• Home
• Get legal help
  • Help over the phone
  • Factsheets and resources
  • Legal resources for COVID-19
  • Legal advice
  • Find a Legal Aid NSW advice service
  • Help at court
  • Apply for legal aid
  • How we provide our services
• What we do
  • Criminal law
  • Family law
  • Civil law
  • Domestic and family violence
  • Specialist services
  • Community partnerships
  • Workshops and webinars
  • Law reform
  • Our work in action
  • It's what we stand for
• For lawyers
  • Grants Online
  • Fee scales
  • CCA practice resources
  • Policy Online
  • Panels, monitoring and compliance
  • Lawyer Education Series
  • Duty solicitor scheme
  • Resources and tools
  • Family cross examination of parties scheme
  • Remote preferred provider scheme
  • Professional development
  • News
  • Wellbeing
• Publications
  • Factsheets and resources
  • Reviews and reports
  • Annual report
  • Order a publication
• About us
  • Who we are
  • Media and newsletters
  • Our partners
  • Working at Legal Aid NSW
  • Access to information
• Contact us
  • Legal Aid NSW offices
  • Feedback and complaints
  • Find a Legal Aid NSW advice service

Home > For lawyers > Policy Online > Policies

• Guidelines
• Directions
• 1. An Introduction to Legal Aid NSW
  • 1.1. Legal Aid NSW core policies for granting legal aid
• 2. Legal Aid Commission Act
  • 2.1. Introduction
  • 2.2. Part 1 - Preliminary
  • 2.3. Part 2 - Constitution and management of Legal Aid Commission
  • 2.4. Part 3 - Provision of legal aid
  • 2.5. Part 3A - Alternative dispute resolution
  • 2.6. Part 4 Finance
  • 2.7. Part 5 - Miscellaneous
  • 2.8. Schedules
• 3. Delegation Instrument
  • 3.0. Introduction and Preamble
  • 3.1. Section 25 - Divulging information or document to a court or tribunal, with the consent of Legal Aid NSW, under section 25(4)(l)
  • 3.2. Divulging information or a document (other than as provided by section 25(4)(k) or (l))
  • 3.3. Solicitor on Record - section 28
  • 3.4. Grant of money for a specified purpose - section 30
  • 3.5. Application for legal aid - section 31
  • 3.6. Exercising powers under section 33
  • 3.6.A Legal Support Officers certifying limited disbursements under sections 33 and 34 on Grants Online
  • 3.7. Determining and redetermining a grant of legal aid under section 34
  • 3.7.A Approval of expenditure in relation to grants of legal aid
  • 3.8. Approving the number of reading and preparation days in criminal matters
  • 3.9. Determining the date of a grant of legal aid under section 34A
  • 3.10. Authorising emergency grants of legal aid
  • 3.11. Implementing the Means Test under section 35
  • 3.12. Determining under section 35(1) that the Means Test should not apply
  • 3.13. Waiving the requirement for verification of means
  • 3.14. Contributions under section 36(1)(a)
  • 3.15. Amounts by which a contribution under section 36 can be varied or waived prior to finalisation of a matter
  • 3.16. Applications for legal aid by certain persons under section 37
  • 3.17. Varying grants of legal aid under section 38
  • 3.18 Terminating grants of legal aid under section 38(1)
  • 3.19. Making certain decisions about costs and moneys under sections 40, 41, 43, 43A, 43B, 44 & 45
  • 3.20. Determining under section 46 the liability of a legally assisted person to pay costs
  • 3.21. Amounts by which a contribution under section 46 can be waived or reduced
  • 3.22. Determining payment of costs awarded against a legally assisted person under section 47
  • 3.23 Authority to appoint, or refuse to appoint, a law practice to a panel
  • 3.24. Endorsing private practitioner panel service agreements
  • 3.25. Authority to suspend or remove a panel lawyer
  • 3.26. Discretion to assign a matter to a non panel private practitioner
  • 3.27. Signing and Withdrawing Caveats
  • 3.28. Consenting to dealings on the property
  • 3.29. Management of debts
  • 3.30. Negotiated settlement
  • 3.31. Exercising a lien under section 48
  • 3.32. Administration of a Trust Account under section 64A
  • 3.33. Authority to private practitioners providing duty services
  • Attachment A
• 4. Criminal Law Matters – when legal aid is available
  • 4.1. Introduction
  • 4.2. Important conditions which apply to grants of legal aid
