To our Stakeholders,

I am pleased to confirm Salvos Legal’s continued support of the Ten Principals of the United Nations Global Compact.

Salvos Legal is a social enterprise law firm - profits from our commercial firm are used to fund Salvos Legal Humanitarian, our humanitarian arm which operates free legal services for people in need in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. Therefore, by the very nature of the work we do, we apply many of the principals on a daily basis.

We continuously look at ways to enhance our practices in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption and incorporate these in our business strategy and implementation.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Macliver
National Director

Salvos Legal has created a unique and sustainable model for providing access to justice. As a social enterprise, all profits from our commercial legal services for leading Australian businesses and government agencies fund the provision of pro bono legal services to disadvantaged people in our community through our sister firm, Salvos Legal Humanitarian. Salvos Legal is wholly owned by The Salvation Army of Australia.

Many of the people we help and advise have had their human rights violated.

Our mission is to provide holistic justice funded by a competitively priced commercial legal service to the general public. We strive to create systemic change in the availability of access to justice for all people, so that no one is without a trusted adviser to provide comfort and counsel in their time of need.
Salvos legal is dedicated to implement established policies that support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We have 16 offices/advice bureaus which support the community and people in need. Advice Bureaus are opened in areas where communities have a need, and in many cases have high populations of resettled refugees/asylum seekers.

Our free Community Education Program educates migrants about, for example, the legal system, domestic/family violence and visa options.
Almost 50% of cases at free advice bureaus relate to refugee/migration law.

Many asylum seekers living in detention centres and referred via, for example, the Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network and Supporting Asylum Seekers Sydney have called our telephone advice line giving over 600 people a year access to free legal advice. Those are people who would otherwise not have had access to legal advice before Court.

Being part of The Salvation Army enables us to deliver holistic services to humanitarian clients. Together with legal needs, we can connect people to The Salvation Army’s social/pastoral services to help address underlying legal issue causes. We work with The Salvation Army’s Freedom Partnership, where people have encountered modern slavery and need legal assistance. We also have a Trafficking and Slavery Policy giving guidance on how to handle incoming calls of this nature.

Salvos Legal has taken the appropriate measures to ensure human rights violations are prevented at work including:
• Grievance handling guidelines to help resolve issues/conflict within the workplace in a respectful manner.
• Training sessions and conferences are held for lawyers in relation to human rights issues.

We have reached over 22,500 cases since inception, and helped in over 3,600 cases during 2017, providing free legal advice and assistance, without funding. 36,939.4 pro bono hours were achieved in the 2016/17 financial year.

Over 600 people accessed our telephone advice line who would otherwise not have had access to a lawyer before court.

The Migration Institute of Australia recognised our contribution, awarding Salvos Legal its Pro Bono Award 2017 for long standing commitment to delivery of pro bono legal services to migrants and refugees.

From a legislative perspective, Salvos Legal is governed by the Fair Work Act 2009.

Salvos Legal has a Flexible Working Policy, which includes a number of employees working part-time, job-sharing or telecommuting, to best meet the needs of their personal and work commitments. The After Hours Work Policy is to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life for all staff. The Leave Application Policy outlines the procedure for applying for leave for employed staff.

In keeping with our Christian Mission and Values, we strive to ensure that workplaces are free from unlawful discrimination, harassment and bullying behavior, and that all employees are afforded equal opportunities in employment. The Code of Conduct Policy outlines what constitutes discrimination, harassment and bullying. Should any of this take place, staff are encouraged to report it immediately and follow the guidelines in our Grievance Handling Policy.

A change plan is required when a decision by management is likely to have a significant impact on staff. The aim is to provide clarity of purpose, keep a record of historical organisational changes, and support open communication and consultation channels. We are committed to workplace gender equality and The Workplace Gender Equality (WEGA) Policy outlines the principles and practices which underpin our efforts to improve equality between men and women in the workplace. The Salvation Army have been confirmed compliant for the purposes of the Australian federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency each year since its creation by the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.

Through our Recruitment and Selection Policy and practices, we comply with all relevant legislation and make selection decisions based on clearly defined selection criteria in relation to essential qualifications and requirements of each role.

We support the abolition of child labour and the elimination of forced and compulsory labour. While volunteers receive no monetary compensation, they are entitled to appropriate orientation, training, supervision, evaluation and recognition. Our volunteer handbook provides volunteers with their rights and responsibilities as a volunteer (in terms of conduct and workplace health and safety).

Staff are invited to share ideas for improvement via our suggestion box. These are reviewed and, if appropriate, implemented.

The Parental Leave Policy entitles employees to take time away from work for the birth or adoption of a child. Salvos Legal promotes a balanced and healthy lifestyle towards employees within the work environment.

