Why am I on remand?
You are on remand because you have been charged with a criminal offence and you have not been given bail.
How can Legal Aid NSW help me?
A Legal Aid NSW lawyer can help you with your case, at court or with other legal problems. We have different lawyers for that provide different services for prisoners.
A Legal Aid NSW lawyer is:
- a lawyer who works at Legal Aid NSW, or
- a private lawyer who we pay to do work for us.
A Legal Aid NSW lawyer can give you free legal information and specific advice for your situation.
They may also represent you in court or legal proceedings if your case meets criteria for a grant of legal aid.
A Legal Aid NSW lawyer may contact you before you go to court and arrange to speak to you by:
- video link
- phone, or
- on the day of court, when you are in the cells.
If there isn’t enough time to talk to a Legal Aid NSW lawyer before your first appearance at court, a duty lawyer will help you.
Legal Aid NSW duty lawyers help people with their legal problems when they come to court.
They will see you in the cells at court or by video link if you stay at the prison.
Tip
If you have questions about bail, talk to the lawyer when you are next at court or dial #2 on the Common Auto Dial List (CADL) (Legal Aid NSW) to leave a message to your lawyer.
Will I get my own lawyer?
At first, different legal aid lawyers may help you each time you are in court.
When one of our lawyers sees you at court, they write on a file:
- what you say about the charges (this is called ‘taking instructions’),
- what happened at court.
The different lawyers pass on information about your case to each other by reading and updating your file.
Each lawyer will have your file and talk to you about what is happening. Our lawyers are experienced in criminal law and are used to working this way.
As your case moves forward, you may get legal aid for the same lawyer to represent you for the rest of your case.
If we can’t represent you, a Legal Aid NSW lawyer at court can explain why and help you work out what to do next.
How long will it take for my case to be heard at court?
The court process can take a long time – sometimes months.
The more serious and complicated your case is, the longer it will take. Some cases have to move from the Local Court (a lower court) to the District or Supreme Court (higher courts).
You will probably go to court a few times while you are on remand.
Your next court date is probably a ‘mention’.
Mentions are a way the court manages your case until it becomes:
- a full hearing or a sentence hearing in the Local Court, or
- for more serious matters, a committal for trial or sentence in the District or Supreme Courts.
Some cases have lots of mention dates so that all the people involved in your case can keep track of what is happening.
Tip
If you have questions about what is happening to you, write them down so you can ask the lawyer when you next see them in prison, at court, or by video link.
Why does it take so long?
The police need time to prepare a brief – collect evidence and get witness statements and reports.
A timetable is set for the prosecution to complete the brief and give it to your lawyer.
A legal aid lawyer can only talk to you in detail about your case and if you want to plead guilty or not guilty when they get the brief.
Also, the courts are very busy with other cases. They need to find a date when witnesses, lawyers and the court are available.
The courts try to make things move as quickly as possible, especially if you are in prison.
The legal aid lawyer at court or the magistrate will update you on what is happening each time you go to court.
Tip
If your wing officer does not tell you your next court date, call the Corrective Services Support Line – #1 on the Common Auto Dial List (CADL).
What can happen if you are refused bail and on remand
This process can take weeks or months depending on:
- how complex your case is
- if others have been charged as well, and
- how busy the court is.
Who do I speak to if I have questions about my case?
A lawyer will contact you when they need to talk to you.
If you have questions about your case, you can talk to the Legal Aid NSW lawyer when you go to court.
What if I don’t hear from a Legal Aid NSW lawyer for a while?
If you don’t hear from us, we may not have all the information we need to take instructions from you or talk to you about your case. Sometimes we only get this information on the day you are in court.
How do I contact my lawyer if I get legal aid?
When your application for a grant of legal aid for a lawyer to represent you has been approved, we send you a letter that tells you who your lawyer is and how to contact them.
If you want to speak to your lawyer, you should have their phone number put on your phone list so you can call them yourself.
If you call us on the CADL, we will not transfer your call to your lawyer.
How do I find out about my grant of legal aid?
When you apply for legal aid, you can give permission to a friend or relative to get updates on your application on your behalf. They will get text messages through an online tool – a ‘grants tracker’. The text messages have a link to a secure webpage with updates on each step of the application process. They can pass this information on to you.
If you are not signed up to the grants tracker you can contact us to find out what is happening if you:
- have a trial or hearing coming up soon (i.e. in the next month), or
- have not yet heard from us.
Call Legal Aid NSW – #2 on the CADL.
How do I sign up to the grants tracker?
Make sure you fill in question 9 on the legal aid application form.
Tell the legal aid lawyer helping you that you would like a relative or friend to get text messages about your application, as well as the contact details of that person.
More information
Contact Legal Aid NSW as a free call by dialling #2 on the CADL.
More help
The Parole and Prevention Orders Legal Service (PPO) has lawyers who regularly visit prisons or see prisoners by video link across NSW. The PPO can give you advice about parole, prevention orders and some other legal problems. To make an appointment dial #2 on the Common Auto Dial List (CADL) (Legal Aid NSW) and ask for the PPO (10am–12pm and 2pm–4pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays).
The PCLS provides free, confidential legal help for prisoners with civil issues like Centrelink, debt, housing, consumer disputes, fines (WDOs), and complaints against prison/police. They give advice and minor assistance via prison visits or video link. To request a conference dial #2 on the CADL and ask for the PCLS.
Downloads
You can download this page as a PDF in English.
Updated January 2026