Legal education and capability development

Starting in March 2023, we rolled out a criminal-law focused advocacy training program with tiers for beginning, intermediate and advanced practitioners. In total, 48 of our criminal law solicitors participated in one of the three advocacy workshops. Post-workshop feedback was very positive, with participants reporting that the advocacy skills they had learned or practised during the workshop would assist them in their work.

Criminal Law Division Executive staff and two experienced solicitor advocates delivered beginner and intermediate workshops at the mock court at the University of Technology Sydney, providing a realistic in-court experience for solicitors to test and hone their skills.

The highly regarded and much sought-after Australian Advocacy Institute delivered a three-day custom workshop to 24 of our most senior criminal law solicitors in May, which included an all-day in-court workshop at the Family Court building in Sydney.

In 2022–23, we commenced the organisation-wide roll-out of two training packages designed to create a more equitable organisation for clients and staff.

Everyone’s Business: Trauma-Informed Stolen Generations training

Developed by the Public Service Commission in response to the Stolen Generations Unfinished Business report, this training brings together the powerful stories of people impacted by Stolen Generations policies.

Addressing sexual harassment

Co-designed with the Australian Human Rights Commission and delivered by Legal Aid NSW staff, this training covers our new sexual harassment policy and processes as well as ways to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. It gives staff an opportunity to practice being an active bystander and interrupting potentially harmful situations, as well as for managers to practice assessing the risk of sexual harassment.

We launched our new career and performance development planning tool this financial year, a major upgrade on the program we had previously used. We trained all staff on using the new tool and provided additional training for managers to understand organisational expectations and develop the skills needed for meaningful supervision conversations.