Policy Bulletin 2026/1: Care and Protection – changes to policies and fees

2 February 2026

The Legal Aid NSW Board has approved changes to the care and protection eligibility policies and Fee Scale

Background

As part of building a new grants management system, Legal Aid NSW is making changes to the policies and fees for care and protection matters. The changes are intended to complement the new system, by streamlining the application process for legal aid, improving usability and reducing the administrative burden for lawyers and clients.

The main purpose of the changes to the care eligibility policies is to:

  • Reduce the barriers to representation for parents in all care proceedings
  • Have eligibility policies that support the participation of:
    • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family members in court proceedings in circumstances where they are available to offer a safe and culturally appropriate home to Aboriginal children who have been removed, and
    • Other families who are significant to the children and have a genuine interest in caring for the children.

As part of the suite of changes, the Board has approved:

  • Introducing Extended Legal Assistance to fund private lawyers to provide a s90 merit advice for parents
  • Removing the requirement for parents to have reasonable prospects of achieving a better outcome than that which has been proposed in the Care Plan before funding is approved for final hearing
  • Removing the Means Test for parents in post-final care order matters in the Children’s Court and the Merit Test for parents responding to post-final order matters
  • Removing the Means Test for parents in compulsory schooling orders
  • Removing the Means and Merit Test for third parties in primary care proceedings, and in post final care order matters in the Children’s Court
  • A new Care Fee Scale which introduces lump sum fees and simplifies the fee scale to reflect the stage of court proceedings
  • A new ELA Fee for s90 merit advice, and
  • A new Care Fee Guideline bringing clarity to how and when certain fees will be paid.

What has changed?

The main changes are set out in Policy Online:

Start date

The changes apply to applications determined on and after 2 February 2026.

Contact

For further information, email the Client Eligibility Unit: T-CEU@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

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