Previous Page

Family Violence and Cross-Examination of Parties Scheme

  • EOI for Panel Practitioners is now OPEN

    Expression of interests are now open for Panel Practitioners with the following:

    • five years post admission experience, and
    • is an eligible associate of a Law Practice with membership of one of the following Legal Aid NSW panels - Family Law Panel, Independent Children’s Lawyer Panel, or Domestic Violence Panel.

    To submit an EOI please email the Cross-Examination Scheme team at crossexamscheme@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

    Please submit your EOI by 10 November, 2024.

On 11 March 2019, the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) was amended to include s102NA which will see direct cross examination banned in certain circumstances. The Act aims to protect victims of family violence by requiring that cross examination must be conducted by a legal representative, either a privately retained practitioner or one funded through this scheme.

This scheme is funded by the Commonwealth Government and will be administered in New South Wales by Legal Aid NSW. Funding for legal representation under the scheme will be available at the current Legal Aid fee scale for the preparation and appearance at the final hearing (including Counsel). Parties in the scheme will also be referred to legally assisted dispute resolution processes offered by Legal Aid NSW.

Panel Lawyers have been invited to express interest in participating in the scheme and a list of solicitors has been created. It is envisaged that there will be further opportunities for lawyers to express interest in 2025. It is expected that lawyers expressing an interest will have:

  • suitable experience in the area of family law
  • the capacity to interact with persons affected by family violence and understand the issues impacting on these persons and their lives
  • sound judgment, and
  • excellent communication skills.

All solicitors included in the list will be required to observe the Legal Aid NSW Quality Standards. They will also be expected to comply with the Family Violence and Cross-Examination Scheme guidelines for lawyers (PDF, 298 kb).

Compulsory training

Solicitors accepted onto the list will be required to attend and satisfactorily participate in compulsory training on Friday 22 November, 2024. The training will be a Masterclass in Family Violence and Cross Examination Scheme Procedural Issues (one full day of face-to-face training in the Sydney CBD. Four CPD points are available for the day of training.)

Travel costs will be considered for regional practitioners to attend compulsory training and paid at legal aid rates. For more information, see Fees for all law types.

Fee rates

Solicitors included in the list will be paid at legal aid rates for matters covered by the scheme.

Resources

Family Violence and Cross Examination Scheme application form

Family Violence and Cross Examination Scheme application form PDF | English | May 2023 | 253 kb

Cross-examination information sheet (for parties)

Cross-examination information sheet (for parties) PDF | English | June 2023 | 87 kb

Cross-examination information sheet (for Court and LANSW)

Cross-examination information sheet (for Court and LANSW) PDF | English | June 2023 | 180 kb

Family Violence and Cross-Examination Scheme FAQs for panel lawyers

Family Violence and Cross-Examination Scheme FAQs for panel lawyers PDF | English | June 2023 | 184 kb

Enquiries

If you have any enquiries about being included in the list, please email the Cross Examination Scheme team at crossexamscheme@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.