Community Development Coordinator

The Organisation

Westjustice is a community organisation that provides free legal help to people in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.

Westjustice can help with a broad range of everyday legal problems including consumer disputes, credit and debt, family law and family violence, fines, motor vehicle accidents, tenancy, youth criminal law and more.

Westjustice’s purpose is to deliver targeted services and drive meaningful change. 

Benefits and Culture

• Be a part of an organisation that 98% of our team are proud to work for
• We pay 3% above the SCHADs award
• Salary packaging up to $15,900
• Up to 5 hours study leave per week
• Flexible working conditions
• 17.5% annual leave loading
• Passionate, professional and dedicated team
• Gifted additional paid leave over the summer holiday period
• Strong focus on wellbeing
• Ongoing commitment to being a diverse and inclusive organisation
• With 90% of our team recommending Westjustice as a great place to work, a culture of values driven, inclusive, feedback-oriented workplace

The Role

Westjustice is seeking to employ a full-time Community Development Coordinator on a 12-month, maximum term contract (with potential for a longer-term contract depending on availability of funding) to join our growing Worker’s Rights team.

Working with a multidisciplinary team, this role is responsible for designing, coordinating and implementing legal education sessions, resources, stakeholder relationships and outreach strategy to enhance Westjustice’s engagement with the communities in the west (both metropolitan and regional), with a particular emphasis on migrant and refugee communities, women and gender diverse workers.

The role will work predominantly on our Workplace Justice Program (for migrant and refugee workers), and our Working Women’s Centre Victoria (WWC Vic) Western Region services. 

Role Requirements:

• Community legal education or equivalent experience (training or teaching) including experience coordinating, preparing and delivering high quality, effective presentations or training
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and highly developed organisational and administrative skills, including:
• demonstrated culturally sensitive and safe communication and working style; and
• an ability to translate complex legal concepts into simple and accessible messaging formats across a range of media.
• Demonstrated understanding of gender inequality, intersectionality, and the social context of legal issues faced by marginalised communities in the workplace
• Strong commitment to social justice, community education and engagement
• A degree and/or experience in social work, social sciences, community development, community services or the education field.
• A current Victorian driver’s license, with access to own vehicle with insurance.

People with lived experience as a migrant or refugee worker in Australia are encouraged to apply.

This position is primarily based at our Sunshine office will be required to work at our other offices and/or clinic sites, as need arises. Travel around the Western region of Victoria will be required for the role.

Remuneration:

Salary range – $100,299 - $104,842 per annum (dependent on experience) plus employer funded superannuation in accordance with Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth).

For a copy of the position description, please click here.

Please apply by 5pm, Wednesday 9 July 2025 by sending your resume together with a cover letter responding to the key selection criteria in the Position Description to recruitment@westjustice.org.au. Alternatively, please call Joseph Lavelle Wilson, Acting Legal Director on (03) 9749 7720, for a confidential discussion.

Late applications will not be considered.

The successful applicant will require a current Working with Children’s Check and a Police Check or be prepared to apply for both. Applicants must possess the right to work in Australia.

The successful applicant will require a current Working with Children’s Check and a Police Check or be prepared to apply for both. People with lived experience of the justice system are encouraged to apply. A police check result does not automatically disqualify an application which in each case will be individually assessed for the relevant role.  Applicants must possess the right to work in Australia.

Westjustice is committed to building a diverse workforce. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with a disability, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, mature age workers and LGBTIQA+-identifying people.   People with lived experience of the justice system are encouraged to apply. A police check result does not automatically disqualify an application which in each case will be individually assessed for the relevant role.

If you require any adjustments throughout the application or recruitment process please contact recruitment@westjustice.org.au 

Practical Legal Traineeship Placements – Westjustice

Westjustice is currently looking for Practical Legal Trainees (PLT) to work 2 days per week. The placement is for a minimum of 20 days over 10 weeks (2 set days a week). We are we are recruiting for placement opportunities all year round with flexible start dates.

Westjustice are a leading community legal centre providing free services to vulnerable and disadvantaged people. From our offices in Werribee and Sunshine and through our outreach services we provide advice on a broad range of issues including employment, discrimination, consumer disputes, tenancy, credit and debt, family disputes, family violence, criminal law and more.

