Citizen Advice Bureau - Monthly Comumn
We like to think you know about our service, but we realised this is sometimes not the case so, to enlighten you to who we are and what we do, I wanted to take this opportunity to give a belated introduction.
Our team is made up primarily of local volunteers, who represent the diverse makeup of our community. Together, the team speak 11 languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Cantonese. We are proud to offer a service to everyone, not just citizens. In fact, over 70% of our clients are migrants, and more than 60% of our clients are under 39 years old. This highlights how difficult it can be to navigate today’s world, no matter what your age, and reinforces the importance of the support of real people.
We offer a range of specialist, free weekly services and Clinics:
- Legal Advice Clinics, including specialist Family Law
- Immigration Advice Clinics, volunteers also help with filling out visa applications for free
- Justice of the Peace Clinic
- Budget Advice
We are not a government-funded organisation - we receive very little financial support from the government. We rely on the generosity of donations, charitable grants, and our council, who provide us with an office and a small contribution. Despite these challenges, we continue to grow with over 5,500 client contacts annually, with demand steadily increasing, making us one of the busiest Citizens Advice Bureaus in the country. Our services are confidential and free.
We engage with our community by attending local meetings and discussing important issues like immigration and tenancy. By filling service gaps that other organisations may not cover, we help meet the community’s needs and support those organisations with our expertise.
We operate quietly behind the scenes. The work we do can change people’s lives, and we are incredibly proud of this. This year, particularly we’ve achieved some remarkable outcomes. We’ve helped clients secure ministerial interventions from Immigration NZ and the Department of Education, supported women in family violence situations with visa assistance, and successfully obtained family violence visas. We’ve even secured refunds for multiple migrant clients who were victims of illegal car finance practices. Additionally, our team has provided critical support to clients with employment disputes, offering everything from initial advice to formal resolutions through the Employment Relations Authority.
What we’re saying is, we’re here for you – anytime you need us! And if we don’t have the answer, we’ll connect you with someone who does!
