HUME Riverina Community Legal Service (HRCLS) responded to the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 by launching the Bushfire Recovery Project to provide legal assistance to affected communities.

“In the aftermath of disaster, people tend to experience greater and more complex legal problems which compound without assistance, so we stepped forward to support local recovery,” said Sarah Rodgers, manager and principal lawyer, HRCLS.

“We realised from the outset that making connections with community organisations and councils, and fostering partnerships to establish trust within communities, would be the key to reaching people most in need.

“Working with North East Multicultural Association was very important reaching communities.”

The Bushfire Recovery Project saw HRCLS work in partnership with UMFC Financial Counselling, Gateway Health, and Centre Against Violence (CAV), to provide legal assistance alongside financial, health, and social support.

In addition, HRCLS recognised it would not be able to meet the level of legal need without assistance and strengthened referral pathways to specialist community legal centres and legal organisations providing pro bono support.

“Through these three tiers of partnership, the Bushfire Recovery Project assisted 267 clients between April 1 2022 and February 4 2024 with critical, holistic legal assistance,” Ms Rodgers said.

“We also worked on capacity building within affected communities through the promotion of legal awareness using legal health checks and distributing emergency preparedness information packs.”

A recent independent evaluation of this project identified:

“Local networks and partnerships facilitate delivery of more coordinated and holistic services to people affected by disasters.”

In a region experiencing greater frequency of disaster events, HRCLS is looking to promote the findings of this evaluation report to ensure that collaborative and holistic legal assistance is part of early response services to disaster in the future.

The report concluded:

“As the project reaches its term, there is scope to celebrate the strong community connections created and support provided. But there is also concern that the lessons from this and other, disasters may be overlooked and the scaffold of support may be withdrawn, leaving communities and service providers facing the prospect of starting from scratch next time round.”

HRCLS thanks all partner organisations and both the Federal and Victorian governments for funding to develop the Bushfire Recovery Project.

The evaluation report of the Bushfire Recovery Project by Effective Change and information on the project, is in the HRCLS Annual Report 2023-24

Strategic.Targeted.Responsive. A celebration and reflection, is available at, www.hrcls.org.au/hrcls-publications/.