Pro bono Year in Review 2024

Introduction

At Norton Rose Fulbright in Australia, pro bono is part of our firm’s cultural make-up and our social licence to operate. It is our privilege to be able to use our specialist legal skills to provide pro bono support to the communities in which we operate in, and to make a genuine social impact, whilst building deep and impactful client relationships, and enabling our lawyers to develop their legal skills.

In 2024, our lawyers contributed approximately 29,000 hours of pro bono legal assistance to the Australian community. Underlying this figure is a substantial breadth of impactful, diverse, and innovative work, benefitting key organisations and causes within our communities and across our four impact areas. These impact areas are environment and sustainability, human rights (including supporting refugees and the victims of modern slavery), financial abuse and vulnerable consumers, and mental health and disability. In addition to these, our pro bono strategy also focuses on projects that benefit First Nations communities, strategic litigation that seeks to deliver positive social change, law reform and policy work, and harnessing new technologies and services to maximise access to justice.

Our pro bono practice group is led by national pro bono partner, Chris Owen, and all our impact pillars and focus areas complement the firm’s broader strategic focus on environment, social and governance (ESG).

Below are some of the key pro bono highlights of the work we have done during 2024 that demonstrate a genuine impact across all our focus areas and the communities in which we operate.

Environment and sustainability

Recognising the right of current and future generations to a healthy environment, and that biodiversity and nature form part of our shared global heritage, our pro bono practice seeks to support impactful projects that contribute to mitigating the effects of the climate crisis, and more broadly, working to prevent the degradation of the world’s marine and terrestrial environments, including biodiversity.

To create this impact, our central focus is helping communities and societies both mitigate and adapt to climate change and improve biodiversity in Australia, as well as further afield such as across the Pacific, through strategic litigation, on-the-ground law reform, and supporting innovative nature-based and carbon solutions. Our pro bono work in this space also supports our firm’s strategic priority to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Key areas of impact for 2024 include:

Food security

We have continued to support Food Ladder on a number of projects which have an impact across the communities in which they are undertaken. Food Ladder aims to fight food insecurity by combining agricultural technology and teaching systems to create lasting social change. A “Food Ladder” is a greenhouse that is built in schools, often in remote communities, to provide students with access to fresh food. Schools use the Food Ladder in their teaching systems to reframe food choices for the next generation, and to promote the sustainable provision of food, and a reduction in food waste. This year our pro bono special counsel Mary-Frances Murphy spoke on a panel with Food Ladder to discuss the human right to food and health. Complementing this, the pro bono team published an education piece examining the links between food security and human rights in the context of climate change. You can read that article here.

Climate and carbon

Our firm has continued to work with a range of organisations to help address and seek to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and build local capacity on the ground. For example, we have continued to build strong relationships in the Pacific, working in collaboration with three other Australian law firms and local Fijian partners to assist Pacific nations with climate change, ESG and access to justice initiatives. Our pro bono partner, Chris Owen, spoke at the inaugural pro bono roundtable in Fiji, and pro bono senior associate Coby Foster was seconded to work with local Fijian partners on a climate related project.

We have also undertaken work on a number of matters in the carbon and climate space over the last 12 months, with a particular focus on working with First Nations clients. Through our work in the carbon and climate space this work, we are able to support organisations in their efforts to reduce emissions, ultimately combatting global warming, whilst providing long term benefits for communities. Some of the work in this space has involved continuing to assist long standing pro bono clients Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Northern Territory (ALFA (NT)) and Landcare Australia on a number of matters. We have also continued to work with the Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corporation (RNTBC) following their acquisition of Thargomindah Station, and the registration of their carbon project. Thargomindah Station is a place of cultural significance for the Kullilli People, most of whom were forcibly removed from their lands from the end of the 19th century up until the late 1960s. The acquisition will allow the Kullilli People to use traditional knowledge alongside innovative land management and sustainable agricultural practices to regenerate and heal Country.

Sustainable finance

Eco-Markets Australia is the first independent nature market administrator in Australia, working to facilitate and direct investments into critical nature restoration and preservation. Our collaboration with Eco-Markets Australia has involved providing strategic legal advice on various matters, including its obligations under financial services regulatory frameworks. This has encompassed support for innovative programs including Reef Credits, a Great Barrier Reef water-quality improvement credit program, and, most recently guidance on Cassowary Credits, a world-first biodiversity credit program focused on wet tropics rainforest recovery.

