Panel FAQ's

Only practitioners with more than 3 years PAE who hold a principal of a law practice practising certificate or barrister can submit a panel application.

You are only required to upload or attach documents in support of the individual panel requirements, if nominating for the following panels:

• Care and protection 
• Independent children's lawyer (ICL)
• Appellate barrister

Yes you can.

The principal of a law practice is not required to nominate themselves against any panel should they not have the capacity to undertake legal aid work.

All nominated legal practitioners must meet the individual panel requirements for which they are being nominated.

Please refer to clause 5.5 of our Service Agreement and immediately notify us of any changes within the law practice by sending an email to panels@legalaid.nsw.gov.au. 

You can update your panel membership at any time by completing and submitting an Update membership form. 

An Update membership form includes the following:

• apply for additional panels that the law practice is not currently appointed to
• nominate a new legal practitioner to a panel
• nominate a current legal practitioner to an additional panel, OR
• a combination of these.

NB. Make sure all nominated legal practitioners have Grants Online registration with ‘practitioner’ access prior to the Update membership form being submitted.

Yes you can.

Please note that Legal Aid NSW will not meet travel or accommodation expenses, nor any additional costs that would not have been incurred if a matter was assigned to a law practice practising at or near the venue of the proceedings in accordance with the travel entitlements under the Legal Aid NSW Fee scales. 

A panel membership is attached to the law practice and not to an individual practitioner.

Your Grants Online administrator can view the law practice panel membership using the Update Office function in Grants Online. 

Barristers can view their briefing panel membership using the Update Personal Details function in Grants Online and view direct access panel membership using the Update Office function in Grants Online. 

You can request to add an additional region to your law practice panel membership by sending an email to panels@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

You must include details on how your law practice will manage the additional region and workload, in your email.

Please note that Legal Aid NSW will not meet travel or accommodation expenses, nor any additional costs that would not have been incurred if a matter was assigned to a law practice practising at or near the venue of the proceedings in accordance with the travel entitlements under the Legal Aid NSW Fee scales. 

Appointment to a panel does not confer an entitlement to work. Only a limited number of offers are made to panel members for matters which cannot be allocated to an in-house solicitor or cannot be assigned back to the law practice nominated on the application for legal aid.

Further information is available in the Grants allocation guidelines. 

For any information regarding Grants Online registration, updates to office, adding a user etc. please go to our How to use to Grants Online page.

You need to: 

1. apply online through the Office of the Children’s Guardian; and
2. then visit a Service NSW centre to present your original identity documents and pay the fee before your clearance will be finalised.

Your WWCC is valid for 5 years.

No.

The NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian requires anyone who undertakes child-related work in NSW to hold a current WWCC employment clearance number.

If the law practice is already a panel member, speak with your principal and ask them to nominate you as an eligible legal practitioner by completing and submitting an Update membership form. 

NB. Make sure you have Grants Online registration with ‘practitioner’ access prior to the Update membership form being submitted.

You need to: 

1. email servicedesk@legalaid.nsw.gov.au and panels@legalaid.nsw.gov.au advising of your final date at your current law practice;
2. get the principal at the new law practice to email servicedesk@legalaid.nsw.gov.au and panels@legalaid.nsw.gov.au requesting your Grants Online registration be updated with your new contact details – make sure your details have been updated with the Law Society of NSW first; and
3. finally, get the principal at the new law practice to complete and submit an Update membership form. 

As principal of the law practice, you must immediately notify Legal Aid NSW by email to servicedesk@legalaid.nsw.gov.au  and panels@legalaid.nsw.gov.au advising the name and date the legal practitioner is ceasing employment with your law practice.

You need to: 

1. register your law practice with the Law Society of NSW or the NSW Bar Association;
2. ensure that your ABN is registered with the Australian Business Register;
3. register your law practice for Grants Online; 
4. familiarise yourself with our individual panel requirements including our Quality Standards; and
5. submit a panel application form via the Panels application website.

If you have any questions, please email panels@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

A law practice is not obliged to transfer files to a former legal practitioner, provided there is an eligible legal practitioner within the law practice to undertake the work.

However, if your former law practice agrees for you to retain any legal aid files, the principal needs to submit a transfer request through Grants Online. 

Information can be found on the Duty solicitor scheme webpage or send an email to duty.scheme@legalaid.nsw.gov.au. 

Information can be found on the Back-up duty scheme webpage or send an email to backupdutyscheme@legalaid.nsw.gov.au. 

Information can be found on the Family cross examination of parties scheme webpage or send an email to crossexamscheme@legalaid.nsw.gov.au. 

Information can be found on the Family dispute resolution service webpage or send an email to FDR.UnitInbox@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.