Securing a safe future

One of the priority areas under our Pro Bono Policy at Gadens is the provision of pro bono legal services to asylum seekers and refugees who are applying for and seeking protection in Australia.

We have established several partnerships and legal clinics to further expand our ability to assist this particularly vulnerable cohort. In these clinics, we provide limited assistance to clients, including drafting detailed statements, legal submissions, and preparing applications for Australian citizenship. In house, we provide full representation to protection visa applicants at both the primary and merits review stage, as well as in character-related matters before the Department of Home Affairs and the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Our clients come to us from a range of backgrounds, many having experienced significant trauma both in their home countries, and on their journey to seek safety. Many have been left waiting for a decision as to their future in Australia for years.

Reasons for seeking protection in Australia are varied amongst the clients we assist, but some recent examples include the following:

• A client who was arrested and subjected to serious physical and psychological abuse in prison on multiple occasions, due to their membership of a political party opposing the government.
• A client who had experienced severe domestic violence, sex trafficking and attempted forced marriage before arriving in Australia, where they were then subjected to forced labour.
• A client who was forcibly displaced from their home country by the ruling government due to their alleged political associations, and then subjected to discrimination, harassment and threats of harm.
• A client who was Muslim and transgender, who experienced significant persecution in their country of origin and was in a same-sex relationship.
• A client who had been targeted due to their alleged ties to a political militant group.

For one client that we represented at the Administrative Review Tribunal in relation to their application for review of the decision to refuse their protection visa application, we were able to obtain a positive decision on the papers. The Tribunal accepted the submissions made regarding our client’s significant vulnerabilities that would impact their ability to provide evidence at a hearing and as a result, our client did not have to once again, recount and relive acutely distressing past experiences of harm.

We have also acted for a client who came to Australia on a refugee visa at a young age, in proceedings to have his visa reinstated. In connection with this, we successfully advocated for his release from immigration detention last year, which allowed him to return to the community and his family. He has been engaging with and is heavily supported by services directed at addressing his traumatic experiences in his home country, which would not have been as readily accessible to him in the detention environment. The client has shown sustained improvement and commitment to a rehabilitative journey, which would have been far more difficult for him to pursue without sustained, coordinated legal and non-legal support.

Take a look at our collective social impact for FY25 by clicking here.

Quarterly Impact Report – July 2025

• Pro bono partner spotlight | Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion | Gadens
• Pro bono partner spotlight | Fitzroy Legal Service – The impact of secondments | Gadens
• Pro bono partner spotlight | National Justice Project | Gadens

Authored by:
Cassandra Krylov, Head of Sustainable Business
James Clarke, Senior Associate
Angelina Plazzotta, Lawyer