National Indigenous Legal Advocacy Courses

Diploma of National Indigenous Legal Advocacy
– Course 39104QLD

Participants

The Diploma of National Indigenous Legal Advocacy is intended to address the training needs of Indigenous peoples who have significant experience working in a legal environment.

The course is specifically designed to provide a detailed knowledge of legal matters necessary to work as a Senior Field Officer or Senior Indigenous Legal Advocate and to develop skills in office administration, staff supervision and/or management work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services or related areas.

It is also designed to meet the needs of Indigenous peoples with significant experience working in Indigenous community organisations, Government departments / agencies relating to juvenile justice, corrective services or care and protection, or participating in Indigenous community justice mechanisms and in other similar roles.

Skills and outcomes

On successful completion of the Diploma, students will have demonstrated that they are able to:

• manage responsibilities for court appearances and law reform;
• represent their organisation; and
• manage legal work environments and effective communication processes.

Students will also be able to demonstrate that they are able to work with limited supervision to:

• support clients in maintaining the importance of land and culture;
• advise on provisions of a range of law enforcement legislation;
• manage ethical responsibilities in the legal system;
• report on legal issues;
• provide advice and advocacy for clients;
• support clients in arrest, bail, court and detention situations;
• manage conflict;
• conduct research in response to requests; and
• develop community networks.

Course outline

In undertaking the course, students will learn about:

• skills for mediation and counselling clients and staff;
• recognition of Aboriginal customary law;
• law reform processes;
• substance abuse and family violence; and
• Sentencing processes and management of client appearances before court.

Students can also choose from electives on indigenous rights at the international level and the application of international law to indigenous peoples; Aboriginal men’s and women’s perspectives on the law; managing an organisation’s finances; mediation and counselling a client; mental health and disability issues; finance administration; interpreting; care and protection; and family violence issues.

It is envisaged that a student will in many instances progress from the Certificate IV course to the Diploma. In order to be awarded the Diploma, students will be required to complete the requirements for the Certificate IV course (ie, the 19 compulsory units and 2 electives) and also complete an additional 5 compulsory units and 2 electives at the diploma level.

If a student is enrolled in the Diploma and does not complete the requirements of the course, they will still be awarded the Certificate IV if they have completed the required units for that course.

There is provision in the course for trainers to recognise student’s prior learning for any unit. There is also provision in the course for students to undertake a vocational training placement (of 100 hours). The course structure is contained in the tables below.

1) Compulsory units of competency – Diploma students must complete the following compulsory units from the Certificate IV course

2) Compulsory units of competency – Diploma students must complete the following additional compulsory units

3) Elective units of competency – students must complete 2 elective units from the Certificate IV course

4) Elective units of competency – students must complete 2 elective units from the Diploma elective list

This fact sheet is also available for download in PDF and Word formats.

© Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Last Updated: 5 September 2003.