Youth and Enterprise Legal Centre

YELC has been established under the auspices of the Enterprise Network for Young Australians (ENYA), a not for profit organisation formed in 2003 to help support and promote young people interested in the enterprise sector. Since its formation, ENYA has become increasingly aware of the demand for community-based legal services within both the youth and business sectors across Australia. Our research has revealed that there is a significant gap in the legal services on offer for young people and small business operators and therefore, YELC is committed to filling this gap in providing legal services at no cost, or on a significantly reduced cost basis to our client base.

YELC is a not for profit legal centre established to provide free information and assistance to young people and those in business. Our services are provided under two streams – the Youth Stream and the Enterprise Stream – and include free legal information, advice and legal representation in limited circumstances

Youth Stream
Our youth stream is committed to addressing many of the legal issues faced by young people. Our service is open to young people (between the ages of 15-25) who need information or advice in relation to the following:

• Debt and credit matters.
• Consumer, Trade and Tenancy Tribunal matters (NSW).
• Consumer welfare matters.
• Employment law matters in limited situations. We will not accept matters involving discrimination law or unfair dismissal.

Enterprise Stream
Our aim in providing services under this stream is to fill the gap in existing services by offering business owners, who do not have the financial capacity to pay market rates for lawyers, specialised legal advice.

Business owners, who meet our eligibility criteria, can receive free legal information and further assistance in relation to:

Intellectual property, Employment law, Superannuation and insurance, Insolvency and bankruptcy, Telecommunications, Commercial law and practice, Taxation law, Trade Practices Act matters, Leasing and property agreements (leasee disputes), Building and construction.

Please note that YELC does not provide advice in relation to criminal, family or immigration law matters.

YELC is committed to tailoring its services to the needs of young people and lobbying for change on behalf of our target market. Therefore, we are always eager to hear from young people about issues which they feel are affecting them in terms of their financial wellbeing, security or just their opinions on the current state of the law in relation to the areas we practice in. So if people want to have their say, they can email YELC at yelc@enya.org.au.

1. Eligibility criteria – Our free legal information line is open to young people and those in business between 9:30 – 5:30pm, Monday to Friday. YELC can also provide further legal assistance such as written advice, help with the preparation of court documents, reporting the matter to a regulatory body, drafting letters to the other parties of a dispute, and legal representation in limited circumstances to those who meet our eligibility criteria.

More information on our eligibility criteria can be found on our website www.yelc.enya.org.au.

2. Areas YELC services - YELC is able to provide information and assistance on a nation-wide basis only in relation to matters that involve Commonwealth legislation. YELC is able to offer assistance in relation to all of the areas of law we specialise in for people who live in New South Wales.