4.6 Discrimination

Legal aid is available for discrimination matters as set out in sections 4.6.2 and 4.6.3 below and may include matters relating to:

  • sexual discrimination,
  • race discrimination,
  • gender discrimination,
  • age discrimination,
  • discrimination on the basis of disability,
  • sexual harassment,
  • discrimination on the basis of health,
  • discrimination on the basis of marital status.

See Civil guideline 4.1 on requirement to attend ADR.

See Civil guideline 4.13 on grants of aid for test cases.

Legal aid is available for matters which are before the Equal Opportunity subdivision of NCAT.

To be eligible for legal aid the applicant must satisfy:

Legal aid is available for an appeal from the Equal Opportunity subdivision of NCAT.

To be eligible for legal aid the applicant must satisfy:

Note: Legal aid is not available under this policy for matters which are about intra-association disputes, for example, between members of unions or clubs; or for defamation proceedings.

Legal Aid is available for Commonwealth discrimination matters.

To be eligible for legal aid the applicant must satisfy:

  • the Means Test, and
  • the Merit Test.
  • Legal Aid NSW must be satisfied there is a real prospect of a substantial benefit to be gained by the applicant in either:
    • dealing with the dispute through conciliation or mediation at Fair Work Australia,
    • initiating proceedings in the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit Court or the High Court, or
    • appealing to the Federal Court or the High Court.

Note: This policy includes employment discrimination matters.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, if the action is likely to result in the applicant receiving an award of damages or property, Legal Aid NSW must be satisfied from the material provided, that either:

  • the action could not reasonably be expected to be conducted under a conditional costs agreement or similar arrangement with a private legal practitioner, or
  • the applicant cannot obtain appropriate legal assistance from another source.

see Civil guideline 4.3 on applying tests in Commonwealth matters.