Alexandra Craig
Where do you work? And in which RRR area do you currently work and how long have you been there?
I am currently based in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Alice Springs is in the middle of Australia – to put things in perspective it’s a 16 hour drive to Adelaide, a 15 hour drive to Darwin and a 5.5 hour drive to Uluru.
I work for Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress), an Aboriginal community controlled primary health organisation as their acting Legal and Governance Manager and Company Secretary. Congress operate in Alice Springs and some surrounding remote Aboriginal communities/townships, so I also have the privilege of sometimes working from Areyonga, Ntaria, Amoonguna, Santa Teresa and Mutitjulu.
I have lived and worked in central Australia as a legal practitioner since the beginning of 2019.
What does your work week look like as a RRR lawyer?
No week is the same. Often weeks are office based in Alice Springs, however, sometimes work can mean driving a 4WD or catching a charter flight to a remote community to conduct work - the diversity is excellent.
In which area of law do you practice and what elements do you think are unique to being in a RRR area?
At the time of writing, I mainly practice commercial, contract and corporate governance in my substantive role. Working and managing a small legal and governance team affords me exposure to lots of different facets of the law.
Living in a RRR area means I’m not sitting in peak hour traffic for 2 hours each day (to and from work), so I have more time to apply myself to a variety of opportunities. I enjoy re-directing this time to my various involvements i.e. boards, committees, recreation and study. I have found that despite its challenges, living remotely has allowed me to be more productive. I have also discovered (having lived in a capital city for 25 years prior) that I quite enjoy the pace and idiosyncrasies of country life.
Additionally, the cross-cultural exposure of working in the Northern Territory has been rich, fascinating and deeply fulfilling.
I implore any graduates/practitioners considering working remote to take the plunge – it might be one of the best decisions you make!