LEGAL AID CRIMINAL LAWYERS IN WOLLONGONG

Legal Aid provides free or low-cost legal services to individuals who cannot afford private legal representation. This service is available across a wide range of legal issues, including criminal defence, family law disputes, housing matters, and more. By offering advice, representation, and assistance in court, Legal Aid helps vulnerable individuals protect their legal rights and deal with legal processes regardless of their income.

In NSW, your eligibility for Legal Aid depends on several factors, including a means test that looks at your income and assets, and a merit test that assesses the strength and significance of your case. Legal Aid is primarily available for economically disadvantaged individuals who need access to legal representation for serious legal issues. 

All our criminal lawyers can apply for Legal Aid on your behalf.

Typically, Legal Aid will only cover criminal matters where there’s a genuine risk of imprisonment. Some key considerations for the merit test include:

• The presence of reasonable grounds for contesting your charges or appealing a decision
• The likelihood of success in your case
• The potential harm to you if funding is denied
• Whether it’s in the interest of justice to provide the grant

The means test assesses your financial situation, including your income and assets, to determine whether you qualify for Legal Aid. It helps to establish if you can meet your legal costs without a grant, or if an initial contribution towards the costs is required.

The merits test evaluates whether it's reasonable to grant Legal Aid in your specific case. For most Local Court criminal matters, Legal Aid will only be granted if imprisonment is a possible penalty or if there are exceptional circumstances.

If you’ve entered a plea of not guilty, or if your matter involves a driving or traffic offence, Legal Aid is usually only provided if there's a genuine chance that you could face jail time if convicted.

There isn’t a set timeframe for Legal Aid to process your application, and waiting times can vary from case to case. Typically, however, it takes about 3 to 6 weeks for a grant to be approved after submitting your application, but it can sometimes take longer.

If you have an urgent reason to expedite your application, you can contact the Grants team directly. They may ask you to follow up with an email outlining your reasons for needing a quicker response.

When submitting your Legal Aid application, you’ll need to include proof of your income (such as pay slips, Centrelink statements, or tax returns), along with bank statements from the past three months for all your accounts.

The application form will ask for personal details, financial information, and the specifics of the legal matter for which you are seeking aid. You’ll also need to provide documents relevant to your case, like your 'court attendance notice' and the police 'facts sheet'. You may also attach any other legal, medical, or supporting documents that could assist your application.

At Kells, we're happy to help if you're finding the Legal Aid application process difficult. Reach out to us for support.