Guidelines
1. Criminal law matters
1.2. What is appropriate expenditure of limited public funds?
1.2.1 Criminal appeals generally
When assessing whether an application involves an “appropriate expenditure of limited public funds” Legal Aid NSW needs to consider whether the costs involved in providing legal aid are warranted by the likely benefit to the applicant or, in some circumstances, the community.
Legal Aid NSW needs to be satisfied that the matter for which legal aid is sought is an appropriate expenditure of public legal aid funds.
1.2.2 Sentence appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeal
Legal Aid NSW will only consider that it is an appropriate expenditure of limited public funds in a sentence appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal (not Crown appeal) where:
- the applicant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment (including a full-time custodial sentence, a suspended sentence (section 12 bond), an intensive correction order, or a home detention order, and
- the applican's non-parole period will not expire before the appeal can be prepared and heard.
OR
Legal Aid NSW is satisfied there are exceptional circumstances. Legal Aid NSW may be satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances where:
- the applicant is at special disadvantage (includes children), or
- the matter raises an important question of law, or
- the matter is a suiable vehicle for establishing new legal precedent, or
- the matter involves a public interest issue.
Date Last Published: 09/10/2017