Nature conservation

We provided legal representation for South Endeavour Trust, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to nature conservation, in the Queensland Land Court. Our client challenged an Environmental Authority application for a mining lease grant over one of its remote nature refuges. As a result of the application being subsequently abandoned by the opposing party, the conservation values of the nature refuge were able to be protected, including a colony of endangered ghost bats.

Bushfire victims

We acted for two victims of the 2019/2020 ‘Black Summer’ bushfires on the NSW south coast in an appeal to the Land and Environment Court of NSW. In this matter, we successfully appealed the local council’s refusal of our client’s development application, allowing our clients to rebuild their home that was devastatingly destroyed in the bushfires.

Human rights

Within our human rights impact pillar, we seek to create broader social impact through using strategic litigation to expand, utilise, and enforce existing human rights protections for vulnerable groups under domestic and international law, particularly refugees. This is undertaken in tandem with conducting law reform and legal research to uncover gaps in existing protections, and advocating for laws across various sectors that better reflect Australia’s obligations under international human rights law.

Refugee advocacy

Our pro bono team including partner Chris Owen, senior associates Bridget Scougall and Megan King and associate Summer Walker represented a refugee before the High Court of Australia (HCA) in relation to an out of time application for a judicial review of a migration decision. Our client was successful, and the matter was remitted to the Federal Court of Australia (FCA) where we successfully sought an order for the extension of time for the judicial review application. Our client’s visa cancellation has now been remitted to the Minister for re-decision, giving our client another chance to have their visa status determined.

Partner Jack Pembroke-Birss, senior associate Therese Megens, and associates India Bennett and Olivia Peck acted pro bono for a refugee client before the HCA to challenge legislative changes made to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) in response to the HCA’s decision in NZYQ. That matter has been remitted to the FCA for determination of the client’s claim for damages for false imprisonment. The client was held in immigration detention for over a decade, from the time he arrived at 16 years old until he was 26, during which time he was subjected to poor conditions and mistreatment.

Refugee clinics

In 2024, the Australian government granted temporary visitor visas to refugees fleeing Gaza. Many of these refugees now seek permanent protection in Australia due to the ongoing violence in Gaza. Through clinics run in collaboration with the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS), and Refugee Legal, volunteers from our firm have assisted more than 77 refugees who have fled Gaza with the preparation of statements outlining their fear of persecution, and/or preparing their visa application for protection in Australia, since the beginning of the war.

Child protection

Our Sydney office hosted the second annual International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) Australia Symposium. This event brought together key figures from sectors across financial services, cryptocurrency, travel, telecommunications, academics, government and law enforcement to address online facilitated child sexual exploitation (CSE). There were several panel discussions on the day, featuring speakers, including Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety Commissioner, Dr James Cockayne, the New South Wales Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Group MLRO's from the big four banks and Chris Owen, our Partner and Head of Pro Bono. These discussions explored a wide range of topics, such as child safety as an ESG priority for businesses. The Symposium was a sobering reminder of the scale and challenge in protecting children and combatting abuse online. However, it proved highly effective in fostering critical discussions and strengthening essential networks to advance the fight against this crime. In addition, we have undertaken extensive research on criminal accountability in relation to artificial intelligence (AI) generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This work included considering relevant legislation and case law in Australia and New Zealand to assess accountability for software creators, dataset holders, people who use AI software to create CSAM, and people who access CSAM generated content.

Anti-discrimination

Our Brisbane litigation team acted for a group of parents in landmark anti-discrimination cases brought against Citipointe Christian College, which were successfully resolved. The cases stemmed from the College’s release of a proposed new enrolment contract that contained statements that were distressing to members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community. While the College ultimately withdrew the contract, the parents, represented by one of our pro bono partners, LGBTI Legal Service, brought claims in the Queensland Human Rights Commission. Our firm commenced acting when the matters were referred to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The College issued an expression of regret that acknowledges its support of inclusion and commitment to the continued education of its staff and students on how to be respectful and to value all people, regardless of race, religion, sex, age, disability or sexual orientation or gender identity. The resolution reached highlights the importance of strategic litigation work to protect the rights of every member of the Australian community to live free from discrimination, particularly in an educational context.

