First Nations

Jingle Bills: Addressing Christmas Debt

 
Overspending at Christmas can be the worst start to new year for a lot of people. In this episode we speak with two of Legal Aid’s Financial Counselors about some of the spending traps people can fall into at Christmas and give some information about tools and services available for people to gain control over their spending.
Jeanine is from the Civil Law Service for Aboriginal Communities or ‘CLSAC’. We are a service of Legal Aid NSW. CLSAC goes to communities in NSW and visits Aboriginal women in custody. The majority of CLSAC staff are Aboriginal people.
Baryulgil
Maclean
Brewarrina
Mt Druitt
Lake Cargelligo
Batemans Bay
Malabugilmah
Condobolin
Tabulam
 
Bodalla
Mogo
Coraki
Toomelah
 
Boggabilla
Moree
Dareton
Wallaga Lake
 
Bourke
Moruya
East Dubbo
Yamba
 
CLSAC goes to these communities:
 
Sharon is a member of the Consumer team in our Civil Law division.
Both CLSAC and the Consumer team are a part of the Civil Law division of Legal Aid NSW.
The civil law practice helps resolve legal issues that impact on people's everyday lives such as debts, unpaid fines, discrimination, tenancy issues, Centrelink disputes and more. Our focus is on helping people to resolve legal issues as early as possible.
Budgeting tools: https://moneysmart.gov.au/
Law Access: 1300 888 529 debt and credit (nsw.gov.au)
CLSAC (Jeanine): 1800 793 017 and 02 9219 5057
Consumer Team (Sharon): consumer@legalaid.nsw.gov.au
Link to Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/0STHGy05vH5NluI_poQok_x3VfE
Financial Rights Legal Centre: Financial Rights Legal Centre - Advice and advocacy for consumers in financial stress.
Acknowledgments
The music in our Law for Community Workers on the go podcasts is Blue Highway by Podington Bear licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ Legal Aid NSW has met all our legal copyright and intellectual property obligations in the preparation of these podcasts
 
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 1300 888 529. 

Extra help with your fines - Revenue NSW Hardship program for young people and First Nations people

In this episode we speak with Isabella Wallington and Bud Crawford from the Revenue NSW Hardship Program. This Program commenced in 2020 and aims to implement a range of strategies to reduce the negative impact of fines debt on vulnerable young people and First Nations people. You will hear about a range of initiatives underway and what is planned for 2021 and beyond. We also talk about how you can help your vulnerable clients speak to Revenue NSW to take advantage of these initiatives and break the cycle of disadvantage associated with fines debt.
To get in touch with Revenue NSW and for help with fines - referrals and more information
To contact us on behalf of your customers about managing a debt and to access the Advocacy Hotline, you and any individual employees who may deal with us will need to  register with us. During registration, you will need to acknowledge that you’ve read and agreed to the Advocacy  Charter https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/help-centre/resources-library/advocate-charter . The Charter ensures advocates understand where they stand with us. It establishes a common understanding of the obligations and standards of conduct and behaviour expected of our advocates.  Information on how to register etc. is available from the following RNSW website link https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/fines-and-fees/advocates For more information, visit advocates and sponsors. 
The Revenue NSW Advocacy Hotline provides advocacy groups a priority service and it is supported Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm. The hotline number is 1300 135 627
Revenue NSW WDO and First Nations Hotline – 1300 478 879
Revenue NSW brochure – help with your fines = getting back on track brochure for young people - https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/help-centre/resources-library/fines-getting-back-on-track-youth.pdf
Revenue NSW brochure – help with your fines = getting back on track brochure for First Nations people - https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/help-centre/resources-library/fines-getting-back-on-track-aboriginal-peoples.pdf
For free legal help call LawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529
For information about work and development orders (WDOs) to clear NSW fines – go to the Legal Aid NSW WDO service web page - https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/what-we-do/civil-law/work-and-development-order-service
For information about the Cooperative Legal Service Delivery (CLSD) program, regions and contact in your local area – go to https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/what-we-do/community-partnerships/cooperative-legal-services-delivery-clsd-program
Edited by Bernadette Nguyen from Audiocraft.
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 1300 888 529.