Policies
14. Types of Grants
14.1. Standard grant of legal aid
14.1.1 What is a standard grant of legal aid?
A standard grant of legal aid made to a legal aid applicant is either:
- a continuous grant or
- a staged model grant
Prior to a grant of legal aid being made, a legal aid applicant must satisfy the Legal Aid NSW eligibility tests which include:
- whether legal aid is available for their type of matter
- Means Test
- Availability of Funds Test
- and if relevant, the Merit Test.
14.1.2 Continuous grants of aid
A continuous grant of aid is when a legal aid applicant receives a grant of legal aid for either:
- a family law matter, or
- a criminal law matter, or
- a civil law matter.
14.1.3 Staged-model grant
Legal Aid NSW may grant legal aid as a staged-model grant. This is a grant of legal aid for a particular stage of a matter. The staged model:
- takes into account the merit of a matter at the end of each stage before moving to the next stage, and
- enables the legal practitioner to complete work only in the stage that Legal Aid NSW has authorised, and
- provides for predetermined fees paid to the private legal practitioner for each stage.
Although the legal aid applicant is required to apply at each stage of the grant, the grant is ongoing and will continue to the conclusion of the proceedings unless terminated by Legal Aid NSW at an earlier stage.
Date Last Published: 22/12/2016