Legal Aid Commissions
Legal aid is delivered through legal aid commissions in each State and Territory.
The range of services provided by legal aid commissions include:
- Information, referral and community legal education
- Early intervention services, including minor assistance and legal advice
- Duty lawyer assistance at courts and tribunals
- Dispute resolution services, including family dispute resolution services, and
- Legal representation for criminal, family and civil law matters.
Information, community legal education, early intervention services and duty lawyer
assistance is available and free of charge to anyone. Legal representation
is available in more limited circumstances and you must satisfy the financial and
merits tests to be eligible.
Legal representation is provided in accordance with each legal aid commission’s
guidelines. Typically, legal representation is available for cases that involve
significant and serious outcomes such as family law and child protection cases that
involve children’s welfare and living arrangements or criminal law cases involving
people who are charged with serious offences and are at risk of being deprived of
their liberty, if convicted.
Should you require legal advice and assistance or have questions about legal representation,
contact the legal aid commission in your State or Territory: