Sharon Moore Solicitor

Am I eligible for Legal Aid?

What is legal aid?

Legal Aid is available for many family law matters, and in some circumstances for child support applications.

The Legal Aid Commission has a focus on Dispute Resolution. Therefore, in most cases, a grant will initially be provided for the parties and their legal practitioners to attend a family law conference. In some cases, conferences are not appropriate (such as where there is violence, urgency or immediate risk).

How do I apply for legal aid?

Applying for legal aid means that you are asking Legal Aid to represent you or to pay for the cost of a private lawyer to represent you in court. This is called a grant of legal aid.

For extensive information about Legal Aid and a link to the Means Test Indicator visit the Legal Aid website, there is a link to the Legal Aid website on our links page.

The types of family law matters where Legal Aid is available are outlined below.

Family law:

Proceedings under the Property (Relationships) Act 1984
Adoption proceedings in exceptional circumstances
Domestic violence proceedings as set out in the criminal law policies

Family law: State: Care and Protection

Alternative dispute resolution under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998
Proceedings under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 in the Children’s, District, Supreme and High Courts
Proceedings in the Community Services Division of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal

Family law: Commonwealth
Matters arising under the Family Law Act 1975, the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 including:

Orders relating to children, including parenting orders, location and recovery orders (including separate representation of children)
Child support and child maintenance matters
Spousal maintenance matters
Dissolution and nullity of marriage matters in limited circumstances
Property proceedings
Contempt and breach of court orders proceedings where the applicant is the respondent
Appeals to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in relation to child support and maintenance decisions

Legal Aid is not free.

Most people will have to pay a contribution. The amount depends on your financial situation and the area of law.

All grants of aid are subject to the payment of a Legal Aid Contribution.

Each person who receives a grant of legal aid will be subject to a compulsory contribution of $75. The Commission can also levy additional contributions, on a sliding scale, depending upon the income and assets of an applicant.

The Commission can also review contributions at any time and usually at the conclusion of the matter. If money or property are received at the conclusion of the matter then a determination is made by the Commission and the contribution usually increased to 100% of the cost of the proceedings.

Being in receipt of a grant of legal aid does not stop the Court making a Costs Order against a person (so that a legally aided person can be made to pay another party's costs).

You will need to meet some eligibility requirements for legal aid. Before filling out an application form we suggest you use the new Means Test Indicator to check whether or not you may qualify. The Means Test Indicator is a guide to help you assess whether you may be financially eligible for legal aid in those matters where Legal Aid has a means test.

However, the results of the indicator do not guarantee that you will receive legal aid.

Why? This is because the indicator can only work out your eligibility based on the numbers that you enter for the means test, which looks at your income and assets. The means test is only one of the tests for eligibility for legal aid. You will also need to pass other tests.

I think I need legal aid. What's the next step?

You will need to complete a Legal Aid Application Form. The Application form is used to assess:

your financial means (your income and your assets)
the merit of your case (whether it is likely to succeed and whether the cost can be justified)
whether you meet Legal Aid NSW policies. Click here to go to Policy Online.

This online Legal Aid Application form in a Portable Document Format (PDF) and you need Adobe Reader to view it. Please print the form, complete it, then sign and send it to:

Legal Aid NSW
Grants Division
PO Box K847
HAYMARKET NSW 1238
Or
Fax: (02) 9219 5061

You can deliver the form to your nearest Legal Aid NSW office, have a form mailed to you by emailing the Publications Unit at publications@legalaid.nsw.gov.au or calling on (02) 9219 5028. If you need a form urgently, it can be faxed to you. You can also obtain application forms from any Legal Aid office.

You can also contact LawAccess NSW (1300 888 529) 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday to obtain a Legal Aid application form or get more information about eligibility for a grant of aid.