Legal Aid NSW | Home (2024)

FAQs

What is the maximum income to qualify for legal aid in NSW? ›

Our lawyers can support you with criminal matters involving the police, family matters involving children or a relationship breakdown, or civil matters where you are having trouble with a fundamental need like housing, income support or access to health and disability supports.

Monique Hitter – Legal Aid NSW CEO

She developed the Cooperative Legal Services Delivery Model in 2004 and established new programs in the Civil Law Division for older people, prisoners and homeless people. Monique was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2022.

Total expenditure on criminal law services: $214 million. Proportion of overall expenditure on criminal law services: 44.65%.

We apply the Means Test to determine a person's eligibility for legal aid. The Means Test looks at your (and if relevant, your partner's) income and assets. It includes deductions for certain household expenses and allows for certain types of assets such as a home.

Legal Aid NSW is a NSW government legal service dealing with family law, criminal legal matters, and some civil law matters. They provide free legal advice as well as court representation, and grants of legal aid to pay for a Legal Aid lawyer or a private solicitor.

Community legal centres

They provide free legal help to those most in need. Use the Community Legal Centres Australia website to find a legal service near you.

If you get a grant of legal aid this means that a lawyer who works at, or is paid by, Legal Aid NSW will represent you in your case. A grant of legal aid is not free. Most people will have to pay a contribution to the legal costs of their case. It is best to get legal advice before you apply for legal aid.

We provided 423,431 total client services in 2021–2022, with over 59.5% of services provided in rural and regional areas (including Wollongong and Newcastle).

Monique Hitter – Legal Aid NSW CEO

She developed the Cooperative Legal Services Delivery Model in 2004 and established new programs in the Civil Law Division for older people, prisoners and homeless people.

How many legal aid offices are there in NSW? ›

Legal Aid NSW has a Central Sydney office located at 323 Castlereagh Street, Sydney and 25 regional offices, in the Sydney metropolitan area and country areas.

Take legal action – If you still cannot reach an agreement you can consider taking legal action to recover the money or property. You will need to complete a Statement of Claim form and lodge it at a Local Court. Legal action for recovery of debts under $100,000 is usually started in the Local Court.

In 2022, the average annual expenditure on legal fees per consumer unit in the United States stood at 170 U.S. dollars.

In 2020, state and local governments spent $129 billion on police (4 percent of state and local direct general expenditures), $86 billion on corrections (2.5 percent), and $51 billion on courts (1.5 percent).

Funding for trial court operations is the single largest component of the judicial branch budget, accounting for about 75 percent of total spending.

Legal Aid Commissions can provide a grant of Legal Aid to an individual if their legal matter falls within the Commission's guidelines and they live in the same state or territory. A grant of Legal Aid may be available for family law, criminal law and some civil law cases.

Legal aid is available for unfair dismissal proceedings in the Fair Work Commission, the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales and on appeal. To be eligible for legal aid the applicant must satisfy: the Means Test, the Merit Test, and.

Fact 5 – Both parties in a family law dispute can get legal aid. You and your ex can get legal aid at the same time. It's true that you can't both use the same law firm, but you can both get legal aid – just from different sources.

Once these amounts have been taken into account, a person will be financially eligible for a grant of legal assistance without having to pay a contribution if their income is less than $360 per week and they satisfy the assets test. For more information, see Assets test.