Aboriginal Legal Service

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Co-operative Limited provides legal advice and representation for the Koorie community.

http://www.vals.org.au/

Melbourne Office
273 High Street, Preston
PO Box 52, Preston VIC 3072

(03) 9418 5999 (24 hours)
1800 064 865 (toll free)

Federation of Community Legal Centres

Many of the 49 Victorian community legal centres can undertake representation or give advice to citizens in criminal matters.
They are also useful sources for referrals to sympathetic lawyers; bear in mind that their resources are limited.
For a full list of community legal centres in Victoria go to:

http://www.communitylaw.org.au/

Level 3, 225 Bourke Street
Melbourne, 3000

(03) 9652 1500

administration@fclc.org.au

Lawyers for Forests

The best source of legal information and legal support for Forest Activists in Victoria is the organisation Lawyers for Forests, an association of legal professionals working to promote the conservation and better management of Australia's remaining native forests. Lawyers for Forests provide information to conservationists on their rights and responsibilities when taking part in a protest and free legal advice and representation where needed after the event.

http://www.lawyersforforests.asn.au/

PO Box 550
West Melbourne 8007

lff@lawyersforforests.asn.au 

Women's Legal Service Victoria

Women's Legal Service Victoria (WLSV) is a statewide legal service for women, specialising in relationship breakdown and violence against women.

http://www.womenslegal.org.au/

Level 10, 277 William Street
Melbourne 3000

(03) 8622 0600
1800 133 302 (toll free)
admin@womenslegal.org.au

Australian Prisoners

http://www.apu@justiceaction.org.au

65 Bellevue St, Glebe,
NSW 2037, Australia
P.O. Box 386, Broadway,
NSW 2007, Australia

apu@justiceaction.org.au

612-9660 9111

612-9660 9100

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission

The ACCC promotes competition and fair trade in the market place to benefit consumers, businesses and the community. It also regulates national infrastructure services. Its primary responsibility is to ensure that individuals and businesses comply with the Commonwealth competition, fair trading and consumer protection laws.

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/142

Level 35, The Tower
360 Elizabeth Street
Melbourne Central
Melbourne Vic 3000
GPO Box 520
Melbourne Vic 3001

(03) 9290 1800

(03) 9663 3699

Jesuit Social Services

Jesuit Social Services works to build a just society where all people can live to their full potential - by partnering with community to support those most in need and working to change policies, practices, ideas and values that perpetuate inequality, prejudice and exclusion.

htttp://www.jss.org.au/

P.O. Box 271
Richmond 3121

(03) 9427 7388

(03) 9427 1819

jss@jss.org.au

Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby

The VGLRL is a lobby group which aims to achieve equality and social justice for lesbians and gay men. They do this by working with the media, undertaking and supporting research and lobbying politicians directly. Their website features detailed, searchable information about areas such as anti-discrimination law, health, inheritance, property division, death compensation and State superannuation for GLBTI people in Victoria.

http://www.vglrl.org.au/

P.O. Box 21305
Little Lonsdale Street
Victoria, 8011

0417 484 438

Australian Human Rights Commission

The Australian Human Rights Commission is the new name of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. The Commission was established in 1986 by an act of the federal Parliament. It is an independent statutory organisation and reports to the federal Parliament through the Attorney-General.

http://www.hreoc.gov.au/index.htm 

Level 3, 175 Pitt Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
GPO Box 5218

(02) 9284 9600
Complaints infoline:  1300 656 419
General enquiries and publications: 1300 369 711
TTY:   1800 620 241

(02) 9284 9611

Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has produced Protecting Human Rights in Australia a Community Education Kit. The Kit is comprised of a series of fact sheets that provide basic information about the human rights that affect everyone in Australia.

http://www.piac.asn.au

Level 9, 299 Elizabeth St
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

02 8898 6500

02 8898 6555

PDF:       Protecting Human Rights in Australia

Integrated Security: The Manual

This site provides Integrated Security Workshops that have been developed for women human rights activists. Also there are excellent workshop materials are available for download.

http://www.integratedsecuritymanual.org/

Protectionline

Workbook on security - This guide provides practical steps for human rights defenders at risk – published by Front Line.
This Workbook is informed by the experience of human rights defenders around the world, many of who operate in extremely repressive and risky environments. The Workbook takes you through the steps to producing a security plan – for yourself and for your organisation. It follows a systematic approach for assessing your security situation and developing risk and vulnerability reduction strategies and tactics.

http://protectionline.org/Workbook-on-security-practical.html

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/

Digital security for activists

Written for activists by activists and put together by Riseup, this is a 60 page zine including personal stories and practical advice about digital security and online organizing.

https://help.riseup.net/en

Surveillance Self-Defense Project

Resources from the Electronic Frontiers Foundation.

https://ssd.eff.org/tech

Activist Security

This site offers free resources to download including A Practical Security Handbook for Activists and Campaigns; Infiltrators, Informers and Grasses; and A Guide to Secure Meetings in Pubs. The Security Handbook covers a range of security issues for activists, from media strategy to planning actions, to dealing with surveillance and infiltration. Readers would do well to heed the warnings included in Infiltrators, Informers and Grasses - don’t become paranoid, don’t gossip, and never make accusations about people without significant investigation and evidence.

http://www.ActivistSecurity.org

Security Culture for Activists

A resource by The Ruckus Society, walks activists through security measures we can take to safeguard ourselves, including helpful advice about people, groups and data security.

http://www.ruckus.org/article.php?id=789

Friends of the Earth (Melbourne)

 Friends of the Earth is a community based activist organisation which works towards an ecologically sustainable and socially equitable society.

http://www.melbourne.foe.org.au/

312 Smith Street
Collingwood Melbourne
PO Box 222
Fitzroy  VIC  3065

(03) 9419 8700  toll free 1300 852 081

(03) 9416 2081

Refugee Action Collective (Victoria)

 Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) was established in late 2001 as an open grassroots collective, comprising a broad cross section of people to change Australian government policy on refugees.