Westjustice’s vision and purpose

• Fairness, safety, and justice for Melbourne’s West​

• We deliver targeted services and drive meaningful change​

Westjustice delivers

• Targeted legal, financial counselling​ and social work services​

• Empowerment through education and community development​
• Advocacy and system reform​
• Develop and nurture impactful networks and relationships​
• Prevention and early intervention that addresses the causes and impacts ​

The Practical Legal Training (PLT) Program at Westjustice

PLTs provide a vital contribution to our work and the functioning of our team. Successful applicants will gain valuable and practical experience and training working under the supervision of experienced lawyers within the following programs:

• Family Law Family Violence Program (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
• Youth Law Program (Wednesdays and Fridays)
• Economic Justice Program (Mondays and Thursdays)
• Employment and Equality Law Program (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)

For specific information on the above listed programs, please refer to our website.

Key Responsibilities/Expectations can include:

• Triaging and preparing matters under guidance of the lawyers
• Coordinating court lists andcommunicating with external key stakeholders across multiple digital platforms under guidance of the lawyers
• Conducting intake (basic instructions) with clients, many of whom are from culturally and linguistically marginalised backgrounds, experiencing poverty, family/intimate partner violence
• Collating and analysing court documents
• File management tasks
• Preparing and sending correspondence with guidance of a lawyer
• Data entry
• Legal research, analysis and problem solving to assist lawyers with their case work

Key Selection Criteria:

• A degree in law
• Be currently completing your Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (through Leo Cussen or an equivalent institution).
• Ability to undertake a minimum of 20 days (2 set days per week) of practical legal training at Westjustice over 10 weeks
• Ability to work from our office located in Sunshine or various outreach locations across Melbourne
• Ability to attend the various Courts and Tribunals across Melbourne
• Excellent IT skills, including use of real time portals, Sharepoint, Actionstep (or case management systems), Teams, Microsoft Office, Outlook
• Strong commitment to social justice, including a demonstrated understanding of the social context of law, crime, family violence, discrimination and the issues faced by vulnerable young people in our community and the ability to contribute to Westjustice’s systemic impact work
• Ability to listen to and engage with vulnerable, distressed or disadvantaged clients
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders
• High level personal skills, including resilience and the ability to communicate and consult effectively
• Excellent problem-solving skills with a can-do attitude when offering solutions
• Excellent attention to detail and a friendly demeanour
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Confident, strong initiative, compassionate, with an interest in community legal work
• Thrives in a busy and sometimes unpredictable environment
• Competency in working with diverse communities, including LGBTIQA+, Disability and multicultural communities

*Please note that PLT positions are unpaid*

We offer a robust structured training program that includes practical skills workshops, and a Certificate of Completion is awarded upon completion of the 10-week program.

How to Apply:

To apply, please email a cover letter that indicates your interest in each of the programs in order of preference, addresses the key selection criteria (maximum 2 pages) and your CV to recruitment@westjustice.org.au . Please note, we will try to allocate successful applicants to their preferred programs, but this may not always be possible. Please use the subject line: PLT [your name] application.

Feel free to email us any questions you may have via the above email address.

The successful applicant will require a current Working with Children’s Check and Police Check. People with lived experience of the justice system are encouraged to apply. A police check result does not automatically disqualify an application which in each case will be individually assessed for the relevant role. Applicants must also have the right to work in Australia. If you require any adjustments throughout the application or recruitment process please contact recruitment@westjustice.org.au

Westjustice is committed to building a diverse workforce. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with a disability, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, mature age workers and LGBTIQA+ identifying people. 

Please contact us on (03) 9749 7720 if you wish to make a donation to WEstjustice.

Donations over $2.00 are tax deductable.

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Please check 'careers' for any current volunteer positions. 

WEstjustice relies heavily on the work of legal and non-legal volunteers. Volunteer roles include:

• Policy volunteers 
• Administrative volunteers 
• Paralegal volunteers 
• Solicitor volunteers 

Skills we require of all of our volunteers include:

• Excellent communication skills
• High attention to detail
• Ability to work as part of a team and independently
• Reliability and punctuality

We ask that volunteers give us a minimum commitment of twelve months.

Demand for volunteer positions may vary.

If there is a position available and you are a suitable candidate, we will contact you. 

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Westjustice has several current PLT opportunity, please see here for more details.