In addition to assisting on the above matter, we also provided support to LGBTI Legal Service following the review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) and the release of the Draft Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024. Our support assisted our client to understand the proposed changes, and to prepare a submission, ultimately providing an opportunity to ensure that Queensland’s anti-discrimination laws reflect the needs of contemporary society.

LGBTQI+ advocacy

In 2024, the NSW Parliament passed the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023, which will amend various legislation to remove discriminatory and outdated laws. This was a welcomed change for one of our clients, who had been advocating to have the sex marker on their NSW birth certificate changed to reflect their sex and gender identity. Our Sydney litigation team has worked with this client over a number of years on issues related to the recording of sex and gender in NSW, most recently when providing confidential evidence to a NSW Parliamentary inquiry into the bill.

International human rights law collaboration

In November 2024, pro bono partner Chris Owen and special counsels Mary-Frances Murphy and Garth Tinsley travelled to Bangkok to attend the 2024 PILnet Global Forum, an event which brings together private sector law firms with advocacy groups and international NGOs. Chris Owen spoke on a panel moderated by Mary-Frances Murphy on trends in the use of strategic litigation in the ESG space.

Genetic discrimination

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) is Australia's largest child health research institute dedicated to finding cures for genetic conditions afflicting children. This year MCRI have been advocating for the increased uptake of genetic testing to prevent and mitigate serious disease. Such research is crucial in ensuring the rights of patients are protected. Our research and law reform work for MCRI has focused on such things as the legal position of patients who choose to undergo genetic testing in relation insurance, discrimination law and privacy law.

International law and human rights

We have continued to build our relationship with the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ), a not-for-profit advocacy and legal centre concerned with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and abuses of internationally recognised human rights in Australia and abroad. We have assisted ACIJ with a number of legal research projects including considering the availability of judicial review in specific circumstances in Australia. Following that advice, the feedback received from ACIJ was that: “we are absolutely in awe of the quality of this advice”. We also had the opportunity to send an associate on secondment to ACIJ for two days per week for six months, to assist ACIJ in law reform work, policy submissions, legal advice, and research on ACIJ’s focus areas including sanctions, and other aspects of international human rights law.

Human rights in sport

In the context of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the pro bono team published an education piece examining the development of human rights in sport and the role played by the Paralympic Games in facilitating participation in sports for persons with disabilities. You can read that article here.

Human rights advocacy

We have hosted events and panels highlighting issues relating to human rights. One such event was a community legal centre and pro bono panel discussion by Diverse Women in Law. Amongst other topics, the panel discussed international justice, advocating for refugees, social justice, standing up for human rights, and how women are driving change and leading critical conversations around human rights matters.

Financial abuse and vulnerable consumers

Every person has the right to economic freedom and self-determination, to freedom from deprivation, and to basic living standards. These rights are core to each person’s inherent human dignity, and form a key focus of the UN SDGs.¹ Financial abuse and unethical commercial practices can threaten these rights.

According to the Australian Institute for Family Studies, around 2.1 per cent of elderly Australians have experienced financial abuse, although it is likely that this figure is an underestimate and the true prevalence is much higher. Further, around 16 per cent of women have experienced economic abuse within an intimate relationship (more than double the figure than that of men), according to the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s Personal Safety Study. We have also seen many examples of unethical practices by organisations that capitalise on existing inequalities to take advantage of vulnerable Australians, causing significant financial distress.

The focus of our pro bono practice within our financial abuse and vulnerable consumers pillar is to create impact through undertaking work that contributes to reducing inequalities; ensuring shared prosperity and reducing poverty; as well as improved social and legal protections for vulnerable members of Australian society. In 2024, we have sought to achieve this through engaging in strategic litigation on behalf of persons who have fallen victim to financial abuse, partnering with community legal centres to advocate on behalf of vulnerable consumers, as well as broader law-reform and awareness-raising work. Below are a few key areas of work that we have been involved in.

Elder financial abuse

The pro bono team obtained a successful outcome for an elderly client who had been the victim of financial abuse by their wealthy child, assisting them in reaching a settlement and ultimately having their home transferred back to them, in addition to financial compensation. We are also continuing to provide ongoing support to other victims in similar circumstances, including a young client who has experienced financial abuse at the hands of their partner, and an elderly client with an intellectual disability who has experienced both financial and physical abuse by a couple who purported to be their carers.

