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Hume Riverina Community Legal Service – Kristi

Hume Riverina Community Legal Service

Kristi, Senior Lawyer, Family Law Family Violence

Tile introducing Kristi, with text "Justice Where We Live", a photo of Kristi, and "A day in the life with Kristi"
Hume Riverina Community Legal Service is strategic in providing legal services to people who otherwise may not access it, by partnering with local community, education, health and specialist family violence in our region. We collocate, we have embedded referral pathways, and we provide legal education and secondary consults to our partners. Health Justice Partnerships mean we reach people most in need and can wrap around supports to make them safe.
Photograph of a woman standing outside in a jacket, with text "I'm Kristi. I’m a Senior Lawyer in the Family Law Family Violence practice at Hume Riverina Community Legal Service. I’ve been here five years, and here’s a few days in my life."
Before relocating to the Victoria-NSW border, I worked in Criminal Law for a private firm in Melbourne. I work in a Health Justice Partnership. It is an integrated family violence partnership between Hume Riverina Community Legal Service, the Strengthening Families Team at Upper Murray Family Care and a local family violence service provider, in a program known as BRAVE (Building Rights, Advocacy, Voice and Empowerment). BRAVE provides trauma-informed, holistic legal assistance to people experiencing or at risk of family violence in Northeast Victoria.
Image of three people sitting talking together at a table, with text "I’m in the Wodonga office today, checking in with clients on the phone before our weekly Family Law Family Violence Casework Meeting, where we review legal advices, tasks and cases, share learnings and work through complex current matters."
On Tuesday afternoons I hold urgent client appointments at our office. Today I saw a new client. She is a victim-survivor of family violence with three children. I provided advice on planning separation in the context of family violence to ensure safety, Family Violence Intervention Orders, and Family Law relating to children’s matters including parenting plans. My client is at risk of homelessness and is having trouble with her car, so I’ll follow up on referral pathways for urgent housing assistance with my colleague Kat, our Housing Collaboration Coordinator, and provide details of the lemon car issue to Consumer Action Law Centre.
Image of trees next to the water, with text "It’s an early start today as I head out to Myrtleford. I’m the duty lawyer for the Intervention Order list today. Myrtleford is in the Ovens Valley which sits at the foot of the Alpine region."
The view of the snow-capped mountains is stunning and the weather is cold. Last week, the Northeast experienced significant rain and some areas reached major flood levels. I worked in this community and in others across the Towong and Alpine Shires following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. The town is small but busy, and the Court is old but important. There is very limited public transport in this region so for people experiencing barriers to justice compounded with DFSV it’s incredibly important that the Court remains as a place they can get information, file intervention order applications, and have their matters heard.
Image of a bench and table outside on some grass, with text "Today I see four people, three affected family members and one respondent to a Family Violence Intervention Order. I meet them in the Court House entrance and go outside to take instructions at a park bench."
Each person is at different stages of the order process, and they are all uncomfortable and unsure about what happens next. I spend about 30mins with each of them to understand the incident, the history of behaviour, what they need to ensure their safety and their expectations. I explain options and make suggestions. I take this information to the other parties’ lawyers and the Police, go back to the clients before getting called into the Court room to appear on their behalf and make submissions. I take file notes at Court and complete these back at the office. I’ve flagged one person as requiring Family Law advice at a future date.
Image of a mountain with grass and a tree in front, with text "My colleague Debbie, a Lawyer in the Civil Law Practice at Hume Riverina Community Legal Service is also in Myrtleford once a month."
She provides legal assistance to the community as part of an outreach program funded by the National Assistance Justice Partnership Victoria. In Myrtleford, she has appointments with vulnerable community members from the offices of one of our key health justice partners. This outreach program is focused on reaching and supporting people in remote and regional Northeast Victoria, including communities that have experienced natural disaster. Debbie provides a wide range of advice - from separation and family law issues to advice on consumer issues, debts and fines.
Quote: Cross-border communities find themselves in a very challenging position. Different people can experience different legal outcomes based solely on what side of the border you live on. Even as a practitioner, I find it extremely challenging to navigate the complexities of this landscape. I’ve heard from people who have had intervention orders made in Victoria that now don’t know where to apply for extra support because they’ve moved interstate." - Debbie
Quote: I’ve seen clients lose all rights to bring a claim for victims of crime compensation because the crime happened in NSW and not VIC (where they would have still been eligible). There are family violence services that exist in one state and not the other, leaving me with an uncertainty about where to refer people for critical support. All communities deserve consistent and reliable access to services and fair legal outcomes regardless of what side of the border you live on”. - Debbie
Image of Kristi outside, with text "I’m at the Upper Murray Family Care office in Wangaratta today seeing clients. I alternate each week between Wangaratta and Wodonga."
Seeing clients at Upper Murray Family Care makes it easier on clients, it’s safe, familiar and reduces overwhelm. It can also be beneficial for clients to access their case managers if they need support. I tend to see clients from Mansfield, Benalla, and the rural areas around Wangaratta when I’m down here. As well as seeing clients, today I’ve had some secondary consults, providing advice to case managers who have questions about possible legal pathways for their clients. The case managers will take information back to the clients and will let them know their problems do have legal solutions that I can advise on.
Image of Kristi in front of a powerpoint presentation, and text "I’m also involved in providing legal education sessions to our BRAVE partners. This week I presented on Intervention Orders to 8 social workers from Upper Murray Family Care."
Graphic of problems Hume Riverina CLS helps with, with text "I have a litigation matter fast approaching in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia."
I spent a couple of hours drafting documents for this in the Wodonga office, before working on a Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme application for a client I have helped with a family law advice and FVIO advice, she’s from a refugee background.
Quote: "Working in small communities is rewarding, but it can be tough. People are resilient and grateful, but they need more help. Access to pre-court and post-court assistance would be a great benefit for people accessing duty lawyers in regional courts. It would improve safety outcomes and catch people who need additional help, particularly with Family Law." - Kristi