PANEL Barriers to Safety: First Nations Women’s Engagements with the Family Law System
Tracks
Prince Room: In-Person and Online
| Tuesday, November 25, 2025 |
| 2:10 PM - 2:40 PM |
Overview
Moderator: Rebecca Digny, Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Panelists: Stephanie Monck, Women’s Legal Service WA, Vanessa Graf, Mulleun Mura, Women’s Legal Centre ACT, Serrina Kenny, First Nations Women's Legal Services Qld Inc
Details
1. Key barriers that First Nations women face to engaging with the family law system
2. Existing system responses aimed at improving access and safety for First Nations women, including the impact of Indigenous Family Liaison Officers, Indigenous Lists and the expanded framing of cultural considerations in family law legislation
3. Key areas for improvement identified by Women’s Legal Services
Speaker
Ms Vanessa Graf
Managing Solicitor
Women's Legal Centre Act
PANEL Barriers to Safety: First Nations Women’s Engagements with the Family Law System
Biography
Mrs Serrina Kenny
Lawyer
First Nations Women's Legal Services Qld Inc.
PANEL Barriers to Safety: First Nations Women’s Engagements with the Family Law System
Biography
Serrina Kenny is a proud First Nations solicitor of Yuin, Wiradjuri, and Dunghutti lineage. She currently practices with First Nations Women’s Legal Services Queensland (FNWLSQ), based in Townsville, providing essential legal advice, casework, court representation, and community legal education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women across North Queensland.
Serrina has committed her legal career to advancing access to justice for Indigenous women and families, particularly in areas of domestic and family violence, child protection, and family law. In 2024, Serrina was awarded First Nations Solicitor of the Year at the Queensland Law Society’s Excellence in Law Awards, in recognition of her staunch dedication to justice, safety, and legal rights for Indigenous women.
She has spoken publicly about how fear of child removal, systemic bias, and lack of culturally safe support deter First Nations women from seeking help, and works to change that through her legal practice and advocacy. She believes in prevention as much as protection, emphasising early intervention, education, and ensuring that legal systems serve, not retraumatise, survivors of violence.
Ms Stephanie Monck
Principal Legal Officer
Women's Legal Service WA
PANEL Barriers to Safety: First Nations Women’s Engagements with the Family Law System
Biography