About

The Problem

Imagine living in a home that made you sick, having to choose between paying rent or eating, or living in constant fear of becoming homeless. That is the reality for many of the 7 million renters in Australia who are denied a safe home.

What We Do

Anika Legal is a free, not-for-profit legal service for renters. Through casework, innovation and systemic advocacy, we support our clients and fight for a fair housing system so that every renter can thrive in a safe, secure, affordable home that supports their quality of life.

Achieving our Vision

Our ability to take on more cases aligned with our advocacy goals, empowers renters to live in safe homes and builds the evidence base for critical reforms to the housing system. This in turn improves our ability to raise funding.

As Anika attracts more funding, it enables us to invest in our innovation & technology platform, which enables us to leverage untapped resources (students & lawyers) to contribute thousands of hours to housing justice. It also enables us to expand our service offerings and deliver them more efficiently.

Expanding our service offerings enables us to create opportunities for more students & lawyers to contribute to access to justice. This leads to a more socially responsible legal profession.

Our Impact

Our Reports

Our Team

Our Story

The idea for Anika came about as six friends entered the 2018 Melbourne Global Legal Hackathon - a competition to devise a solution to improve access to justice. They immediately realised the scale of the barriers to justice, and that a completely different approach was needed to tackle such a massive problem. That hackathon weekend birthed Anika, winning the Melbourne chapter and taking them to the global final in New York. After placing runners-up, the six friends decided to turn the idea into a reality and became the Co-founders of Anika.

'Anika' is the Hindu goddess for justice - a warrior goddess known for protecting all that is good against evil and oppression. 'Anicca' is also the buddhist concept of things being in a constant state of change. The name Anika perfectly captures our vision and mission. Our vision of a world where everyone can access justice. Our mission of fighting for justice by doing things differently.

Today, Anika is a registered charity and social enterprise with a team of over 70 people, united by our passion for bridging the justice gap. Anika has empowered hundreds of people to uphold their rights, and advocated for vital systemic changes to the justice system.

If you want to help build a world where everyone can access justice, donate here or subscribe to our newsletter.

A world where everyone can access justice

Empower renters to thrive in safe homes