 PO Box 578
 Carlton South
 Vic 3053

(03) 9659 3505

refugeeaction@mail.com

http://www.rac-vic.org

Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby

The VGLRL is a lobby group which aims to achieve equality and social justice for lesbians and gay men. We do this by working with the media, undertaking and supporting research and lobbying politicians directly.

P.O. Box 2156,
Fitzroy 3065,
Victoria, Australia

 vglr_lobby@hotmail.com

http://www.vglrl.org.au/

Victorian Trades Hall Council

The major role of the VTHC is the co-ordination of union activities and campaigns. When a union requires assistance and support for an issue which has broad consequences for more than one union, the VTHC can become involved in a co-ordinating role. It also provides assistance to its affiliated unions with research, negotiations and advocacy. The VTHC is also the central State organisation for communicating with the public about trade union issues. It is responsible for implementing ACTU policy within Victoria and represents unionists in lobbying State Parliament for social and industrial reforms. It is the body which most people contact if they have any query about trade unions.

Ground Floor
Old Building
Trades Hall
Cnr. Victoria & Lygon Streets
Carlton South, 3053
PO Box 93 Trades Hall
54 Victoria Street
Carlton South 3053

(03) 9662 3511

(03) 9663 2127

info@vthc.org.au

http://www.vthc.org.au

Anarchist Black Cross Federation

Grassroots international network providing support to radical political prisoners.

http://abcf.net/index.htm

Legal Defence & Monitoring Group

The Legal Defence and Monitoring Group describe themselves as Volunteers for the Defence of Civil Protest and the Right of Assembly'. The original idea behind the Legal Defence And Monitoring Group was to form legal back up on demonstrations in and around London (Britain). Working in the same way as the Trafalgar Square Defendants Campaign (TSDC) during the Poll Tax demos, the main LDMG roles are to:

• monitor police behaviour on demonstrations & pickets
• give unconditional support to anyone arrested or injured
• provide sympathetic solicitors to those people arrested who want one
• assist anybody assaulted by the police or wrongly arrested to sue the police
• monitor court cases and provide support to those held on remand

The site is covers information and resources for legal teams and legal observers. Their legal rights sections covers the European Convention on Human Rights and practical arrest rights.

http://www2.phreak.co.uk/ldmg/index.php

R2K Legal Collective

The R2K Legal Collective is comprised of:

• activists
• working groups composed of activists (such as Outreach, Fundraising, and Media)
• the Legal Strategy Group (a closed group of attorneys, defendants, and supporters that has access to some confidential information but is not authorized to make decisions for the entire collective without approval)
• the Legal Team (criminal and civil lawyers who have volunteered or are paid to work on these cases, including public defenders, private attorneys, NY private attorneys, and national criminal law experts)

http://www.commondreams.org/news2002/0731-01.htm

Urban75

Urban75 magazine is a huge UK ezine site featuring bulletin boards, photos, protest, rave, drugs & more. Has a huge activist legal rights section at which covers everything from legal rights for ravers, road protestors, football fans and activists. It has bust cards, links to the London based Legal Defence and Monitoring Group and guides on activist safety and information about police complaints and legal issues.

http://www.urban75.com/Action/index2.html

Plan to win - Social Movement Learning

http://www.plantowin.net.au/

Australian law journals on-line

The Australian Law Journal

High Court Review

Australian lawyers & law associations

National Association of Community Legal Centres

Australian Bar Association

Australian Lawyers Alliance

Law Council of Australia

Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory

Law Society of New South Wales

New South Wales Law Foundation

Victoria Law Foundation

Law Society of Western Australia 

Environmental Defenders Office (EDO)

The EDO produces a range of plain English Fact Sheets to explain different aspects of New South Wales and Commonwealth laws which affect the environment and environmental campaigning. You can browse the Fact Sheets by alphabetical order or search our website for information you need.

http://www.edo.org.au/edonsw/site/factsheets 

Responding to legal threats

ABC All-Media Law Handbook: for Journalists, Presenters, Program Makers, Authors, Editors and Publishers (Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Safe speech and managing the media, B. Donald, paper delivered to EDO Conference "Defending the Defenders", October 1998.

http://www.edo.org.au/edonsw/site/papers/speechandmedia.php

For a useful set of guides and factsheets regarding defamation and legal threats go to the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO)

http://www.edo.org.au/edonsw/site/factsheets.php

http://www.edovic.org.au/legal-assistance/resources

A Bush Lawyer's Guide to Avoiding & Surviving Litigation against Public Participation by Dr. Greg Ogle. This is a useful guide based on the experiences of activists in South Australia who received legal threats during the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Campaign.

http://users.senet.com.au/~gregogle/Defamation_guide_home.html

Slapping on the Writs: Defamation, Developers and Community Activism is a highly recommended 95-page book by Melbourne Senior Counsel, Brian Walters. Published by University of NSW Press in 2003.

Association for progressive communications

APC believes the internet is a global public good. Founded in 1990, they are an international network and non-profit organisation that wants everyone to have access to a free and open internet to improve our lives and create a more just world. They have developed an Internet Rights Charter covering the following:

• Internet access for all
• Freedom of expression and association
• Access to knowledge
• Shared learning and creation – free and open source software and technology development
• Privacy, surveillance and encryption
• Governance of the internet
• Awareness, protection and realisation of rights

For detailed informetion visit:

http://www.apc.org/en/node/5677/

What to do about political spying

A useful guide by Linda Lotz of the American Friends Service Committee.

http://www.publiceye.org/liberty/whatbugs.html