towards promoting mental health awareness and encouraging open conversations about well-being. It was a wonderful day with plenty of community engagement, the opportunity to connect with other services and to have positive conversations around mental health and the support options in the region.
Feros Care put on a free sausage sizzle and drinks throughout the day for the community. Local Indigenous radio station 4K1GFM was also present, broadcasting live from the event. Townsville Case Management Officer Evan Ah Wing was given the opportunity to have a yarn with the radio host about our services and what we deliver in our community. RUOK Day Ambassador and former professional rugby league player James Tamou, helped with the BBQ and gave a great speech about his life journey and lived experience and how he has overcome a lot of barriers to get to where he is today.
To acknowledge RUOK? Week (it was extended beyond a day this year) the QIFVLS team from every office in Queensland was invited to answer daily ‘Gratitude’ questions in our online competition. Congratulations to the winners, shown above.
The Woodridge Family Fun Day in Logan was an event for families of all walks of life to come and enjoy. Ewing Park in Woodridge was jam-packed with smiling faces of people enjoying slushies, the petting zoo, the miniature train rides, and arts & crafts. Stallholders also held activities such as a bean bag toss game or a spinning wheel with prizes as icebreakers so attendees could chat.
QIFVLS set up a stall and asked age-appropriate questions in exchange for goodie bags. Following the theme of this year: ‘Every conversation matters’, we decided to ask questions that would encourage discussions i.e. “What’s your favourite fruit?” and “If you could change any rule at home, which rule would you change?”. The Police Liaison Officers who serviced the Logan area were seen participating in a little soccer game with the kids in the park’s centre.
Attendees even heard speeches from kids who bravely got up to speak on topics they were passionate about. The general feedback back from the community was that the Fun Day was a success with all participants and services enjoying the day.
Our Townsville team had a fantastic time connecting with students through an interactive activity that encouraged them to identify the traits of healthy versus unhealthy relationships. It’s all about sparking important conversations early, empowering young people with the knowledge to build respectful and supportive relationships.
It’s been an incredibly busy month for QIFVLS’ CEO Wynetta Dewis and Principal Legal Officer Thelma Schwartz who have had back-to-back commitments and conferences across Australia and New Zealand. Wynetta was joined by QIFVLS’ Chairman Adrian Geary at The Hague in the Netherlands, where they attended the International Live Case Study .
International Live Case Study – The Hague, Netherlands
QIFVLS Chair Adrian Geary and CEO Wynetta Dewis were a part of a contingent invited to participate in a week-long program with the Netherlands School for Public Administration (NSOB) to observe Dutch practices focussing on governance and leadership in climate change and social impacts. The visit included speaking to Dutch leaders in various roles, such as senior public officials, policy makers, front-line staff and civil society influences and visited several live case studies.
This was a remarkable opportunity – the study has caused me to reflect on my leadership practices and with the learnings obtained, adapt them in to my role and areas of influence – Wynetta Dewis, CEO
First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV) Forum
QIFVLS’ CEO Wynetta Dewis and PLO Thelma Schwartz attended a 2-day conference in Port Lincoln, SA, that brought together family violence prevention legal services members from across Australia. It was an opportunity to strategise, reconnect and empower one another in the vital work that we each do in supporting First Nations sufferers of DFSV. As part of the conference, members received an online address from Minister Rishworth and had an opportunity to hear from Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss who attended in person.
The forum also held its inaugural FNAAFV AGM, with QIFVLS CEO Wynetta Dewis voted in as Chair of the Board and Phee Clarke voted in as Deputy Chair.
Indigenous Wellbeing Conference
The Indigenous Wellbeing Conference celebrates Indigenous community, culture and identity to help advance social and emotional wellbeing for all First Nations Australian, Māori and Pacific Islander people.
The conference highlighted the importance of connection to country, culture, spirituality and ancestry and the roles they play in well-being. Now in its fourth year, the conference brought together Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to conceptualise and strategise solutions to the most important wellbeing needs of First Nations people from across the region.
Wynetta and Thelma were delighted to be invited to speak at the conference, and to present how QIFVLS works differently compared to other communities.
QIFVLS is proud to deliver essential legal and non-legal services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Queensland. Whether it’s arriving by car, by plane or even by ferry, our team are on the ground in some of the state’s most remote communities.
OCM: 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 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: And top of that community legal work 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 at home that get’s it.
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.
Earlier 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!
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.
