Southeast Asia
Referral Casework
Coordinator
Volunteer Position Description
Title
Southeast Asia Referral Casework Coordinator
Supervisor
President, Reprieve Australia
Status
Volunteer
Expected Time
Commitment
Approximately 8 hours per week (to be worked at times agreed by the
volunteer and Reprieve Australia)
Location
Melbourne
The Southeast Asia Referral Casework Coordinator will play a vital role in the coordination of
Reprieve Australia’s remote capital defence casework, which focuses on providing pro bono
services to defendants at risk of execution in Southeast Asia by facilitating referrals to
Australian legal teams and engaging the services of medico-legal practitioners and
universities where necessary.
This volunteer position description outlines the current duties and responsibilities of the
position. It is subject to periodic review and may change from time to time according to the needs
and priorities of Reprieve Australia.
Key Responsibilities

Stakeholder engagement:
o
Seek expressions of interest from Australian legal and medico-legal practitioners
and universities in providing pro bono casework assistance to capital defendants
in Southeast Asia;
o
Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, in
particular the local Southeast Asian capital defence legal team with whom
Reprieve Australia works, the Australian pro bono community who accept
referral work from Reprieve Australia and Australians Detained Abroad;
o
Communicate regularly with pro bono legal teams who have accepted referrals
and the Executive Committee of Reprieve Australia.

Referral process:
o
Undertake and support remote capital defence casework referrals to Australian
pro bono legal teams;
o
Assess requests for their suitability for pro bono assistance and conduct the
referral processes (in appropriate cases);
o
Refer casework to Australian legal and medico-legal practitioners and
universities. This will generally require the preparation of a detailed
memorandum clearly and concisely outlining the assistance sought and enclosing
all relevant documents and contact details for the local Southeast Asian capital
defence legal team;
o
Ensure all pro bono legal and medico-legal practitioners and universities sign any
necessary documentation in instances where referrals are accepted.

Document management:
o
Maintain meticulous records of requests, assessments, referrals, client
documents and the pro bono work performed by Australian legal and medicolegal practitioners and universities in particular cases;
o
Create and maintain an up to date register of pro bono legal and medico-legal
practitioners and universities, their contact details, their areas of expertise and
the casework assistance they have provided;
o
Conduct quarterly audits of the pro bono casework referrals and report the
findings directly to the Executive Committee.

Training:
o
Arrange and participate in pro bono legal training programs for stakeholders as
required.

Perform other ancillary duties which are necessary for the proper performance of the role.
Skills and Experience

The Southeast Asia Casework Coordinator will need to demonstrate the following skills and
experience:

o
the ability to work independently;
o
excellent organisation skills and the ability to manage competing priorities;
o
excellent verbal and written communication skills;
o
an understanding of international criminal and human rights law.
Although not essential, it is desirable that the volunteer for the Southeast Asia Referral
Casework Coordinator position will have legal qualifications (including current or past
qualification as a lawyer, or completion of a law degree) and experience in the not-for-profit
/ community sector.