Senior associate Megan King spoke on a panel at the national Health Justice Symposium in Brisbane about matters relating to elder financial abuse and disability advocacy. In particular, Megan discussed health-justice partnerships, which are multi-disciplinary teams of lawyers, counsellors, doctors, and other professionals that assist clients with complex and interconnected needs, and their role in preventing and addressing elder abuse.

Senior associate, Megan King (centre) talking at the Caxton Legal Centre and World Wellness Group Health Justice Symposium.

Vulnerable consumers

In 2019, over a hundred people, many of whom were elderly and had invested their retirement savings into the Sterling scheme, faced eviction from their homes and significant financial loss following the Sterling Group Collapse. Lawyers from our pro bono, litigation, and financial services teams provided research, advice, and drafting assistance on options for compensation for the victims to Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) (CCLS (WA)). We have also supported CCLS (WA) through the full-time secondment of a graduate lawyer for six months.

The sale of “lemon cars” has been identified by advocacy groups such as the Consumer Action Law Centre, as a systemic issue affecting highly-vulnerable consumers, which can have a devastating financial impact where individuals rely on their car for work or family commitments, and have spent a significant portion of their savings on a new car. Our Melbourne litigation team represented a vulnerable consumer to successfully negotiate an impactful outcome, with the car dealership returning the predominant share of the vehicle’s purchase price. This matter highlights the intersection of our focus area of protecting vulnerable consumers, and our cross-cutting strategic litigation theme, in targeting a systemic area of abuse, resulting in a high-impact outcome for the client.

First Nations

Self-determination and reconciliation are central to our work with First Nations clients and communities. The impact that we seek to create is guided by our firm’s continued commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart which calls on all Australians to address the structural injustices faced by First Nations peoples and communities, and to work towards a just society, and self-determination for First Nations people.

We seek to create impact through:

• Working towards reconciliation through truth-telling.
• Addressing systemic inequalities faced by First Nations individuals and communities, through law reform and strategic litigation.
• Building the capacity of First Nations organisations to facilitate economic, social and cultural self-determination.

We have directed pro bono support to strategic advocacy on behalf of First Nations individuals and First Nations-run organisations. Our support for First Nations clients aligns with the firm's commitment to Reconciliation, and our Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan, in which we have committed to providing 10 per cent of our pro bono services annually to First Nations clients. We aim to further self-determination through our support, as well as seeking to contribute to efforts highlighting important parts of Australia’s history through our engagement with repatriation and truth-telling work. Below are a few key highlights from 2024:

Repatriation

Our firm has been providing corporate law support to one of our First Nations pro bono clients, the Gujaga Foundation, with the return of the “Gweagal Spears" from Trinity College Cambridge, which were taken by Captain James Cook on his arrival in Botany Bay in 1770, more than 250 years ago. The Gujaga Foundation is the peak organisation leading language, cultural, and research activities within the La Perouse Aboriginal Community. The Foundation works collaboratively with Elders, knowledge holders and leading academics, and provides services to educational, cultural and corporate organisations relating to their cultural area within eastern, southern and southwestern Sydney. Our firm is proud to have provided pro bono support to the Gujaga Foundation to make this culturally significant repatriation possible. You can read more about the return of the spears in this ABC News Article.

Truth-telling

In 2024, we supported the Queensland Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry. Senior associate Coby Foster worked closely with the inquiry team and counsel assisting on an almost fulltime basis for nearly two months to prepare for and run the first hearings in Brisbane. This involved working alongside each of the six First Nations participants with lived experience to document their stories in the form of written submissions, and to support them to share their truth at the hearings. Lawyers across the firm provided assistance to the Inquiry, including associate Tim Chia, who worked closely with Coby in drafting key witness statements, and partner Rohan Sridhar and special counsel Dan Posker, who provided privacy and intellectual property advice to the Inquiry.

This work also aligns with our previous work on the Towards Truth project with the Justice and Equity Centre (formerly the Public Interest Advocacy Centre), and our support of a First Nations individual as part of the 2023 Yoorrook Justice Commission in Victoria.

Photo of the “Gweagal Spears" at Trinity College Cambridge.

Coby Foster, senior associate, at the Queensland Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry.

