Legal Aid Panels
The panel application is a single form that can only be submitted by the Principal/nominated Principal of a Law Practice or Barrister. This application form is to be submitted on behalf of all legal practitioners who will undertake legal aid work.
The principal/nominated principal of a law practice can nominate legal practitioners (who hold a current Australian Practising Certificate) within the law practice on the one application form, where they meet the individual panel requirements for the nominated panel/s.
All legal practitioners should read and consider the Legal Aid NSW Quality Standards prior to applying for appointment to Legal Aid NSW Panels. This document applies to all in-house and private legal practitioners who undertake legal aid work and provides clarity on the quality of legal services Legal Aid NSW expects will be delivered when undertaking legal aid work. Upon appointment, the Quality Standards form part of the law practice’s obligations in accordance with the Service Agreement.
The table below provides an overview of all available panels and their requirements. For more in-depth information regarding a panel and their individual requirements click on the “Area of Law” headings on the below tables or refer to the Quality Standards.
Barristers
For direct access matters, barristers must ensure compliance with the Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules, in particular Rule 22. A barrister appointed to the panel may decline to accept a direct representation offer of assignment if it is inappropriate to do the work without the involvement of an instructing solicitor.
Practice rights of a reader – Direct client access restriction before completing the reading period
The Bar Association website sets out the practising certificate restrictions that apply to readers. These restrictions apply to a reader who intends to apply for appointment to any of the following direct access panels: Summary Crime, Child Crime, Mental Health, Domestic Violence or Care and Protection.
A reader must not during the reading period accept a brief from a person other than a solicitor without a tutor’s written approval for the particular brief.
Exception: This restriction does not apply if the reader held an unrestricted solicitor’s practising certificate immediately before being issued with this certificate, or in cases where the reader is participating in the Duty Barrister Schemes conducted in the Local Court or the District Court.
Because of the way our panels operate, it is not always possible to seek the approval of a tutor before accepting a brief. A breach of the Practising Conditions for readers would amount to a breach of the Legal Aid NSW Service Agreement.
It is the responsibility of readers to check whether this restriction applies before applying for appointment to a direct access panel. If you were eligible for an unrestricted practising certificate but failed to obtain one prior to admission to the Bar, you may need to contact the Bar Association for an exemption.
If you are solicitor and you wish to apply to have the supervision requirement removed from your practising certificate, more information is available here.
Training
Legal Aid NSW will be introducing training course modules for panel members. These modules may form part of the requirement for panel members to remain on a panel or be appointed to a panel. Further information about these training modules will be communicated to panel members as they become available.
Care and protection training
Practitioners applying to the care and protection panel must complete the training program. Find out more about the requirements of this training.
CPD Units
Legal practitioners, who meet the individual requirements to undertake legally aided matters under the Indictable Crime, Child Crime, Care and Protection and/or Independent Children’s Lawyer panels, are required to complete 5 CPD units each year.
Panels Structure
Law Practices
The Principal of the Law Practice must have three years post admission experience for their Law Practice to be a member of any panel.
Legal Aid NSW requires the Principal and all staff of panel member Law Practices who are client facing to be COVID-19 double vaccinated.
Criminal
Click on heading above to view more information about the Criminal Law Panels.
| Panel | Summary | Indictable Crime* | Child Crime |
|---|---|---|---|
Jurisdiction | Summary (Adult) | Indictable (Adult) SACP (Adult & Child) Appellate (Adult) | Summary (Child) Indictable (Child) Appellate (Child) |
Solicitor/Barrister Post Admission Experience required in the designated area of law | 2 years Solicitor & Barrister | 5 years (at least 75% of total workload in criminal law) or Specialist Accreditation in Criminal Law Solicitor only |
5 years
Specialist Accreditation in Criminal Law, Children’s or Advocacy Solicitor & Barrister |
Additional requirements | |||
Delegation | Delegate summary matters to solicitors with less than two years PAE. | Delegate non-complex indictable matters to solicitors with more than two years PAE in criminal law. | Not permitted |
*The Indictable Crime Solicitor and Complex Crime Solicitor Panels have been combined into a single panel.
