Aboriginal legal Rights Movement

Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) is a not-for-profit charity and a company limited by guarantee that operates as a law practice throughout South Australia. ALRM is an Aboriginal community organisation which is also a law practice. The law practice is in two parts, the criminal section which deals with criminal cases and the civil section which deals with civil compensation claims, child protection and family law cases. ALRM receives funding to run these law practices under the National Legal Assistance Program. 

In addition, ALRM also carries out social programs to assist Aboriginal prisoners and persons recently released from custody. These are social programs designed to help Aboriginal to stay out of custody and to re-establish themselves.

We have a central office in Adelaide, and branch offices in Port Augusta and Ceduna. We provide a free legal aid service to Aboriginal people in criminal law, child protection, family law, and in all aspects of non-commercial civil law, with an emphasis on coronial inquests and compensation claims. 

ALRM is also the lead organisation in South Australia for advocacy on legal and policy questions which affect Aboriginal people. We are independent of government, we are accountable to the Aboriginal communities of the state and we provide frank and fearless advice. 

That we are called the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, reflects the fact that ALRM began its life nearly 50 years ago as a social movement directed to using the legal system to assert the rights of Aboriginal people. In that, we have not changed.