Indigenous land management

The Kimberley Land Council (KLC) is the peak Indigenous body in the Kimberley region that works with Aboriginal people to secure native title recognition, conduct conservation and land management activities, and develop cultural business enterprises. Our ongoing support for KLC included corporate advice, undertaking a due diligence exercise, assisting KLC to advocate for the rights of First Nations clients in the stolen wages matter in Western Australia, and seconding a senior associate for eight weeks to Broome on a full-time basis. We have also continued to provide support to Indigenous Desert Alliance, including advice on employment matters, and intellectual property, with a focus on Indigenous cultural intellectual property.

Coroner’s Court

Losing a loved one is devastating, and for families and communities, the pain is especially heavy during times of sorry business. This process becomes more complicated, lengthy and emotional when the death is investigated by the coroner. We have been working with Thirrili, an organisation that provides support to communities in the aftermath of suicide or other fatal critical incidents, to prepare a toolkit to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities through the challenges of navigating the Coroner’s Court during times of sorry business, to ensure their voices are heard. This toolkit is now live and can be found here.

Racial discrimination

The pro bono team worked with a First Nations client and small business owner to provide advice and successfully negotiate an outcome in relation to a formal complaint lodged with the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) regarding alleged racial discrimination suffered in connection with their online business. Under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld), a person cannot discriminate against another based on certain attributes such as race. Nonetheless, First Nations individuals like our client still report being discriminated against on the basis of their race when trying to grow a business. This has the potential to harm the growth of First Nations' businesses, and the important benefits that flow from them, such as increased Indigenous employment, wealth generation, self-determination and the contribution to infrastructure in remote and rural communities. Since this matter has settled, our client has informed us that they plan to use the financial compensation received to develop resources and a campaign aimed at fighting coercive control.

First Nations corporations

We have assisted many First Nations corporations across multiple sectors, including land rights, sustainable connection to country, water rights, and community justice with corporate governance and structuring advice, employment advice, intellectual property advice, understanding the legislative frameworks they operate in, planning advice following natural disasters, assistance with negotiating agreements, and taxation advice, including obtaining charitable status. This work allows these important organisations to have the confidence that their governance structures and processes are sound, and to grow and provide ongoing services to their communities.

Mental health and disability

According to the Australian Disability Network’s July 2024 Survey of Disability, Ageing, and Carers, around 4.1 per cent of Australians live with disability. One in ten Australians living with disability reported that they had experienced discrimination on the basis of their disability, which rises to one in five for those with severe or profound limitations. Barriers faced by those with disabilities also frequently contribute to indirect discrimination, and harm the extent to which they are able to participate in society.

To address these systemic challenges, our pro bono practice aims to create long-term impact through encouraging the reform of systems and societal attitudes in such a way that supports persons living with disabilities to flourish and live a full life on their own terms. This goal intersects with the aims of the UN SDGs.²

In 2024, we sought to deliver this impact by providing direct assistance to individuals living with disabilities, engaging in law reform designed to drive systemic change, and providing operational support to organisations in the disability space to help build capacity. We also worked on larger projects to understand the experiences of persons with disabilities in the legal system, and to advocate for reformed systems that offer better protection and outcomes. Some of the key work we have undertaken includes:

Disability

Disability rights advocacy

Our lawyers have undertaken several legal research projects investigating the rights of individuals experiencing disability in transport and education, and to assist individuals with disability to advocate for themselves before tribunals. This has included work for one of our long-standing clients, Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI), a community legal centre advocating for the rights and needs of people with disability in Queensland. An associate was also seconded to QAI on a part time basis at the end of 2024, which has continued into 2025.

Disability Royal Commission

Our pro bono team assisted Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service (Villamanta), a community legal centre focused on advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities by drafting an extensive summary and analysis to the findings of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission). The release of the Disability Royal Commission Report was an important milestone in recognising the reform needed to protect the rights of those living with disabilities, and we hope our assistance will support Villamanta in their advocacy efforts moving forward.

Access to technology

We have continued to provide ongoing support across many practice groups to NV Access, a not-for-profit that develops and supports free and open source software facilitating access to technology for blind and vision impaired people. Our work has assisted NV Access to be able to continue to offer their software program to blind and vision impaired people at no cost.

