knowmore legal service today officially launches its Brisbane office boosting capability for phone advice and face-to-face service to Queensland, NT and remote WA based clients.
knowmore provides independent legal advice for people currently engaging with or seeking to engage with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
knowmore Executive Officer Jenny Hardy said that high demand for their services meant that opening additional offices was imperative.
“As our recent service snapshot shows, we have had in excess of 3000 calls since the service began just ten months ago, and our small team of 16 hardworking staff in Sydney were responding to all national requests for assistance, including requests for outreach services.
“We are thrilled to be able to expand our capacity to meet demand and help people with their inquiries about the Royal Commission, including how to engage, clarification of the terms of reference, advice around unique individual legal circumstances such as confidentiality agreements, and assisting people to obtain representation or refer people on to seek compensation.
“Most of the legal advice and assistance we have provided thus far has been to survivors of historic child sexual abuse while under institutional care, however we have also provided advice to witnesses and whilstle-blowers as well as survivors of all ages and from a variety of institutional contexts.
“We have also conducted a great deal of regional outreach visits, more than 200 across Australia over a nine-month period.
Given the widespread institutionalisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, knowmore has invested in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to come forward and tell their stories in culturally safe ways, providing they wish to do so.
knowmore employs Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Liaison officers who work together with our lawyers and social worker/counsellors to provide trauma-informed service to anyone who engages with our service.
For a snapshot of our service statistics and services provided, refer to our infographic.
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