Legal Aid grants in employment law matters
Grants of legal aid are available in the following employment law matters.
- Unfair dismissal proceedings in Fair Work Australia and the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW.
- Unfair work contract proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court or the Federal Court.
- Small claims for unpaid entitlements (up to $20,000) in the Federal Magistrates Court, the Chief Industrial Magistrates Court and some other Courts. The worker must have exhausted other resolution avenues, for example making a complaint to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
- Proceedings for contravention of the Fair Work Act in the Federal Court or the Federal Magistrates Court – where there has been a breach of the:
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- 'workplace rights' protection
- protection against discrimination
- 'absence for illness' protection
- 'sham contractor arrangements' protection.
The worker must be at special disadvantage in all grant matters, except in the case of discrimination proceedings. ‘Special disadvantage’ requires that the worker be:
- a child, or
- have substantial difficulty in dealing with the legal system because of a substantial:
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- psychiatric condition
- developmental disability
- intellectual disability, or
- physical disability.
The worker must also meet the means and merit tests.
The information about legal aid grants on this page is only a summary. Detailed information is available within chapter 6 of Policy Online 'Civil law matters - when legal aid is available'.