KLC History

Kingsford Legal Centre opened its doors in 1981, founded on notions of a university’s responsibility to assist in the needs of those less advantaged in the wider community. Kingsford Legal Centre was established with the aim of providing free legal information and advice to people within the locality and forming a learning centre for law students. The UNSW Law School had a close working association with Redfern Legal Centre during the late 1970s, with law students encouraged to take part in community legal education projects and a small number of students holding placements. It was envisaged that a new clinical legal education program would be created at UNSW where students would assist solicitors and clients at Redfern Legal Centre, modelled on a clinical course at Springvale Legal Service run by Monash University since 1975. A proposal to form the university’s own community legal centre initially faced some opposition, with questions over whether the Law School should focus on academic teaching rather than involving practical training. The creation of the Centre as proposed by the Faculty of Law ultimately received support under the then new Vice-Chancellor Michael Birt with the assistance of Neil Rees. The Centre aimed to provide free legal advice and in select situations take on the cases of individuals who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation. It would also facilitate an educative role, giving students the opportunity to go beyond the theoretical aspects of the law by participating in the day-to-day operation of a community legal centre and observing the experience of community members with the legal system. KLC was initially situated at Rainbow Street in Kingsford but relocated to the new law building on the UNSW Kensington campus in 2006. For more information on the history of Kingsford Legal Centre see From the Roundabout to the Roundhouse - 25 years of KLC written in 2006 by David Nichols.