Company description:

Legal Aid

Job description:

Competitive Salary: $165,865 - $169,359 pa (plus superannuation and leave loading)

• Legal Officer Grade VI

Ongoing Full Time

Wollongong

About us

Legal Aid NSW helps people with their legal problems. We can help people with most areas criminal law, family law and every day civil law legal issues. We give legal advice, help at court and do family dispute resolution. We can do this over the telephone or at one of our 28 offices.

About the role

As a Solicitor In Charge, you will:

Lead and manage the day-to-day activities of the Wollongong Office to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and delivery of high-quality services that meet the needs of clients and the community.

Develop key relationships with internal and external stakeholders including the private profession, legal assistance providers and the courts.

Conduct a legal practice as other priorities permit.

About you

To thrive in this role, you'll need to show a genuine commitment to creating an inclusive, respectful, and wellbeing-focused workplace culture. Success here is built on strong leadership across multi-disciplinary legal teams (including Family, Civil, Criminal Law, and Allied Professionals) ideally within large metropolitan or regional service settings. We're looking for someone with a clear strategic vision who can align office operations with Legal Aid NSW's broader goals, while keeping service delivery and stakeholder engagement front and centre. Above all, this role is about people, so we're seeking someone with outstanding people management skills and a real passion for supporting and developing individuals and teams to deliver high-quality, client-focused outcomes.

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. If you need an adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, or you'd like information about what we can do to help you, please contact our team at [email protected] .

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:

Have qualifications to practice as an Australian legal practitioner

Be admitted or be eligible for admission as a legal practitioner in NSW

Be able to provide a current NSW Practising Certificate (unrestricted) before you start work with us

Be willing to do a Criminal Record Check and Working with Children Check

Hold Australian or NZ citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency (for ongoing vacancies)

Live in NSW or willing to relocate to NSW

Have the capacity to travel regularly and to remote and regional locations

The Family Law Division has several roles where it is a statutory obligation for staff to hold a valid Working with Children Check. You will be required to provide your Working with Children Check details prior to commencement in any role requiring the check.

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 respond to the below two questions:

Target Question 1: Describe your experience leading strategic service delivery planning for a large metro or regional area - how did you ensure the needs of vulnerable clients were met?

Target Question 2: Describe your experience leading a multi-disciplinary legal team—how did you support staff wellbeing and manage performance?

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 Clare O'Donnell, Associate Director Family Greater Sydney on (02) 4253 6843 or clare.o'[email protected]

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 5 October 2025 at 11.59pm