Youth Senior caseworker - Children's legal Service - Criminal Law - Clerk Grade 7/8
Competitive Salary: $113,574 - $125,720 pa (plus superannuation and leave loading)
1 x Temporary Full Time until 30/06/2027
About us
Legal Aid NSW delivers accessible legal services across criminal, family and civil law. We provide advice, court representation, and family dispute resolution through 28 offices and phone-based support, helping people navigate the legal system with confidence and fairness.
About Children's Legal Service
The Children's Legal Service (CLS) is a specialist unit of Legal Aid NSW. Our solicitors advise and represent children and young people under 18 involved in criminal cases in the Children's Courts. Our aim is to ensure that children and young people have access to professional, face-to-face or telephone based legal advice at any stage of their legal proceedings.
About the role
Work collaboratively with CLS lawyers to assist disadvantaged and vulnerable young people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, to address their criminal law needs and underlying/related psychosocial needs. The role involves supporting duty clients and providing short to medium term casework and case management to young people within a socio-legal framework.
About you
You're a compassionate and experienced professional with a strong background in social work, psychology, or a related discipline. You bring at least five years of experience working with children and young people, and you're passionate about supporting vulnerable youth particularly those facing complex socio-legal challenges. You're confident navigating multidisciplinary environments and thrive when working collaboratively with legal professionals, government agencies, and community services.
You have a deep understanding of the issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and are committed to culturally safe and inclusive practice. Your ability to build trust, provide meaningful support, and advocate effectively makes you a vital part of a team working to create positive outcomes for young people involved in the justice system.
You're organised, proactive, and skilled in case management, referrals, and maintaining accurate records and most importantly, you're driven by a genuine desire to make a difference in the lives of young people.
WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN LEGAL AID NSW
We are committed to diversity and inclusion
We are committed to creating a culturally safe and genuinely inclusive organisation and workplace for everyone who works and interacts with us. We strive to be a place where people from diverse backgrounds want to work, where voices and cultures are valued and where people feel valued, welcomed, respected and heard.
We want a workforce that reflects our clients, so we can deliver a service that meets the needs of the community. We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, the LGBTQI+ community, culturally diverse people and other diverse communities.
We acknowledge, support and accommodate the diverse access needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities.
For application support (including accessing information or require the application in an alternate format) or recruitment adjustments please contact the Talent Acquisition Team at ************@legalaid.nsw.gov.au or 9***.
To learn more about Recruitment and Workplace Adjustments please visit Adjustments for individual needs | I Work for NSW.
Other benefits of working with us
You will have access to training, development and mentoring opportunities.
We are an accredited Flex Ready and Carers and Employers certified employer and are recognised as leaders in flexible work. Most of our staff work flexibly — for example, from home some of the time or in a way that helps them balance family and work life.
Find out more at Working at Legal Aid NSW
The essential requirements for this role
You must:
* Bachelor Social Work (4 years study) or Masters of Social Work or Bachelor Degree in Psychology or a related discipline with eligibility for professional registration
* 5 years minimum relevant experience
* Be willing to undertake a Criminal Record Check
* Hold a current NSW Working with Children Check
* hold Australian or NZ citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency(for ongoing vacancies) or a valid visa to work in Australia (for temporary vacancies)
* Experience working with children and young people
How to apply
You must submit your application online. Applications received late or by email, will not be accepted. Please make sure your application is complete, and that you have answered all questions before submitting.
Your application must include:
your resume (no more than 5 pages)
cover letter (no more than 2 pages). In your cover letter, please address the below target questions:
Target Question 1: Describe your experience working with children and young people who face complex social and legal challenges. How have you supported them to engage with services and achieve positive outcomes?
Target Question 2: This role involves working closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. Please outline your experience working in culturally safe and inclusive ways, and how you build trust and rapport with diverse communities.
We may use this recruitment to create a talent pool for similar ongoing or temporary vacancies we have over the next 18 months.
Do you need help to apply?
If you have questions about the role, you can reach out to Bruno Coimbra, Allied Professional Services: Criminal Law Division via email at *************@legalaid.nsw.gov.au
*** Please note: Legal Aid will be closed and unavailable to respond to any queries relating to this role over the Christmas and New Year break between 25/12/2025 and 11/01/2026. Merry Christmas and Hapy New Year
If you are an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and are thinking about applying, you can contact Legal Aid NSW Aboriginal Services Branch to arrange a confidential conversation about any questions you may have.
The Role Description sets out the responsibilities and Focus Capabilities of the role.
The focus capabilities and key accountabilities in the role description indicate what is expected at that level. Being familiar with these will help you understand what the panel will be looking for in the successful candidate.
Applying for a role is a great NSW Government resource for helping you prepare your application.
Closing Date: Sunday 11/01/2026 at 11.59pm
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