Family Law & Domestic Violence Lawyer

Leave the billable hours behind and use your legal career to make a difference for women

• Above-Award Salary of $115K – $120K+ 12.75% Super + Salary Packaging
• No billable targets or timekeeping — focus on delivering meaningful legal support!
• Enjoy Six Weeks of Paid Leave each year and a genuinely Flexible, Supportive Workplace
• Multiple opportunities available across Cairns, Townsville and Mackay, including helping build NQWLS's growing regional presence

Our Story

At North Queensland Women’s Legal Service (NQWLS), legal practice is about more than resolving a file.

We advocate for and empower women by providing free, accessible and high-quality legal advice and assistance across North and Far North Queensland. To date, NQWLS has provided more than 165,000 legal services to women while also contributing to community legal education, advocacy, policy and law reform.

The women who seek our support are often navigating incredibly difficult circumstances. That's why our lawyers combine strong legal practice with empathy, trauma-informed support and an understanding of the broader challenges affecting women's access to justice.

As our service continues to grow across the region, including establishing a new office in Mackay, we're looking for experienced lawyers to join our team in Cairns, Townsville or Mackay.

The Opportunity

NQWLS is seeking full-time Family Law & Domestic Violence Lawyers to join our team in Cairns, Townsville or Mackay, QLD. 

You'll provide high-quality, trauma-informed legal services primarily across family law and domestic violence, alongside other matters falling within NQWLS's service guidelines.

The way you'll practise is different from a traditional private firm.

There are no billable targets and no timekeeping. Rather than carrying a large portfolio of long-running files, much of the work involves helping a higher volume of women address their most pressing legal issue through focused, practical advice. Eligible clients may also receive ongoing casework support.

That creates a fast-paced environment, but the team describes the overall workload as balanced and manageable.

And because your career shouldn't be limited to sitting behind a desk, your week can extend beyond client appointments into community education, stakeholder engagement, outreach and law reform.

How You'll Make a Difference

Your work will include:

• Providing legal information, referrals and trauma-informed legal advice
• Delivering legal assistance and ongoing casework within NQWLS guidelines
• Drafting correspondence and legal documentation and liaising on behalf of clients
• Helping women navigate family law and domestic violence matters
• Participating in community legal education and outreach
• Contributing to research, policy development, written submissions and law reform initiatives
• Developing and maintaining relationships with community organisations, government agencies and other stakeholders
• Supporting and mentoring more junior colleagues when required
• Participating in remote Duty Lawyer Services where required
• Maintaining high professional, ethical, file-management and compliance standards.

You'll also have opportunities to undertake outreach across the region, varying by location. Mackay-based lawyers may undertake outreach potentially including the Whitsundays and Airlie Beach, Cairns-based lawyers up to Cape York, Mareeba and Mossman, and Townsville-based lawyers to Ayr and Mount Isa.

More Than Legal Advice

One of the things that makes NQWLS different is our multidisciplinary approach.

Our lawyers work closely with Client Advocates, who help women address non-legal needs alongside their legal issues. That can mean joint appointments and coordinated support designed around the person rather than treating their legal problem in isolation.

You'll also become an important representative of NQWLS within your local community. The organisation has developed strong stakeholder relationships across the region, and these relationships are central to connecting women with our services.

What You'll Bring

You're a capable lawyer who doesn't need billable hours or a traditional private-practice career path to measure your success.

You're comfortable working independently and making sound decisions, but equally comfortable picking up the phone and collaborating with experienced colleagues across NQWLS when you need another perspective.

You'll bring:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Law
• At least three years' relevant and practical post-admission experience
• An unrestricted Practising Certificate as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia
• Demonstrated ability to provide quality, trauma-informed legal advice and casework, particularly across family law and domestic violence
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including working with women from diverse cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds
• Strong organisation, prioritisation and decision-making skills
• The ability to work autonomously while contributing to a multidisciplinary and geographically dispersed team
• A genuine interest in social justice, human rights and issues affecting women
• A current Blue Card (Working with Children) - or the ability to obtain one
• A current C Class Driver Licence

Experience working with women affected by domestic violence or within a community legal centre will be highly regarded.

Because of the nature of our work, you'll also need the emotional maturity and resilience to hear difficult stories and work with women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence and other forms of trauma. You'll be supported in doing that work, but a genuine commitment to this area is important.

Why Make the Move?

For someone coming from private practice, NQWLS offers a different way to build a meaningful legal career.

No billables. No timekeeping. A fully electronic practice environment. A manageable workload with varied legal work. Opportunities to contribute to advocacy and law reform. And access to experienced lawyers across NQWLS who are there when you need guidance or another perspective.

The team also identified NQWLS's flexibility as a genuine strength, including for lawyers seeking a workplace that can better accommodate life and family commitments than traditional private practice.

The Benefits

You'll receive an above-award salary of $115,700 – $120,800 + 12.75% Super, plus:

• Relocation Assistance may be negotiated for the right candidate
• Six weeks of paid leave each year — Four Weeks' Annual Leave plus Two Weeks' Paid Ex-Gratia Leave over Christmas and New Year
• Generous Salary Packaging/Salary Sacrifice Arrangements to help maximise your take-home pay
• A Flexible and Supportive working environment
• Extensive internal professional development and access to external conferences and training
• Access to experienced senior practitioners across NQWLS
• Access to EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
• A strong organisational focus on Employee Wellbeing
• On-Site Parking

Most importantly, you'll have the opportunity to practise law in an environment where your success isn't measured in six-minute increments — it's measured by the difference your expertise can make.

Ready to Practise Law Differently?

If you're passionate about women's rights, social justice and using the law to create meaningful change, we'd love to hear from you.

Bring your legal experience to NQWLS and help us continue building access to justice across the region - APPLY NOW!