Legal Services Agency

Applications must be made using the Agency's forms. The forms contain information to assist completion.
If necessary the lawyer on duty at court is required to assist defendants to complete the application form. Click here for the Criminal legal aid application form.

You can refer to the Legal Aid Guide to give applicants and clients information about eligibility and repayment.

Assignment, Termination of Assignment and Reassignment
Beneficiary Income
Complex cases and top up payments
Court of Appeal
District Court and High Court
Estimates for Appearance Times
Inactive files
Intellectual Disability Proceedings
New Zealand Parole Board
Proceedings category for sexual violation
Second Counsel
Second Criminal Matter - Amendment to Grant
Supreme Court
Warrant to Arrest - Closure of Case

Assignment, Termination of Assignment and Reassignment
Click here for the Agency's policy on Assignment, Termination of Assignment and Reassignment. This policy applies to assignment in all legal aid cases (family, civil and criminal).

Beneficiary Income
Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) aims to complete a standard beneficiary income form within 24 hours. A copy of the form can be downloaded by clicking here (Word 36kb)

It is important to specify the 12 month period for which proof of income is required.

Complex cases and top up payments
Specialist advisers assist with decision-making where matters fall outside the proceedings steps. This may be because procedural or legal issues are complex, but may also be for advice on appropriate payment levels or disbursements.

Click here for the Agency's policy on approving payments which are additional to the legal aid grant and may be approved under section 66 of the LSA 2000. The policy applies to payments sought as a top-up to fees or disbursements, from whatever source, whether paid directly to the provider or indirectly though the payment of goods or services used by the provider (such as travel costs) in the course of the case.
Assignment protocols are detailed in the General Polices.

Court of Appeal
Use the Proceedings Steps and the Supplementary Information on Court of Appeal Criminal Legal Aid to deal with these applications.

District Court and High Court
District Courts have been divided into three types, depending on size and proximity to Agency offices. Details of court type and procedures for granting aid and assigning counsel may be viewed by clicking here

There is no requirement to make a new application for a grant of aid and assignment when a case is transferred to the High Court after depositions.
A single legal aid grant will generally cover the whole process for any case involving a defendant. Issues such as bail, or an appeal against denial of bail, or of further charges, will be dealt with by way of an amendment to the grant.

For appeals to the High Court, excluding bail, a new application will be required. See Second Criminal Matter -  Amendment to Grant.

Cases outside the standard rates may be referred to a specialist adviser.

Estimates for Appearance Times
For applications outside the standard maximum rate, an estimate of appearance time is required.

An estimate of appearance time is not required if the application is within the standard maximum rate. Actual hearing time will be paid when the claim is received.

When an amendment to the original grant is requested and estimated costs are expected to be above the standard maximum rate, an estimate including estimated costs of hearing time is required.

Providers should inform the Agency as soon as is practicable if there is a major change to the estimate.

Inactive files
Files with no activity for a period of at least nine months will be finalised unless there are sufficient reasons to keep the file open. 'No activity' is defined as no communication regarding the file from the provider.

Intellectual Disability Proceedings
Most proceedings under the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 are covered by a system for appointing and paying lawyers that is administered by the Family Court. Therefore in most cases legal aid will not be required.

Proceedings under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003 will usually involve a full adversarial hearing. Accordingly, the approach to granting aid for hearings under the Criminal Steps applies to these proceedings.

New Zealand Parole Board
Standard rates are specified in the proceedings steps .
Cases outside the standard rates may be referred to a specialist adviser.

Proceedings category for sexual violation
A PC4 provider has to handle a case where preventive detention is being considered. However, a PC3 lawyer (or possibly even a PC2 lawyer) may have been assigned to a sexual violation case that later becomes liable for preventive detention.
At the stage where a High Court judge indicates they are considering a sentence of preventive detention, the Agency will consider a request for:

• assignment of a co-counsel at a PC4 level, or
• reassignment of the case to a PC4 lawyer as lead provider

Second Counsel
The Agency will appoint a second counsel where necessary due to the complexity of the proceedings. There are two types of cases where the Agency will appoint a second counsel. These are:

• Very long cases, which are expected to run for a minimum of two months and where the number of charges, issues of law, or the evidence is large and complex. In these types of cases the second counsel should be able to complete the trial without an adjournment if for any reason the leading practitioner is unable to complete the trial. Therefore both practitioners must be competent and qualified to carry out the case themselves.
• Cases where the number of charges, issues of law, or the evidence is large and complex and there is a substantial volume of documentary evidence and the prosecution is represented by at least two counsel. In this situation the second practitioner should be of a lower experience level than the leading practitioner.

Second Criminal Matter - Amendment to Grant
When an applicant applies for legal aid for a second criminal matter or matters, the additional charges will generally be dealt with by way of an amendment to the grant.

If providers wish to request a separate grant for an additional charge they need to write to the Agency with reasons for the request. The reasons may accompany the application form and could include:

the charges are unrelated and the Court will not hear them together

• charges are in different Courts
• for some of the charges the applicant has a co-accused or is charged as a party
• the charges are at different stages within the Court system and will be managed separately by the Court. In cases where the decision is made to treat the application as an amendment to a grant providers may charge for preparation time on the separate charges, but will not be entitled to charge multiple flat fees or more than one hearing time for sentencing.

Supreme Court
Use the Proceedings Steps and the Supplementary Information on Supreme Court to deal with these applications.

Warrant to Arrest - Closure of Case
When a Warrant to Arrest has been issued in respect of a defendant, and the provider is aware that the person has absconded, providers may send in their invoice for payment of work completed on the case. Grants officers will process the invoice and close the case.