Criminal Law
There are three panels under the Criminal area of law which are covered by Commonwealth and State funding. For a law practice to undertake legal aid work under all panels in this area of law, the law practice must have at least one legal practitioner that meets the requirements of each individual panel.
Where a legal practitioner may not meet the individual panel requirements, the principal/nominated principal for a law practice should note the delegation requirements of the individual panels to ensure compliance with Clauses 41 and 47 of the Quality Standards.
- Summary Criminal Law
Solicitors and barristers (as direct representative) are eligible to undertake work for this panel.
This panel covers State and Commonwealth Summary Criminal Law work in NSW Local Courts for adults only.
State Local Court Solicitor Fee Scales
Commonwealth Local Court Solicitor Fee ScalesThe panel covers Local Court work in the following areas of law:
- Duty appearances
- Bail/bail variation applications
- Hearings
- Sentences
- District Court Appeals
Individual practitioner requirements:
- 2 years PAE in criminal law is a requirement to be appointed to this panel.
Delegation:
- Work under this panel may be delegated to legal practitioners within the law practice who have less than 2 years PAE (except duty work).
- The principal and any legal practitioners employed by the law practice, who satisfy the individual requirements of this panel, may delegate legal aid work to other legal practitioners within the law practice who satisfy the delegation requirements of this panel.
- Legal practitioners being delegated matters under this panel must be supervised by a legal practitioner within the law practice who satisfies the individual requirements of the panel and is eligible to undertake the work.
- Indictable Criminal Law
Solicitors only are eligible to undertake work for this panel.
This panel covers State and Commonwealth Indictable and Complex criminal law work for adults only.
State Solicitor Fee Scales
Commonwealth Solicitor Fee ScalesIndictable matters are defined as non-complex matters, including EAGP in the Local and District Courts within NSW.
Barristers may be briefed by a panel practitioner, where the Public Defender is unavailable, in appropriate Indictable matters subject to LANSW policies and where prior approval has been obtained.
Barristers briefed to appear in an Indictable criminal matter at case conferencing will retain the matter for either sentence or trial once it is committed to the District Court.
Complex matters are defined by the following criteria:
- All Supreme Court trials and pleas;
- Matters where the maximum penalty is life imprisonment;
- Manslaughter trials and pleas;
- All terrorism matters;
- Sexual Assault matters where there are multiple complainants and/or multiple defendants;
- Matters where the trial is complex because of the nature of the charge or the defence or where significant case management is required (e.g. sex slavery, fraud or money laundering charges where there are more than 30 counts and/or the total value is more than $500,000.00);
- Those trials involving a number of expert witnesses and identified by the trial judge as requiring significant case management pursuant to s.141 Criminal Procedure Act 1986;
- Where the trial length is estimated at 20 days or more; and
- Where the brief of evidence is more than 5,000 pages.
A barrister, whether a Public Defender, panel barrister, or Senior Counsel, may be briefed by a panel practitioner in complex and appellate criminal law matters subject to LANSW policies and where prior approval has been obtained.
For Complex Criminal matters, a barrister from the Complex Barrister Panel must be briefed.
For Appellate matters, a barrister from the Appellate Barrister Panel must be briefed.
Barristers briefed to appear in a complex criminal matter at case conferencing will retain the matter for either sentence or trial once it is committed to the District or Supreme Court.
Panel practitioners cannot conduct Complex work as a solicitor advocate.
The Indictable Panel covers Indictable and Complex criminal law work in the following NSW courts &/or areas:
- Local Court Committals
- District Court Sentences
- District Court Trials
- Supreme Court Sentences
- Supreme Court Trials
- Sexual Assault Communications Privilege (SACP) (Adult & Children)
- Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA)
- High Court
- Federal Court
- Land & Environment Court (prosecutions and appeals to CCA)
Individual practitioner requirements:
- 5 years PAE in criminal law with at least 75% of total workload in criminal law; OR
- Specialist Accreditation in Criminal Law
Delegation:
- Matters categorised as ‘non-complex indictable’, under this panel, may be delegated to legal practitioners within the law practice who have more than 2 years PAE in criminal law;
- The principal and any legal practitioners employed by the law practice, who satisfy the individual requirements of this panel, may delegate legal aid work to other legal practitioners within the law practice who satisfy the delegation requirements of this panel.
- Legal practitioners being delegated matters under this panel must be supervised by a legal practitioner within the law practice who satisfies the individual requirements of the panel and is eligible to undertake the work.
- Child Crime
Solicitors and barristers (as direct representative) are eligible to undertake work for this panel.
This panel covers State and Commonwealth work undertaken for juveniles in Children’s Courts and Local Courts presided over by a specialist Children’s Magistrate or the President of the Children’s Court. This panel also covers work undertaken for juveniles in the Local, District and Supreme Courts within NSW.
Legal practitioners must be appointed to the Child Crime Panel in order to be eligible to participate on duty rosters and to receive assignments of legal aid work within this jurisdiction.
State Solicitor Fee Scales
Commonwealth Solicitor Fee ScalesThe panel covers children’s criminal law work in the following NSW courts:
- Children’s Courts
- Children’s matters in the Local Court
- Local Court Committals
- District Court Sentences
- District Court Trials
- Supreme Court Sentences
- Supreme Court Trials
Individual practitioner requirements:
- 5 years PAE in criminal law; OR
- Specialist Accreditation in Criminal Law, Children’s Law or Advocacy; and
- a current Working With Children Check (WWCC)
Delegation:
- Delegation of work is NOT permitted under this panel.
- Work under this panel can ONLY be undertaken by a legal practitioner who satisfies the individual panel requirements and is eligible to undertake the work.
Panel enquiries
If you have any enquiries about a panel or the application process, or using the Application website, please contact the Private Lawyer Quality Standards Unit by e-mail at panels@legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 02 9219 5662.