Family
Click on heading above to view more information about the Family Law Panels.
Family | Care | ICL | Domestic violence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jurisdiction | Cth Family Law | State Family Law | Cth Family Law (Child) | ADVO |
| Solicitor/Barrister Post Admission Experience required in the designated area of law | 2 years Solicitor only | 5 years or Specialist Accreditation in Children’s Law Solicitor & Barrister | 5 years (at least 75% of total workload in family law) Solicitor only | 5 years (ADVO proceedings) Solicitor & Barrister |
Additional requirements | WWCC Legal Aid NSW Care and Protection: Representing Children module on the Lawyer Education Series Legal Aid NSW Care and Protection: Representing Parents module on the Lawyer Education Series Satisfactory completion of Legal Aid NSW Care and Protection Child Representation: Workshop* within the last two years Satisfactory referee report from a suitable referee confirming five years post admission experience in the Care and Protection jurisdiction** | WWCC National ICL training course (within the last two years) Legal Aid NSW ICL Nuts and Bolts training course*** | ||
Delegation | Delegate family law to solicitors with less than two years PAE. | Delegate care adult matters to solicitors with less than five years PAE. | Not permitted | Not permitted |
*Any Workshop enquiries including future dates please contact carechildrepresentation@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.
**Please note that if you have registered for the Workshop to undertake care and protection work as an eligible associate, you are required to provide a referee report from a suitable referee who can attest to your knowledge, skills and experience. If you have successfully completed the Workshop and you have provided a report from a suitable referee, the report will be reviewed by Legal Aid NSW. If the report is not provided or it is determined that the report is unsatisfactory or the nominated referee unsuitable, your nomination as an eligible associate will not be approved.
***Practitioners assessed to have satisfactorily completed the Phase 2 workshop will be requested by Legal Aid NSW to submit a referee report to assess their suitability to join the NSW ICL panel before being identified as eligible to attend Phase 3 Nuts and Bolts training and be invited by Legal Aid NSW to register for the annual one-day training. A date has yet to be announced for the next Nuts and Bolts training but will likely take place in March each year. Practitioners outside NSW practising in firms seeking to obtain NSW ICL panel membership will also need to submit a referee report to complete the Nuts and Bolts training and will need to contact Legal Aid NSW regarding registration for the next annual Nuts and Bolts training. Any questions about ICL training requirements can be emailed to iclwebsite@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.
Civil
Click on heading above to view more information about the Civil Law Panels.
Panel | Civil | Mental Health |
|---|---|---|
Jurisdiction | Civil | Mental Health Review Tribunal |
Solicitor/Barrister Post Admission Experience required in the designated area of law | 2 years Solicitor only | 2 years Solicitor & Barrister |
Additional requirements | ||
Delegation | Delegate matters to solicitors with less than two years PAE. | Not permitted |
Barristers
Click on heading above to view more information about the Barrister Briefing Panels.
| Panel | Indictable | Complex | Appellate* |
|---|---|---|---|
Jurisdiction | Indictable Crime | Complex Crime | Appellate Crime |
Solicitor/Barrister Post Admission Experience required in the designated area of law | 5 years PAE in Criminal Law as a solicitor or barrister | 7 years PAE in Criminal Law as a barrister | 10 years PAE in Criminal Law** as a solicitor or barrister, including a minimum of three years' experience as a barrister (dating from the commencement of the Reading Program) |
Additional requirements | Two satisfactory referee reports, one from Senior Counsel and one from a member from the Bar Association | ||
Delegation | Not permitted | Not permitted | Not permitted |
*The Appellate Barrister Panel is a separate application process for new applicants only. Click here for information about how to apply to this panel.
**Previous Specialist Accreditation will be considered favourably for any application.