Policies
15. Grants to Community Legal Centres
15.6. Special arrangement with Marrickville, Western Sydney Community Legal Centre, Kingsford and Far West Community Legal Centres.
15.6.1 Legal practitioner fees - Marrickville and Western Sydney Community Legal Centre
Legal Aid NSW will pay legal practitioner fees to Marrickville and Western Sydney Community Legal Centre in accordance with the following policy.
When legal practitioner fees will be paid in grants of legal aid
Legal practitioner fees will only be paid for defended Children's Court matters.
When practitioner fees are paid for appeals or children's matters in higher courts
Legal practitioner fees in appeals to the District Court, or in other legally aided children's matters proceeding to higher courts, will be paid, if:
- there are exceptional circumstances as set out in section 15.5, and
- the total amount of legal practitioner's fees claimed for defended Children's Court matters does not exceed:
- in the case of Marrickville Legal Centre, $15,000 each year, and
- in the case of Western Sydney Community Legal Centre, $5,000 each year
Invoices in relation to practitioner fees are to be submitted on a regular basis to Legal Aid NSW.
Applying for these types of grants of legal aid
- Legal aid applications are to be made to the Grants Division of Legal Aid NSW.
- Applications for a grant of legal aid must be made before the commencement of the proceedings for which aid is sought.
- Where there is limited time available an application for a grant of legal aid, an emergency grant of aid may be sought by telephone and confirmed later in writing.
Responsibility to notify former legal practitioner
In cases where Marrickville or Western Sydney Community Legal Centre is requested to act for a child in a defended Children's Court matter, and where the child:
- has previously instructed a rostered duty solicitor, and
- the child is no longer instructing that legal practitioner
Marrickville and Western Sydney Community Legal Centres must advise that legal practitioner as soon as possible or at least before the date of hearing that they are now acting on behalf of the child.
15.6.2 Legal practitioner fees - Kingsford Legal Centre
Legal Aid NSW will pay legal practitioner fees to Kingsford Legal Centre in accordance with the following policy:
- Legal Aid NSW will pay legal practitioner fees to Kingsford Legal Centre for duty solicitor work undertaken at Waverley Local Court on Mondays
- no "flow on" work undertaken on other days will be remunerated.
- the amount of fees claimed by Kingsford Legal Centre will be the actual hours worked on Mondays up to a maximum of 6 hours
- the fees paid will be at the normal Legal Aid Local Court criminal duty solicitor's rate.
- Kingsford Legal Centre must submit its invoices for practitioner fees on a regular basis, together with a completed legal aid application form for each matter.
15.6.3 Legal practitioner fees - Far West Community Legal Centre
Legal Aid NSW will pay legal practitioner fees to Far West Community Legal Centre in accordance with the following policy:
- In matters other than Commonwealth family law matters, the Far West Community Legal Centre will be paid legal practitioner fees in cases where there is no other legal practitioner in Broken Hill available to represent a legally assisted person.
- In Commonwealth family law matters the Far West Community Legal Centre will be paid legal practitioner fees where the Centre's Principal Solicitor is on the record and the matter is for hearing in Broken Hill.
- Legal practitioner fees will only be paid where an application for legal aid has been received by Legal Aid NSW and a grant of legal aid has been made to the Far West Community Legal Centre.
- Fees will be paid in accordance with the normal Legal Aid NSW fee scale.
- All Legal Aid policies will apply to grants to the Far West Community Legal Centre, including the Legal Aid NSW contributions policy under s46 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 (NSW) concerning recovery of full costs and disbursements by Legal Aid NSW.
Date Last Published: 10/04/2017