Community Justice Services

What Community Justice Services does

Community Justice Services SA (CJSSA) is a South Australian not-for-profit community legal centre incorporated as Community Justice Services SA Ltd, operating from a headquarters at Aldinga Beach and providing free legal advice, ongoing assistance, and court representation in civil, criminal, and family law matters. Services are delivered through three regional Community Justice Centres — Southern (Noarlunga Centre/Christies Beach), Limestone Coast (Mount Gambier), and Riverland (Berri) — supplemented by outreach appointments in locations including Kangaroo Island, Marion, Murray Bridge, Strathalbyn, Victor Harbor, Bordertown, Naracoorte, Millicent, Renmark, and Loxton, with telephone and video link consultations available for clients who cannot attend in person. Specialist programs include the Family Law Advocacy and Guidance Service (FLAGS, federally funded), the Family Law/Family Violence Service (FLFV), and the Disaster Legal Support Program (DLSP), which evolved from the award-winning Bushfire Community Legal Program and covers South Australian natural disasters including the River Murray floods.

CJSSA is funded by the Commonwealth and State Attorney-General's Departments and delivers all services free of charge to eligible clients who cannot afford private solicitors and do not qualify for legal aid. Service delivery is staffed by approximately 5 practising solicitors in the Southern centre, 3 dedicated local solicitors in the Limestone Coast centre, and a dedicated local solicitor in the Riverland centre, supported by family advocates, mental health workers, and administrative staff. The organisation is the largest community legal service provider in South Australia and operates under a Board of Directors governance structure with no parent company.

The go-to-market motion is community-led: services are accessed via appointment-based face-to-face consultations, telephone (toll-free 1300 850 650), video link, or referral from a network of partner organisations including Legal Services Commission SA, Women's Legal Service SA, Uniting Communities Law Centre, Anglicare, Centacare, and Family Relationships Centre. Distribution is augmented by disaster-recovery outreach embedded with Housing SA Recovery Centres and emergency management partnerships with CFS, SASES, Australian Red Cross, SAFECOM, and NEMA. CJSSA supplements direct service with community legal education sessions, law reform activities, and awareness through its website, social media (Facebook, X, LinkedIn), email newsletters, and community engagement. Founded in 1982 as Noarlunga Community Legal Service, CJSSA has operated continuously for over 40 years.

Name

Community Justice Services

Legal name

Community Justice Services SA Ltd

Website

https://communityjusticesa.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Justice Services SA is a not-for-profit community legal centre, the largest in South Australia, providing free civil, criminal, and family law advice and court representation through three regional centres and outreach locations, funded by the Commonwealth and State Attorney-General's Departments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Other Legal Services (54119), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC), Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN), Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Legal Aid) (BPADADAH)

Keywords

• Community legal services
• Free legal advice
• Family law services
• Legal aid representation
• Disaster legal support

Headquarters

HQ city

Aldinga Beach

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: CJSSA is a not-for-profit organization funded by the Commonwealth and State Attorney-General's Departments. The organization provides all legal services free of charge to eligible clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Community Justice Services SA provides free legal advice, ongoing assistance, and court representation in civil, criminal, and family law to eligible South Australians through three regional Community Justice Centres (Southern, Limestone Coast, Riverland) and multiple outreach locations. Services are delivered by qualified legal practitioners including practicing solicitors, family advocates, and mental health workers, and are supplemented by specialized programs covering family law advocacy, family violence, and natural disaster legal support. All services are free of charge to eligible clients and funded by the Commonwealth and State Attorney-General's Departments.

Product overview

Community Justice Services SA is a not-for-profit organization operating three Community Justice Centres (Southern, Limestone Coast, and Riverland) as the largest Community Legal Service provider in South Australia. The organization offers free legal services including advice and court representation in civil, criminal, and family law through General Legal Services, supplemented by specialized programs: Family Law Advocacy and Guidance Services (FLAGS) for family law matters, Family Law/Family Violence Services for vulnerable clients, and the Disaster Legal Support Program (DLSP) for natural disaster relief. The service also provides Community Legal Education and undertakes Law Reform activities. All services are free and confidential, funded by the Commonwealth and State Attorney-General's Departments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Disaster Legal Support Program (DLSP): Free legal help and community legal education for South Australians impacted or at risk of natural disasters
• Family Law Advocacy and Guidance Service (FLAGS)
• Family Law/Family Violence Service (FLFV)

