If the court orders you to pay legal fees, including the other party, which are called costs orders, it is usually your responsibility to pay that amount. The Legal Aid Act considers a claim for costs only in very limited cases. We strive to make a decision on each application within ten business days of receiving an application with all required documents. This period of ten working days only applies to applications accompanied by all essential documents and without any missing information. Legal Aid ACT staff can help you fill out an application form free of charge. If you require assistance completing an application form, please contact us. We also have a guide that can help you fill out the form called Fill Out Form – Request for a Support Guide. This means that if information is missing from your application, required supporting documents are missing or there are other errors, we will not be able to make a decision within this timeframe. If there is a problem with your application, we will send you a letter by e-mail or post. The Society encourages its members to provide pro bono legal assistance as part of their broader professional responsibilities as lawyers – this was and still is part of the practice traditionally adopted by the legal profession.
This pro bono referral service attempts to match successful candidates (who really need legal help) with a law firm or lawyer who can help them. The referral service does not provide legal assistance or advice, but lawyers who have volunteered to be part of the service. The reference service shall inform all applicants of the outcome of their application. In case of accepted requests, the mediation service will try to reconcile the legal issue with an appropriate lawyer. The granting of legal aid does not cover the cost of work done by your lawyer before the start of the scholarship if you have already used a private lawyer. The start date of your grant can be found in the Legal Aid ACT letter indicating that your application has been accepted. TASMANIAN © LEGAL AID COMMISSION 2019 The information on this page does not constitute legal advice. If you have a legal problem, you should talk to a lawyer before making a decision on what to do. For free and confidential legal advice, please call our telephone counsel on 1300 366 611 Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. If you see a private lawyer, they can discuss with you whether you are likely to qualify for legal aid, help you with the application and explain the legal aid system. Your lawyer must act on your instructions, unless it is illegal, unethical, or inappropriate. Your lawyer should also keep you informed of important developments in your case. If you have an appointment for help completing the application form, you must bring the following to your appointment: Lawyers apply for legal aid on behalf of their client. All applications are submitted online via our electronic submission system. Our legal aid guidelines have been grouped and divided into several parts to reflect the steps. It is very important that the e-mail and postal address on the application form is correct and checked regularly. If your situation changes, please let us know so we can update your contact information.
Legal Aid ACT uses means and performance evaluations to decide who gets a lawyer. This means we`re looking at: Important: If you have someone with a financial connection, you must also bring the same financial information for the financially connected person. A person with financial ties includes anyone who supports you financially or supports you financially, or who is likely to help you financially obtain legal services. A person with financial ties can include a parent, partner, spouse, business, trust, group, etc. Certain legal issues are exempt from the contribution requirement, including domestic violence. Community Legal Education and Information – Our lawyers offer free seminars on a variety of legal topics for schools, community groups or organisations across Tasmania. The final decision on whether to accept or reject an application is at the sole discretion of the Reference Service.