  • 4.3. Local Court criminal law matters
  • 4.4. Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders
  • 4.5. Apprehended Personal Violence Order
  • 4.6. Appeals from the Local Court
  • 4.7. Drug Court matters
  • 4.8. Circle Court matters
  • 4.9. Preventative detention, control order and prohibited contact order matters
  • 4.10. Local Court committal matters
  • 4.11. Criminal Indictable matters
  • 4.12. Matters under Part 8 of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act
  • 4.13. Criminal appeals to Court of Criminal Appeal and High Court
  • 4.14. Matters under Part 7 of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act
  • 4.15. Land and Environment Court matters
  • 4.16. Children's criminal matters
  • 4.17. Prisoners' matters
  • 4.18 Extended supervision orders, continuing detention orders, post-conviction orders, control orders and serious crime prevention orders
  • 4.19. Criminal contempt of court
  • 4.20. Matters for which legal aid is not available
• 5. Family Law Matters – when legal aid is available
  • 5.1. Introduction
  • 5.2. Important conditions which apply to grants of legal aid
  • 5.3. Parenting matters - including independent children's lawyers
  • 5.4. Varying or discharging parenting orders –including independent children's lawyers
  • 5.5. Recovery, location and Commonwealth information orders
  • 5.6. Property settlement matters - after separation
  • 5.7. Spousal and de facto maintenance - after separation
  • 5.8. Child support and child maintenance matters
  • 5.9. Divorce and nullity of marriage
  • 5.10. International child abduction
  • 5.11. Contravention of parenting orders and enforcement of court orders
  • 5.12. Matters after final court orders
  • 5.13. Contempt of court
  • 5.14. Care and protection matters
  • 5.15. Special medical procedures
  • 5.16. Adoption matters
  • 5.17. Domestic and family violence
• 6. Civil law matters - when legal aid is available
  • 6.1. Introduction
  • 6.2. Important conditions that apply to a grant of legal aid
  • 6.3. List of civil matters for which legal aid is available
  • 6.4. Loss of home - if there is a likelihood the applicant may lose their home
  • 6.5. Consumer protection matters
  • 6.6. Breach of civil liberties
  • 6.7 Extended supervision orders, continuing detention orders, post-conviction orders, control orders and serious crime prevention orders
  • 6.8. Discrimination matters
  • 6.9 Matters under Working with Children legislation
  • 6.10. Matters under the NSW Trustee and Guardian Act 2009 (NSW)
  • 6.11. Matters under the Public Health Act
  • 6.12. Coronial Inquests into Deaths
  • 6.13. Employment law matters
  • 6.14. Public interest human rights matters
  • 6.15. Mental health matters
  • 6.15A. Drug and Alcohol Treatment Act matters
  • 6.16. Guardianship matters
  • 6.17. Sexual assault communications privilege matters
  • 6.18. Migration matters
  • 6.19. Commonwealth benefits including pensions, allowances and social security
  • 6.20A. Review of decisions under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013
  • 6.22. Proceeds of crime matters
  • 6.23. Extradition proceedings
  • 6.24 War veterans' matters
  • 6.26. Matters for which legal aid is not available
• 7. Means Test
  • 7.1. What is the Means Test?
  • 7.2. What matters are means tested?
  • 7.3. Whose means are considered when applying the Means Test?
  • 7.4. Means Test structure
  • 7.5. Income test
  • 7.6. Assets test
  • 7.7. Applicant's ability to pay legal costs test
  • 7.8. Means Test determines initial contribution
  • 7.9. Means Test determines contribution to adverse costs
  • 7.10. Discretions under the Means Test
  • 7.11. Verification of means
  • 7.12. Special types of applicants
  • 7.13. Contributions on net assessable assets
• 8. Merit Test
  • 8.1. What is a merit test?
  • 8.2. Merit Test A – State and some Commonwealth matters
  • 8.3. Merit Test B – Commonwealth family law matters
• 9. Unpaid Contributions Test (Repealed)
  • 9.1 The Unpaid Contributions Test (Repealed)
  • 9.2 Matters exempted from the Unpaid Contributions Test (Repealed)
• 10. Availability of Funds Test
  • 10.1. Test for availability of funds in State matters
  • 10.2. Test for availability of funds in Commonwealth matters
