Annual Report 2018 - 2019
Legal Aid NSW Board
The 10 members of our Board determine our broad policies and strategic priorities.
The Board of Legal Aid NSW consists of nine part-time members including the Chair, and one full-time member, who is the CEO of Legal Aid NSW.
Part-time board members are appointed by the NSW Attorney General for a period of up to three years, except for the Chair, who is appointed for a period up to five years. Craig Smith continued and was reappointed in the role as Chair, which he has held since February 2013. Board members’ three-year terms expired during this reporting year.
Key activities of the Board this year
The Board exercised its statutory role to set strategic policies and approved the Legal Aid NSW financial statements.
The Board received regular updates on the progress of key actions under the Legal Aid NSW Strategic Plan 2018–2023, Legal Aid NSW Strategic Plan 2018–2019 (Year One Plan), Domestic and Family Violence Strategy 2016–2018 and Elder Abuse Strategy 2018–2019. The Board also approved the Legal Aid NSW Strategic Law Reform Agenda 2018–2020 and Domestic and Family Violence Strategy 2019–2020.
The Board received regular reports from the Crime and Grants Sub-Committee on its work examining the fees paid to private practitioners undertaking legally aided work. The Board approved a revised fee scale for private practitioners acting in criminal indictable matters covered by the early appropriate guilty pleas reform.
The Board approved a large number of changes to Legal Aid NSW eligibility policies. This included changes to the family and criminal law policies to ensure, wherever possible, Legal Aid NSW assists clients who are at risk of, or experiencing domestic or family violence. The Board expanded the availability of extended legal assistance and approved revisions to the financially associated person test to make it clearer, fairer and more consistent.
The Board also approved a suite of changes to the contributions policy to better align it with the Legal Aid NSW Client Service Strategy and support an efficient grants administration process.
The Board approved the revised Audit and Risk Charter and Internal Audit Charter, and approved the reappointment of Michael Coleman as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the period 23 June 2019 to 23 June 2021. The Board continued to monitor Legal Aid NSW’s compliance with work, health and safety obligations.
Meetings of the Board
The Board held six meetings in 2018–19 and made one out-of-session decision to approve a revised fee scale for private lawyers acting in criminal indictable matters captured under early appropriate guilty pleas reform.
One quarter of the Board’s time was spent on reviewing finance and operational reports and considering matters raised by the Audit and Risk Committee, 60 percent of its time was taken up determining policies and strategies, and the remaining 15 percent of Board time was spent on background briefings.
Board members’ fees
Part-time Board members are entitled to be paid fees for attending meetings, reading background papers, sitting on committees and representing Legal Aid NSW at meetings with other organisations. No fees are paid to members who are salaried government employees or who choose not to be paid.
Engagement with committees
The Board is advised by the Legal Aid NSW Crime and Grants Sub-Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee, which advises on budgetary and internal audit matters.
The year ahead
- The Board will oversee the implementation of the second year of the Legal Aid NSW Strategic Plan 2018–2023.
- The Board will oversee the integration of LawAccess NSW with Legal Aid NSW.
- The Board will oversee the development of a quality assurance framework that will serve as the foundation for our engagement with private lawyers.