Social Justice

Welcome to the Social Justice Portfolio!

UTS and the UTS Law Students’ Society is committed to promoting equal access to wealth, health, well-being, privileges, and opportunities under the law. We do this through various education, networking, awareness and social initiatives that highlight the various social justice issues plaguing the law. The Social Justice Portfolio offers a multitude of ways for law students to engage with the principles of justice, and consider the impact of barriers that face minority communities.

The intersectionality of social justice and law is a core element of reflection and action throughout the law school experience and beyond. The Social Justice Portfolio is one of the biggest in the LSS, encompassing Equity, the invaluable Brennan Program, and representative directorships for women, First Nations, LGBTQIA+ and disabled communities.

We highly recommend you get involved with the abundance of initiatives in the Social Justice calendar below, and if you would like to get in touch or make your own suggestions, you can contact the Vice President (Social Justice), Eva Ossowski, at vpsj@utslss.com at any time.

Conferences

The Social Justice Conference is a highlight of the Spring Semester. Panellists and Keynote speakers from legal, political and social justice backgrounds address contemporary issues, with discussions driven by student engagement. 

In addition, we have had great success with the 2023 Intervarsity Women in Law Conference focusing on gender bias in techlaw and the Equity x Wellbeing panel, which emphasises the importance of finding a balance and reflecting on your own personal wellbeing and mental health, especially as a law student. Industry professionals discuss the challenges pertinent to our student community and beyond.

Justice Action Committee

The Justice Action Committee (JAC) applications open in February/March. This official UTS LSS sub-committee meets monthly and is dedicated to assisting the Brennan and Equity Directors and our new Representative positions in the organisation and execution of all the initiatives that fall within the portfolio. The JAC also runs their own initiative, Social Justice Awareness Week. It is an awesome way to get involved and enhance your law student experience!

Brennan Justice and Leadership Program

The Brennan Justice and Leadership Program is a joint initiative between the UTS LSS and the UTS Faculty of Law, honouring the central role of social justice at UTS Law. Leadership Through Service (LTS) Hours, and Reflections on Justice (ROJ) points are achieved through student volunteering, and deep reflection on wide-reaching areas of justice.

The program offers initiatives to gain LTS and ROJ such as Justice Talks, Discussion Groups, RASA Week, and the Westmead Arts and Crafts Drive. In 2023, “Brennanite of the Month” was introduced as a way to highlight outstanding student engagement with the program, and the Public Speaking Society x Brennan Program Public Speaking Competition. Students who take out the award will have this recognised on their AHEG Statement. The program is the only one of its kind across all Australian law schools, and shows UTS Law’s commitment to social justice.

Subsidies and Equity Schemes

There are a number of equity schemes run by the UTS LSS to assist students experiencing financial difficulty. The Textbook Equity Scheme loans textbooks to students upon proof of financial hardship, and the University Essentials Scheme offers support to students in obtaining resources.

This year, we are offering students the opportunity to donate their relevant textbooks to the Textbook Equity Scheme. Equity Subsidies are offered to eligible students for First Year Law Camp, Law Cruise and Law Ball. Applications for these initiatives are shared via UTS LSS social media channels throughout the year!

For any questions regarding our equity schemes please contact our Equity Director, Sarah Pratt, at equity@utslss.com.

Women’s Collective

Winning a 2023 National Award from ALSA, the Women’s Collective is a great success story of leveraging our passionate student body to give back to our community through charity events like the Walk for WAGEC (raising over $5.5k for the Women and Girls Emergency Centre) and sharing resources and opportunities for women in UTS Law to get the most out of their time during their degree and beyond.

If you identify as female or gender-diverse, you are more than welcome to join our Facebook Community Group.


Representatives

In recent years the Social Justice portfolio has created representatives roles to help continue the society’s ethos of providing equal justice to all students members. These representatives have a number of initiatives throughout the year to help bring awareness to issues faced by our student members and provide support to a number of external charities and organisations.

Read more about our 2024 representatives below! (2025 entries coming soon)

Womens Representative

As women’s representative, I am dedicated to connecting with and encouraging all female-identifying UTS law student’s to fulfil their potential at law school. There are so many useful resources here at UTS I want to encourage all students to take advantage of and feel motivated by.

For example, I have some exciting events and programs planned for 2024 that I would encourage all students to get involved with. Starting with our Women’s Mentoring Program in March, you could have the opportunity to be paired with an inspiring female leader in the industry who you can ask questions of, form a bond with and learn more about a career in law!

Moreover, there will be the opportunity to attend the Intervarsity Women in Law Conference this April in collaboration with other Law Societies – a great way to network! I am also excited about the many upcoming fundraisers we have on campus this semester including a bake sale and book club. To stay up to date, join the Women’s Collective on Facebook and get in touch with myself or any other members of the Collective.

Eloise Cansdell (She/Her) women@utslss.com.

First Nations Representative

As First Nations Representative, my role is to support and engage with all First Nations Law Students throughout my tenure. I am here to ensure that all First Nations Law Students are provided with academic, cultural and well-being resources that will make the upcoming academic year as enjoyable and smooth-sailing as possible.

2024 welcomes an array of exciting initiatives for First Nations Law Students. First and foremost is the creation of the UTS LSS First Nations Law Students’ Collective, which will foster a culturally inclusive and all-round friendly environment for all UTS Law students who identify as First Nations – including, but of course not limited to, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Māori. Additionally, I, along with support from the LSS, will be conducting a panel event for NAIDOC Week, where students can listen to and interact with a range of amazing First Nations voices from the legal sphere and beyond.

Huw Waston (He/Him) firstnations@utslss.com.

Queer Representative

As Queer Representative my focus this year is on expanding the prevalence of and access to LGBTQ+ centric events and initiatives for our queer law students, to engage in their community and network with industry leaders. Our annual competition, the Intervarsity Pride Moot, will be going ahead this year to deliver yet another successful event. This will be a key opportunity for queer students to involve themselves in topical conversations about LGBTQ+ legal challenges and issues. In partnership with our intervarsity network, and incredible industry partners, this competition provides queer students access to catered competitive opportunities and the chance to network with a diverse range of individuals.

Additionally, a goal of mine this year is to establish a stronger queer intervarsity community between key universities in Sydney. This would open the doors to the prospect of having many other networking, industry, and social events for our LGBTQ+ law students to participate in and engage with their communities. We are looking to also increase the prevalence of queer initiatives and social justice events for the LSS students to attend and involve themselves in.

Our hope here is to increase awareness of key queer legal issues, and encourage ongoing discussion of the needs and interests of the LGBTQ+ community in Australian legal environments. This year holds much promise and potential for the introduction of new, queer-centric social justice initiatives, and I’m so excited to develop these ideas and projects into reality!

Eva Ossowski (She/Her) queer@utslss.com.