Service types

An advice service is specific legal advice provided to a client by a solicitor based on a consideration of the information provided by the client, and includes presenting the client with options to assist them to resolve their legal problem.

An advice service can be provided either as a face-to-face interview with the client at a Legal Aid NSW office or outreach centre, or at court, or via Audio Visual Link or by phone. Most interviews take between 15 and 45 minutes.  The service does not include any preparation or follow-up work and is limited to the assistance the solicitor is able to provide during the interview.

Advice is only provided by solicitors working in the Legal Aid NSW Inhouse Practice including LawAccess.

Clients seeking advice should be referred to LawAccess on 1300 888 529 where they will be triaged and referred to the most appropriate service. 

A minor assistance service is work done to assist a client in addition to the giving of legal advice. Minor assistance provides assistance to support a client in resolving their legal problem but does not include ongoing representation.

Minor Assistance is only provided by solicitors working in the Legal Aid NSW Inhouse Practice.

Extended Legal Assistance (ELA) is available to eligible applicants in civil, family and crime. ELA is an extended legal service where the solicitor takes carriage of a matter in an ongoing, representative capacity, but due to the nature of the matter it does not proceed to a court or tribunal, except in exceptional circumstances.

Eligibility requirements for ELA will depend on the area of law and may include an assessment of means and merit.

There are two types of ELA:

• ELA for vulnerable clients in a core area of law, and
• ELA for clients with 'complex needs' and multiple legal problems.

ELA is only provided by solicitors working in the Legal Aid NSW Inhouse Practice.

Funding is available for Early Resolution Assistance (ERA). ERA is legal representation provided to a person participating in an established, independent dispute resolution process and is available to applicants who satisfy the eligibility policies.  ERA is not a grant of legal aid and has separate eligibility policies and application process. 

ERA is available for certain family law early intervention mediations The eligibility requirements depend on the type of matter and usually include an assessment of means and merit.

Representation for ERA may be provided by an inhouse or private lawyer. 

A Duty Service is an advice and representation service provided by a lawyer to a person at a court or tribunal.

Representation can be provided as a duty service until

• any expenditure (including disbursements) is required, or
• in the case of a criminal matter
  • it is either a defended hearing or a committal, or
  • a plea of not guilty has been entered.

Eligibility tests apply in Criminal (including Prisoners Legal matters), Mental Health and Care Duty matters. An applicant must satisfy the eligibility requirements to be eligible for these Duty services.

Duty services are provided by a mix of in-house and private lawyers.

The Legal Aid NSW Board develops and approves policy in relation to State and Commonwealth matters.

Policies for grants of legal aid

Legal aid is available for criminal, family and civil law matters. Grants of legal aid are made where an applicant has court or tribunal proceedings.

To be eligible for a grant of legal aid an applicant must satisfy the relevant policies, including:

• the types of matters for which legal aid is available (the Jurisdiction Test), and
• the eligibility tests which must be applied before a grant of legal is made to an applicant including:
  • the Means Test
  • the Merit Test, and
  • the Forum Test

The Jurisdiction Test and eligibility requirements for criminal, family and civil are set out in Policy Online. These tests are applied to all applicants for legal aid.

All matters are subject to the Availability of Funds Test. The Legal Aid NSW Board may determine in times of funding constraint that legal aid is not available for a specific type of matter.

Where aid is granted, a legally aided person will be represented by either an inhouse lawyer or a private lawyer who has been assigned the grant of aid.

Guidelines for grants of legal aid

The guidelines for criminal, family and civil law matters are intended to be read with the policies. The guidelines are intended to provide guidance to the determining officer on how the policies are to be applied and set out certain requirements which need to be observed when determining and administering grants of legal aid.