Changes to Early Appropriate Guilty Plea (EAGP) guidelines

EAGP briefing counsel guidelines

From 4 August 2026, Legal Aid NSW will change the circumstances in which counsel can be funded in Early Appropriate Guilty Plea (EAGP) matters before committal.

For matters where charges are certified on or after 4 August 2026, aid to brief counsel pre-committal will generally only be available where:

• the primary offence carries a maximum penalty of 21 years imprisonment or more
• it will be a Supreme Court matter
• an issue of fitness or a mental health defence (NCR) has arisen
• the matter involves the death of a person
• a public defender is of the opinion that the client is highly vulnerable and has the capacity to accept the brief
• the defendant is a child with a serious children’s indictable offence
• it is a matter involving sexual offences with multiple complainants and/or multiple defendants
• Child Sexual Offence Evidence Program matters.

Discretion

Discretion can be sought to obtain counsel outside of the objective circumstances set out above. Discretion should only be sought in exceptional circumstances.

Examples include matters that are complex because of:

• the nature of the charge or the defence, such as:
  • sex slavery matters
  • fraud matters involving more than 30 counts and/or a total value exceeding $500,000
  • money laundering matters involving more than 30 counts and/or a total value exceeding $500,000
• complex evidentiary issues
• unusually difficult questions of law or evidence.

Additional information

• For matters that do not meet the guidelines, approval for counsel to appear pre-committal may be granted by the Solicitor in Charge, Grants Crime. Requests for approval should be submitted as an extension request, including detailed reasons supporting the engagement of counsel.
• Practitioners who believe there are grounds for discretion to be exercised can apply to seek approval for that discretion prior to the charge being certified.
• Any prospective extension of the grant for counsel will only be given on the condition that the charge is certified.

Briefing counsel for District Court sentences and trials

The changes apply to the funding of counsel pre-committal only.

Where a solicitor resolves the matter at case conference, the solicitor can decide whether to appear without counsel in the District Court for sentence, or whether to apply to brief counsel for the sentence proceedings.

Where a matter does not resolve at case conference, counsel may continue to be briefed for trial, subject to existing policies and procedures, including confirmation of availability of Public Defenders prior to any briefing.