About HPLS legal help

If you can’t fill out the online application, you can call our office on (02) 8898 6545 and we can help you.

Who we can help

People who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, which includes:

• • People who sleep rough (eg on the street or in a car).

• • People who live temporarily with friends or family because of homelessness (eg ‘couch surfing’).

• • People living in boarding houses, hostels or hotels.

• • People in social housing or private rental accommodation at risk of losing their home and becoming homeless.

What we can help with

We can provide legal advice and we can sometimes provide representation in court or NCAT (the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal) in relation to the following legal issues.

Housing: eviction, repairs, rent or issues with Housing NSW/community housing, private or public housing bans from previous tenancy problems, debts that prevent getting into public housing.

Money problems: credit card debts, fines, difficulty paying loans, debt collectors, helping to sort out bills with private companies.

Consumer or contract issues: unfair contracts, insurance, door to door sales, scams, funeral policies, superannuation.

Centrelink: pensions and payments, debts, fraud prosecutions

Violence: legal advice for victims of violence, apprehended violence orders (AVOs), victim’s compensation.

Criminal matters: charges by police, court attendance notices, bail, seeking changes to a court order, such as bail or parole conditions.

Discrimination or harassment: in employment, education, buying goods or services, housing.

Complaints about government authorities: police, schools, government departments.

Employment: loss of employment, entitlements, bullying and harassment.

Other: guardianship and financial management orders.

What we can’t help with

Family law: divorce, child support, child protection.

Immigration: visa issues, refugee applications.

Property: disputes about property.

Personal injury: compensation for injuries through accidents.

Wills: drafting wills.

If you need help for a legal problem we can’t help with, we recommend contacting Law Access on 1300 888 529 or your local community legal centre (online list of community legal centres).