All employment related decisions are based on merit, having regard to essential job requirements, individual capability, skills, performance and workplace conduct. Opportunities are afforded to employees to develop knowledge, skills and experience, and contribute ideas regardless of irrelevant personal attributes or characteristics.

To retain valuable staff and to assist employees to manage personal responsibilities, flexible work conditions are offered in line with the Flexible Work Policy. A number of staff have taken up these options and are on part-time contracts, or flexible working and/or telecommuting arrangements. Staff are given an extra five days leave per year, to be utilised over the Christmas/New Year shut down period.

Salaries are reviewed each year in response to capacity to pass on pay increases taking into account performance, Consumer Price index and the national minimum wage decisions from the federal government. Decisions are made for individual employees without distinction between men and women. Training and development opportunities are available to staff as well as promotions, via the Promotion Policy.

Performance management policies and practices apply equally and without distinction between men and women.

The average compensation for men and women is equal in comparable managerial and non-managerial roles. This adheres to our workplace Gender Equality Policy.
There is an equal ratio of men to women with line management responsibilities.

We collect exit interview data, which, in addition to our other exit data collected in our payroll system, is able to be filtered by the sex of the employee. This assists in tracking and comparing the number of women and men resigning from the organisation, and their reasons for leaving.

Salvos Legal is committed to comply with environmental legislation and manage and improve our direct environmental impact.
Our Environmental Policy is to:

• Integrate environmental concerns and considerations into our decision making and activities and continuously look at ways to improve our impact
• Minimise our waste and recycle as much of it as possible
• Minimise energy and water use within our offices
• Consider our suppliers and purchase products that are least impactful on the environment
• Educate and engage staff on the importance of our environment

The work environment of Salvos Legal is predominantly office based. Our Environmental Policy outlines what we can do to improve our environmental footprint. We aim to influence others through awareness and by providing facilities to encourage environmentally friendly practices.

We encourage employees and volunteers to consider and minimise their impact on the environment.

Recycling bins are used for the disposal of cardboard and plastic recycling items.

Used ink cartridges are collected, deconstructed and each element is recycled.

Staff and volunteers are also encouraged to commute using public transport where possible. We keep the amount of flying miles we do to a minimal. Many meetings are held via video conferencing.

We aim to reduce our electricity consumption. An Air-Con Settings Procedure ensures the proper use for air conditioning. This allows for more efficient energy usage. Also, lights, computer screens and computers are turned off at the end of the day to help conserve electricity.

Our Purchasing Policy supports local businesses and aims to reduce our environmental impact which ensures we try to source goods and supplies from local independent suppliers where possible.

General office paper is Australian made and certified by the Australian Forestry Standard and PEFC.

We continuously monitor our electricity usage and, where possible, find ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Salvos Legal aims to improve our records management and to reduce the production of paper which will further reduce our environmental impact.

Salvos Legal is committed to supporting the progression of the UN global Compact directing towards anti-corruption. There is zero tolerance towards bribery, extortion and any other form of illicit payments. Our Protected Disclosure Policy, provides a fair, effective and confidential process in reporting improper conduct.

The Best Practice Manual expands on Partner Planning Responsibilities, and the Risk Management Policy, as well as our billing procedures, is in line with the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW). Our goal is to maintain the current level of discipline in relation to anti-corruption and change as required.

All solicitors must comply with the Legal Profession Act and Legal Profession Regulations and ensure that at all times their conduct is in accordance with the Professional Conduct and Practice Rules for Solicitors.

The legal industry is highly regulated and the Law Societies of Australia have a strict code of conduct which solicitors adhere to. This includes the obligation to deliver a professional and ethical standard of advice.

Conflict checks are carried out for each client. This ensures that there is no conflict of incompatibility between staff’s personal interests, whether pecuniary (ie relates to money) or non-pecuniary, and the impartial fulfillment of a person’s duties. Our Code of Conflict defines our conflict of interest procedure.

Salvos Legal supports this through our Safe Custody Procedure, which outlines the process for receiving, registering, storing and releasing documents which are to be held in safe custody.

Incoming and outgoing mail is monitored and recorded to ensure it is being dealt with appropriately.

Payment requisitions are signed off by two people. Our Board of Directors meet frequently and discuss business risks associated with corruption.
Client file management procedures are set out in our handbook and are followed by staff.

Our continuous learning development program includes ethics training to ensure continuous learning in this area. All employees sign a Business Dealings Policy prior to commencement, acknowledging and agreeing to faithfully and carefully carry out their duties in regard to financial processes and reconciliation.

Conflict checks are carried out for each client to eliminate collusion opportunities between clients or clients and staff.

Client files are frequently reviewed to ensure policies and procedures are followed.

Our financial records are frequently reviewed by the Board and are formally audited yearly.

We have supervisors in place to monitor the work being done at all levels.