Mental health

Suicide Prevention Australia

Multiple teams from across the firm have continued to support Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA), an organisation dedicated to championing the prevention of suicide in Australia. This support has included corporate and copyright advice. We were also honoured to participate as judges in SPA’s inspiring 2024 National LiFE Awards, which focuses on the diverse and innovative efforts being undertaken to save lives and reduce suicide.

Ruah Community Services

We have continued to support Ruah Community Services and Ruah Legal Services (Ruah) in the expansion of their integrated, multi-disciplinary support services to vulnerable community members in Perth, including those experiencing mental health challenges, homelessness, and family and domestic violence. Our support has included continued, corporate advice, advice in relation to the construction of Ruah’s Centre for Women and Children and assistance on leases to subcontracting services. We have also sent two of our graduate lawyers on secondment to Ruah on a full-time basis for six months.

Harnessing new technologies to maximise access to justice

As technology continues to rapidly advance in its capabilities and complexity, a key focus of our pro bono practice remains understanding how technology can expand access to justice, as well as the risks inherent in technology for vulnerable members of the community. Some recent examples of our work in this space include:

Safe and secure housing

Our firm sent two experienced lawyers on part-time virtual secondments to assist Anika Legal (Anika) in supervising tenancy advice provided to renters through Anika’s online advice service. Anika’s innovative use of technology allows renters to access reliable legal advice and helps clients stay in safe and secure housing.

Digital tools to improve mothers’ mental health

Our Canberra-based cyber team has provided extensive advice to the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) in relation to the organisation’s digital initiatives to support identifying patients at risk of anxiety and depression in the perinatal period. COPE is the peak body for the provision of post- and perinatal health services to expecting and new mothers around Australia.

Refugees

You can read our article exploring the possibilities and the pitfalls of AI in the context of refugees here.

Other highlights

Addressing homelessness

Our national real estate team have continued to build a strong partnership with Housing All Australians (HAA), an industry-led for purpose organisation committed to solving Australia’s chronic shortage of affordable housing by engaging the private sector and helping to ultimately end homelessness. Specifically, we have assisted HAA with developing a national Affordable Housing Register, which will be a digital platform tracking compliance with affordable housing commitments nationally, and we are continuing to work with HAA on other projects.

Supporting parents and families

The Ladybird Care Foundation (Ladybird) provides crucial support to parents who have lost a child (of any age), through peer mentoring and support. Our firm is proud to have been able to provide extensive pro bono support to Ladybird throughout 2024.

Pro bono secondments

As part of cultivating a strong pro bono culture among junior lawyers at our firm, our graduate lawyers are given the opportunity to undertake a pro bono secondment to one of our many community legal centre partners as part of their graduate program. In 2024, we sent secondees to 11 of our community legal centre partners across the nation – Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (IARC), Human Rights Law Centre, Caxton Legal Centre, Ruah Legal Services, Circle Green Community Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre, Consumer Credit Legal Service, Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC), Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS), Justice and Equity Centre and Southern Communities Advocacy and Legal Education Service, Rockingham.

In addition to these opportunities for our graduates, we also provide opportunities for lawyers across all levels to undertake a secondment at different legal services across Australia. Over 2024 this included:

• An associate to the Australian Centre for International Justice for two days per week for six months.
• A senior associate to Anika Legal seven hours per week for eight months, and an associate three hours a week for three months.
• An associate to RACS on a full-time basis for approximately one month.
• A senior associate to the KLC on a full-time basis for approximately eight weeks.
• A senior associate to the Pacific on a full-time basis for two weeks to work on a climate change and carbon project.

Recognition

In 2024 our pro bono team was recognised for our outstanding pro bono contribution in the communities we operate, and the hard work of our lawyers. We were awarded the following:

1. Western Australian Attorney-General’s Community Service Law Award 2024 for best pro bono practice (law firm category).
2. Access to Justice Award (Coby Foster), Queensland Law Society Excellence in Law Award.
3. Thomson Reuters TrustLaw ‘Powered by Pro Bono’ Award for multi-jurisdictional ESG legal research project led by NRF Australia.

In addition to the above, we were also a finalist for:

1. Pro Bono Partner of the Year Award (Chris Owen), Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards.
2. Pro Bono Program of the Year Award, Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards.
3. 2024 PILnet Local Impact Awards (for multi-jurisdictional ESG legal research project led by Norton Rose Fulbright Australia).