ABOUT US
We are a community legal centre funded primarily through the Commonwealth Government's Community Legal Centres Program.
We are a service unlike any other, providing the services traditionally associated with a Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) as well as being the only community legal centre on the Gold Coast. We are a full member of the Queensland Association of Independent Legal Services (QAILS) and also of the National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC).
On this page:
Victoria Shiel
Principal Solicitor / Coordinator
Manuel Palma
Solicitor
David Boag
Solicitor
Skye Worth
Solicitor
Tanya Diessel
Solicitor / Student Coordinator
Admin Officer / Volunteer Coordinator
Mary McLean
Financial Counsellor
Kathryn Algoe
Financial Counsellor / Bookkeeper
The Gold Coast City Council also very generously arranges for our Community Guide to be printed.
You can access the electronic version of the guide here, or you are also welcome to come into the office and pick up a "hard copy" version. There are limited copies supplied to the various branches of the Gold Coast City Council libraries so you may also be able to get a copy there.
Unfortunately, due to the high cost of postage, we are not able to mail copies of the publication.
Our service was established in 1984 and is the only funded community legal centre on the Gold Coast.
The Gold Coast Legal Service (formerly Highway Legal Service) had humble beginnings as a service started by a group of volunteer solicitors who offered their time to provide free legal advice at night to those in need.
That service later merged with the Citizens Advice Bureau and funding was received from federal and state governments to enable the service to grow. Continued support from the Commonwealth, State and Local Government enabled the service to grow to what it is today.
In 2007 we changed the legal service part of our name to "Gold Coast Legal Service" to avoid confusion (we were no longer on the Gold Coast Hwy) and to highlight what area we service (the Gold Coast).
We are an independent of government and acknowledge the following funding providers:
- Commonwealth Government's Community Legal Services Program
- State Government by way of the Legal Practitioners Interest on Trust Accounts Fund
- The Gold Coast City Council through its generous grants program which assists us with our rent and with the production of our "Community Guide", both by direct funding support and bearing all costs of printing.
Special mention:
We are generously supported by the Gold Coast City Council, especially Councillor Dawn Crichlow, member for Division 6, in which we are situated. Dawn was the President of our Management Committee for many years, only stepping down from that role in late 2010, but remaining on the Management Committee and we are honoured to have her generous support.
