A Guide to Legal Aid and Other Legal Assistance
This guide tells you about how you can get legal help if you can’t afford a lawyer. The sort of help you can get depends whether the problem you have is
Get more information
- The Legal Services Agency and this website – The Agency administers legal aid and the other schemes explained in this guide. There are 12 regional Agency offices with staff who can help you. Use the financial self-assessment form for civil / family legal aid to get an idea of whether you might get legal aid.
- Community law centres – Community law centres have lawyers who give free legal advice and discuss your options with you. Some law centre lawyers can represent you at court, but not all. To contact your nearest community law centre for information about its services.
- Citizen Advice Bureaux (CABx) – Some CABx have a free legal advice service, but CABx can’t represent you at court. For contact details for CABx, call 0800 367 222, or visit www.cab.org.nz.
- Local courts – The registrar and other staff at most local courts can help you fill in legal aid forms and give you information about legal aid. The Duty Solicitor can represent you free of charge on the first day of your case. For contact details for courts, visit www.justice.govt.nz.
- Lawyers – You can find a legal aid lawyer here. are also listed in the Yellow Pages under "Barristers and Solicitors" and "Lawyers"; however, not all lawyers do legal aid work. Always check this with the lawyer when you start talking to them.