• 11. Contributions
  • 11.1. Initial Contributions
  • 11.2. Can contributions be secured upfront?
  • 11.3. What is a contribution to legal costs?
  • 11.4. Exempted matters - where an applicant is not required to pay an initial contribution
  • 11.5. Exempted matters - where an applicant for legal aid owns real property
• 12. Representation: Allocating Legal Work
  • 12.1. Introduction
  • 12.2. Civil law matters
  • 12.3. Criminal law matters
  • 12.4. Family law matters
  • 12.5. Duty solicitor matters
• 13. Legal Aid Review Committee Appeals
  • 13.1. Introduction
  • 13.2. The appeal process
  • 13.3. The types of decisions that can be appealed to a Legal Aid Review Committee
  • 13.4. When there is no right to appeal to a Legal Aid Review Committee
  • 13.5. How to appeal to a Legal Aid Review Committee
  • 13.6. When proceedings can be adjourned pending an appeal to a Legal Aid Review Committee
  • 13.7. Assigning a matter following a successful appeal to a Legal Aid Review Committee
  • 13.8. Decision of the Legal Aid Review Committee is final
• 14. Types of Grants
  • 14.1. Standard grant of legal aid
  • 14.2. Lump sum grants
  • 14.3. Emergency grants of aid
  • 14.4. Retrospective grant of legal aid
  • 14.5. Duty Service grants
  • 14.6. Information, legal advice and minor assistance
• 15. Grants to Community Legal Centres
  • 15.1. Introduction
  • 15.2. Grants of legal aid to community legal centres
  • 15.3. What policies applies to grants of legal aid to CLCs
  • 15.4. Paying legal practitioner fees to CLCs
  • 15.5. Exceptions to policy that no legal practitioner fees will be paid
  • 15.6. Special arrangement with Marrickville, Western Sydney Community Legal Centre, Kingsford and Far West Community Legal Centres.
  • 15.7. Funding allocation to Community Legal Centres
  • 15.8. Schedule of community organisations providing legal services covered by these policies
• 16. Terminating Grants of Legal Aid
  • 16.1 Terminating grants of legal aid
• 17. Costs and Fees
  • 17.1. Introduction
  • 17.2. Fees paid to private legal practitioners under s39 of the Act
  • 17.3. Right to have private legal practitioner's costs assessed
  • 17.4. Private practitioners prohibited from charging legal aid client
  • 17.5. Costs orders
  • 17.6. An order for legally aided client to pay costs to Legal Aid NSW
  • 17.7. Deferring payment of costs to private legal practitioners
  • 17.8. When can Legal Aid NSW refuse to pay a legal practitioner's fees
  • 17.9. When a client may be directed to pay costs recovered to Legal Aid NSW
  • 17.10. Assignment of costs under s45 of the Act
  • 17.11. Costs Legal Aid NSW must pay on behalf of the client under s47 of the Act
• 18. Forum Test and Reciprocity Test
  • 18.1 Forum Test
  • 18.2 Reciprocity Agreement between interstate legal aid commissions
  • 18.3 Addresses of interstate legal aid commissions
  • 18.4 Payment of costs and disbursements of solicitors outside New South Wales
  • 18.5 Travelling expenses of the legally assisted person
• 19. Section 33 Payments (Repealed)
  • 19.1 What is a section 33 payment? (Repealed)
  • 19.2 How much is the section 33 payment? (Repealed)
  • 19.3 Can the section 33 payment be waived or reduced? (Repealed)
  • 19.4 What happens if legal aid is granted? (Repealed)
  • 19.5 Will the payment be refunded if the applicant is refused legal aid? (Repealed)
  • 19.6 What happens if the applicant does not pay the section 33 payment? (Repealed)
  • 19.7 Exempted matters - where an applicant is not required to pay a section 33 payment (Repealed)

 

Policy Online

Policies

• 1. An Introduction to Legal Aid NSW
• 2. Legal Aid Commission Act
• 3. Delegation Instrument
• 4. Criminal Law Matters – when legal aid is available
• 5. Family Law Matters – when legal aid is available
• 6. Civil law matters - when legal aid is available
• 7. Means Test
• 8. Merit Test
• 9. Unpaid Contributions Test (Repealed)
• 10. Availability of Funds Test
• 11. Contributions
• 12. Representation: Allocating Legal Work
• 13. Legal Aid Review Committee Appeals
• 14. Types of Grants
• 15. Grants to Community Legal Centres
• 16. Terminating Grants of Legal Aid
• 17. Costs and Fees
• 18. Forum Test and Reciprocity Test
• 19. Section 33 Payments (Repealed)

View Policy Bulletins