Legal aid in Australia

There are eight legal aid commissions in Australia. The mission of legal aid commissions is to provide marginalised and economically disadvantaged Australians with access to justice.

Our society invests in a necessarily complex system of justice, a system of institutions – the courts, tribunals and other related agencies – to protect rights, ensure civil liberties and enforce civic responsibilities. If access to these institutions was reserved only for wealthy citizens, the confidence of the broader community in our system of justice would be undermined and we could hardly claim to have robust institutional justice. Without a strong system of justice the rule of law would be compromised as would the rights and liberties enjoyed by all Australians.

Our democratic society therefore depends on the premise that all Australians are equal before the law, a premise which needs to be understood in relation to the question of access. Legal aid commissions play a defining role in achieving that equality by striving to ensure that all citizens, including those who can’t afford to pay, have access to legal services and to the law.

Commissions provide access to justice by delivering:

• legal representation in court proceedings for people who cannot afford a lawyer
• duty lawyer services, legal representation on the day for people who appear at court without a lawyer
• legal advice and information about legal rights and remedies
• community legal education, publications and other programs about the law and legal rights.

National Legal Aid

The directors of the eight legal aid commissions combine at a national level to form National Legal Aid (NLA).

NLA acts as a central contact point and advocate for issues that are of interest to all of the commissions. It also:

• sponsors research
• provides a framework for information exchange and learning opportunities between legal aid commissions
• promotes the development of best practice in legal aid commission business nationally.

The NLA website includes financial and other legal aid performance data, as well as the NLA strategic plan, submissions to government inquiries and a range of legal aid best practice standards.

State and territory legal aid commissions

Legal Aid Commission (ACT)

Legal Aid New South Wales

Legal Aid Queensland

Legal Aid Western Australia

Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission

Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania

Legal Services Commission of South Australia

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For more information about how we can help you, see What we do.

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