lsc.sa.gov.au Applying For Legal Aid : Services Commission of South Australia

Name of the Organization : Legal Services Commission of South Australia
Type of Facility : Applying For Legal Aid
Country : Australia

Website : http://www.lsc.sa.gov.au/cb_pages/practitioners_applying.php

Applying For Legal Aid:

Documents to Lodge
To lodge an application for legal aid for a client, you should send to the Legal Services Commission (‘the Commission’):
** the completed application form (including a completed solicitor’s certificate, if appropriate)
** a covering letter, which may be one of our proforma letters, and
** all relevant supporting documents.

Related : Apply For Legal Aid New South Wales : www.statusin.org/7036.html

When to Lodge the Application:
It is in your client’s interests to send us the completed application at the earliest opportunity. This is so even if the client is better off than the average applicant, and may not be expected to qualify for aid initially. The reasons for this are that:
** if they are eligible, aid can only start from the date we receive the application
** even if your client is initially ineligible on means, an early application gives them the opportunity to have their contribution assessed at the outset so they know when to re-apply.

Retrospective grants of legal aid:
When an application for legal aid is granted, funding will generally be granted with aid effective from the date the application for aid was received by the Commission. Applications for aid should therefore be submitted to the Commission as soon as they have been completed. Work undertaken prior to that date will not usually attract funding from the Commission.

Clients often assume that aid commences when they sign the application form. This assumption is incorrect. It is the responsibility of the practitioner to inform the client that this is incorrect and that funding will not cover work done prior to the grant of aid being made.

In very rare circumstances, a retrospective grant of aid may be made. An application for retrospective aid is assessed on a case by case basis.

For example, a retrospective grant of aid may be made where the practitioner has received or completed an unsigned application for aid on behalf of a client. This would most usually occur where, due to the tyranny of distance, the practitioner is taking instructions and appearing for the client by way of phone or video link up. The application for aid must still satisfy the means, merits and guidelines tests and the practitioner must confirm that he or she has properly advised the applicant of the requirement to provide true and correct information and that the applicant has agreed to be bound by the information provided.

Another example may be where the practitioner has submitted an urgent bail application form to the Commission for the client but has also assisted the client with a guilty plea, perhaps because of indication from the bench as to penalty (such as time served). The practitioner will have considered it to be in the client’s best interest to proceed immediately by way of guilty plea rather than seeking a further remand despite the fact that approval from the Commission had not yet been sought. In these circumstances a retrospective grant of aid for a guilty plea will be favourably considered upon receipt of the Legal Aid Application form.

Very Urgent Applications:
Urgent bail applications:
If your client is in custody and you need aid urgently for a bail application, use the proforma letter for urgent bail. Fill in the form and fax it to us (it has our fax number on it). We will fax you back, stating whether aid is granted and how much. As always, however, you will later need to send in the usual application and supporting documents, and the fax grant is always subject to these being satisfactory, as set out below.

Other urgent cases:
In other urgent cases, you should telephone the assignments section and discuss the matter with an assigning officer. That person may, if satisfied as to merit and urgency, conditionally approve aid for the step immediately necessary.

Telephone grants of aid will only be made in cases of genuine urgency. We will do everything we can in such cases. We do not want your client’s interests to be harmed by delay, any more than you do. However, we will not approve aid by telephone in routine cases, but will ask you to apply formally.

Appeals:

Your client may appeal a refusal of aid, or appeal against any other decision made in respect of a grant of aid (for example, to require a particular contribution, to take a statutory charge, to refuse an extension of aid, etc).

There is no set form of appeal, but it needs to be in writing. You or your client may write a letter to us giving reasons why you consider the decision to be wrong or harsh, and sending any further information you think relevant. Please send the appeal within 14 days of the decision.

Please note that if your client needs help to appeal and you are unable to assist, the client can submit an appeal with the help of any friend or support person of their choice. We often receive appeals written by counsellors, friends, or family members. The Commission itself will also help clients appeal if they wish this, and will provide the services of an interpreter free of charge if needed for this purpose. To arrange this, refer the client to our client relations officer.

Appeals are dealt with at fortnightly meetings of the Commission for this purpose. This means that, unless your appeal letter persuades the assigning officer to change their earlier decision, there is a waiting period of 3 to 4 weeks to resolve most appeals. This may sometimes mean that a court appointment may need to be adjourned. If the matter is urgent for any reason, please make this clear in the appeal materials.