Overview

Introduction

If you can’t afford to hire a lawyer, you might be eligible for Legal Aid.

This is a government-funded scheme. The government will pay the fees of private lawyers, or sometimes for criminal cases will provide you with government lawyers who work for the Public Defence Service (“PDS”).

Usually, Legal Aid is provided as a loan. Except for some certain circumstances, you’ll have to pay it back (see: “Repaying Legal Aid”).

This chapter explains how to apply for Legal Aid, how it’s decided whether you’ll get it, whether you’ll have to pay any of it back, and what you can do if you’re refused Legal Aid.

All Legal Aid decisions are made by Legal Aid Services at the Ministry of Justice. Legal Aid Services make decisions independently from the Ministry of Justice and the government. For more information and their contact details, see: “Where to go for more support” below.

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Legal Aid and other legal help

Where to go for more support

Community Law

Your local Community Law Centre can provide you with free initial legal advice on how legal aid works, whether you might be eligible for the service, and the next steps.

Find your local Community Law Centre online: www.communitylaw.org.nz/our-law-centres

Information on legal aid

See the Ministry of Justice website for more information about how legal aid and other legal assistance schemes work.

Website: www.justice.govt.nz/courts/going-to-court/legal-aid
Phone:  0800 253 425

Find a Legal Aid lawyer

Use the New Zealand Law Society website to help you find a family lawyer in your local area.

Website: www.justice.govt.nz/find-a-legal-aid-lawyer

Public Defence Service

The Public Defence Service represents defendants in criminal cases where legal aid has been granted.

Website: www.pds.govt.nz 

Find a family lawyer

Use the New Zealand Law Society website to help you find a family lawyer in your local area.

Website: www.familylaw.org.nz/public/find-a-lawyer

Applying for Legal Aid

You can download the relevant legal aid application form from the Ministry of Justice website.

Application for family or civil legal aid: www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Family-civil-legal-aid-application-191222.pdf
Application for criminal legal aid: www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Forms/Criminal-Legal-Aid-Application-191223.pdf

Reviewing a legal aid decision

The Ministry of Justice website provides information on how to ask the Legal Aid Commissioner to reconsider the original decision, and how to apply to the Legal Aid Tribunal to review the Commissioner’s decision.

Applying to the Legal Aid Commissioner: www.justice.govt.nz/courts/going-to-court/legal-aid/ask-for-a-review-of-a-legal-aid-decision/ 
Applying to the Legal Aid Tribunal: www.justice.govt.nz/Tribunals/legal-aid/legal-aid-Tribunal  

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