Legal Aid and the duty solicitor
What Legal Aid NSW covers in criminal matters, the means and merit tests, how to apply, and how to use the duty solicitor at court on the day.
Legal Aid NSW funds representation in criminal matters for people who pass a means test and a merit test, and it places a duty solicitor at most Local Courts on list days who gives free advice on the spot and can appear for eligible people. For a first-offence minor matter you may not qualify for a grant but you can still see the duty solicitor. For anything serious, apply the day you are charged.
- Phone LawAccess NSW, 1300 888 529, for free advice and to find out whether you qualifySection 3 of this guide
- If you are going to court, arrive by 8:45 and ask the court officer where the duty solicitor isSection 4 of this guide
- If the charge is serious, lodge a Legal Aid application now; approval takes weeksSection 3 of this guide
The duty solicitor gives brief advice and appears on simple matters. They cannot run a defended hearing or a serious sentence from the corridor. If that is what you need, it is a grant of aid or private representation.
| LawAccess NSW | 1300 888 529, free legal information and referral |
| Grant of aid | Means test on income and assets; merit test on the matter |
| Duty solicitor | At most Local Courts on list days; free; first come, first served |
| What a grant covers | Representation by a Legal Aid lawyer or a private lawyer on the panel |
| Contribution | You may be asked to pay a contribution toward the cost |
1What Legal Aid does
Start here
Legal Aid NSW provides three things in criminal matters: free information and referral through LawAccess NSW; a duty solicitor at court who advises and, for eligible people, appears on the day; and grants of aid, which fund a lawyer to represent you through the matter. Grants are the scarce resource. They are assessed on your means and on whether the matter warrants aid, and for minor first-offence matters where the likely outcome is a fine or a conditional release order, aid is often refused because the matter does not meet the merit test. That refusal is the reason Standard exists, and the duty solicitor is still available to you.
2The tests
Means and merit
The means test looks at your income and assets, including a partner's, against thresholds that change yearly. People on Centrelink benefits generally pass. People in full-time work often do not, or pass with a contribution. The merit test asks whether it is reasonable to fund the matter: the seriousness of the charge, the likelihood of imprisonment, whether there is a defence, and whether the person could reasonably represent themselves. A charge with a real prospect of custody generally passes. A first-offence possession charge with a likely fine generally does not.
Thresholds
Requires principal review before release: confirm current means test thresholds and the criminal law merit policy.
3How to apply
Process
Phone LawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529 first; they will tell you whether an application is worth making and how. Applications are made online or through a Legal Aid office, with proof of income and identification. Allow two to four weeks. If your court date is sooner, attend, see the duty solicitor, and ask for an adjournment pending the application. If aid is granted, you can be represented by a Legal Aid in-house lawyer or, in some matters, by a private lawyer on the Legal Aid panel.
4The duty solicitor
On the day
At most Local Courts on list days, a Legal Aid duty solicitor is available from before 9:30. They see people in order of arrival, so be inside by 8:45. Bring your CAN and facts sheet. They can tell you what a word means, whether an adjournment is the right call, whether the charge looks defensible, and for eligible people on simple pleas they can appear at the bar table. They cannot take on a defended hearing or a complex sentence from the corridor, and they will tell you so. Ask the court officer where to find them.
The Aboriginal Legal Service provides the same service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the guide on the ALS explains how to reach them.
Phone LawAccess today. If you have a court date this month, plan to be at court by 8:45 to see the duty solicitor.
If Legal Aid is refused on a matter with real consequences
A refusal on the merit test does not mean the matter is minor to you. Where a conviction would cost a job, a licence or a visa, or where there is a possible defence, a consultation with the lawyers who built Standard is the alternative, and it is priced for exactly that gap.
Request a consultationGeneral information only, not legal advice. NSW-specific. Every matter turns on its own facts and laws can change. Reading this guide does not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and the lawyers who produced it.