Products and services

• Southern Community Justice Centre Community legal centre providing free legal advice, referrals, and ongoing legal representation to South Australians in southern metropolitan areas, Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Murray Bridge, and Strathalbyn. Staffed by 5 practicing solicitors, a family advocate, mental health worker, and support staff.
• Limestone Coast Community Justice Centre Community legal centre providing free legal advice, referrals, and ongoing legal representation to residents of the South East and Limestone Coast region. Staffed by 3 local solicitors, a mental health support worker, and support staff.
• Riverland Community Justice Centre Community legal centre providing free legal advice, referrals, and ongoing legal representation to residents of the Riverland region. Staffed by a dedicated local solicitor, mental health worker, and support staff.
• General Legal Services Free legal advice and representation across civil, criminal, and family law matters including family law, criminal law, employment law, and civil law (debt, neighbourhood issues, consumer complaints, tenancy, small claims).
• Family Law Advocacy and Guidance Services (FLAGS) A specialist program delivering legal advice and representation to individuals needing support with family law matters. Includes a family advocate to help clients manage Family Court complexity.
• Family Law/Family Violence Services (FLFV) Legal advice and representation services for vulnerable individuals suffering disadvantage in areas relating to family breakdown and family violence.
• Disaster Legal Support Program (DLSP) Free legal help and community legal education for South Australians impacted or at risk of natural disasters. Provides support across the disaster management cycle including preparation, response, and recovery.
• Community Legal Education Community legal education sessions provided to the community, including special training packages for community groups covering topics such as insurance, wills, estates, and advance care directives.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 years of continuous service to the South Australian community
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Law Society of South AustraliaminorOthersProfessional membership organization providing support and resources for legal practitioners
• Law Council of AustraliaminorOthersNational peak body for the Australian legal profession
• Justice NetminorOthersNetwork connecting community members to legal services
• Women Lawyers Association of SAminorOthersProfessional association supporting women in the legal profession
• Country Fire Service (CFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnerships with emergency services for disaster management cycle support. CFS personnel work with DLSP solicitors on community preparedness and resilience initiatives.
• South Australian State Emergency Service (SASES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmergency management stakeholder partnership for disaster response and recovery coordination
• Australian Red CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian partner for disaster recovery support and referral services for affected communities
• Housing SAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment housing agency partner operating Recovery Centres in Berri, Mannum and Murray Bridge where DLSP provides legal outreach
• South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState government emergency management coordination partner for disaster preparedness and response initiatives
• National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal government emergency management agency partner for national disaster coordination and support

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• National Legal Aid: Peak body representing Australia's eight legal aid commissions. Not a direct service competitor, but CJSSA interacts with National Legal Aid through funding and policy channels, making it a relevant ecosystem participant.

Direct peers

• Uniting Communities Law Centre: Adelaide-based community legal service offering free legal advice and representation across similar practice areas. Functions as a referral partner and serves comparable disadvantaged South Australian clients, making it a directly comparable community legal centre peer.
• Women's Legal Service SA: Specialist community legal centre in SA focused on women, particularly those affected by family violence. Operates with a similar free-service, grant-funded, referral-network model and serves overlapping client cohorts in family law matters.
• Legal Services Commission South Australia: The statutory legal aid provider for South Australia and a primary referral partner of CJSSA. Provides overlapping civil, criminal and family law services to disadvantaged South Australians, making it the closest functional peer within the same state.
• Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement: South Australia's primary Aboriginal legal aid provider, offering free legal representation, advice and community education across civil, criminal and family law — a directly comparable mission, funding model and client base to CJSSA.

Regional players

• Justice Connect: Major Victoria-based not-for-profit legal service delivering free legal help, community legal education and disaster response legal support. Highly comparable operating model and disaster legal services portfolio, though serving a different (Victorian) geography.
• LawRight: Queensland's community legal centre peak body coordinating pro bono and free legal services across civil law matters. Comparable in scale, mission, and grant-funded non-profit structure, but operating in a different state.
• Caxton Legal Centre: Queensland community legal centre providing free legal advice, casework and representation across civil, family and criminal law with a strong regional outreach model — closely parallel to CJSSA's distributed service delivery approach.

Broad incumbents

• Victoria Legal Aid: Larger statutory legal aid body delivering civil, criminal and family law services across Victoria. Overlaps with CJSSA's mission and service categories but operates at much greater scale with a statewide statutory mandate.
• Legal Aid NSW: Statutory legal aid commission for NSW providing comprehensive free legal services. Comparable mission and practice areas to CJSSA but vastly larger scale and broader jurisdictional remit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/commjusticesa
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthernCommunityJusticeCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-justice-services-south-australia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Justice Services