CQU alumnus mission to make advocacy accessible for all

When Bundaberg lawyer Jo Leveritt saw a gap in the system, the CQUniversity graduate made it her goal to ensure the most vulnerable families in regional Queensland could access the advocacy they deserved.

With more than 25 years of experience across human rights, administrative law and industrial relations, Ms Leveritt was part of the pioneering cohort to complete a Graduate Certificate in Family and Domestic Violence Practice at CQUniversity.

As CEO of Wide Bay Advocacy, a not‑for‑profit registered charity dedicated to promoting, protecting and defending human rights, Ms Leveritt said she draws on this culmination of experience to influence laws, policies and community attitudes.

“Having that theoretical basis behind you means you can better articulate the issues in an advocacy context,” Ms Leveritt said.

“A deep analysis of domestic and family violence practice gave me a theoretical understanding of the themes and context behind gender‑based violence that I would not have otherwise known.”

Promoting and protecting human rights

Her passion took practical form during COVID‑19, when she established Bundaberg Street Law, a free face‑to‑face community legal service.

While volunteering at her church meal service, Ms Leveritt said she repeatedly heard the same stories from people experiencing homelessness. Courts were locked down, technology was a barrier, and many were walking away from their own legal rights.

“I was hearing people say, ‘It’s just too difficult, I’m not going to be a part of it.’

I set up a table on a Saturday afternoon and started offering free legal advice. Word spread, and we are now a registered independent legal practice with around 30 volunteers holding three clinics a week,” she said.  

“Anything this service can do to make it as easy as possible for people to get legal advice, the better.”

Among Ms Leveritt’s earliest clients was a young woman whose three children, including a newborn, had been removed by the Department of Child Safety without prior notice, while she was still in hospital.

Without a stable home or address, she had no way to receive legal documents and no means to advocate for herself or her children.

“She had scraped and saved to get a breast pump and would express while she was coming to see me, so the milk could be passed to the foster carer for the baby,” Ms Leveritt said.

“It sat so uncomfortably with me that she wasn’t able to breastfeed her own child.”

Ms Leveritt advocated strongly for the woman, eventually facilitating supervised visits where she could bond with her newborn. After a long process, all three children were returned.

Preventing family and gender‑based violence

In 2025, Ms Leveritt launched Steps Forward: Child Safety Advocacy Program, a specialised service supporting women experiencing domestic violence while simultaneously navigating the child protection system.

“Things have got to change. That is why I have continued to do this work,” she said.

“If someone can’t assert their rights or communicate a defence, it has a flow‑on effect for all of us. The courts are delayed, warrants are issued, taxpayer money is spent. Access to justice isn’t just a problem for the people who can’t access it. It affects everyone.”

She is also a member of the inaugural DFV Free Matters To Me working group, a leading regional initiative that brings together community leaders and peak community and government organisations in the Bundaberg region to collaborate on addressing domestic and family violence.

Community involvement

Earlier this year, Ms Leveritt was named CQUniversity’s Outstanding Alumnus for 2026, recognising the impact her career has had in removing barriers, protecting rights and creating lasting social change.

“CQUniversity is a university I admire because of its commitment to inclusivity and social justice,” she said.

“I’m particularly proud of receiving this award because my values align so closely with what CQU stands for.”

Her impact on the community was further acknowledged when she was named Bundaberg’s Citizen of the Year at the 2026 Australia Day Awards.

Find out more about CQU’s Alumni Award recipients.