Legal Aid Act 1990

This Act may be cited as the Legal Aid Act 1990.

This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the

Administrator by notice in the Gazette.

The Legal Assistance Ordinance 1972 (No. 53, 1972) is repealed.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

assisted person means a person to whom legal assistance is provided under this Act.

audit has the same meaning as in the Audit Act 1995.

Chairman means the Chairman of the Commission and includes a person appointed under section 51 to act in the office of

Chairman while so acting.

Commission means the Legal Aid Commission established by section 5.

Commissioner means a Commissioner of the Commission and includes the Chairman of the Commission and a person acting as a

Commissioner under section 51A.

court includes a tribunal or person entitled to receive evidence on oath.

Director means the Director of Legal Aid and includes a person appointed to act in the office of the Director.

duty lawyer services means legal services provided by a legal practitioner (whether or not an officer) attending at a proceeding of a court, being legal services consisting of appearing on behalf of a person at, or giving legal advice to a person in connection with, the proceeding, otherwise than by prior arrangement with the person.

Law Society means the Law Society Northern Territory as established by section 635 of the Legal Profession Act 2006.

Legal Aid Committee means a Legal Aid Committee established under section 15.

Legal Aid Fund means the Legal Aid Fund established by section 43.

officer means the Director or a person employed by the

Commission who is a legal practitioner.

private legal practitioner means a legal practitioner practising on his or her own account or in partnership.

produce includes permit access to.

Review Committee means a Review Committee established under Part VI.

A reference in this Act to the provision of legal assistance shall be construed as a reference to the provision of legal services (including the giving of legal advice) without charge to the person to whom the legal assistance is provided with or without the making of a payment by the person, or the provision of financial assistance to bring or defend a civil proceeding.

Part II Establishment and function of Legal Aid Commission

There is established by this section a commission by the name of the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission.

The Commission:

is a body corporate;

shall have a common seal; and

is capable, in its corporate name, of acquiring, holding and disposing of real (including leasehold) and personal property and of suing and being sued.

All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Commission affixed to a document and shall assume that it was duly affixed.

Subject to subsection (2), the Commission shall be constituted by:

a Chairman appointed by the Minister;

a Commissioner appointed by the Minister;

a Commissioner appointed by the Treasurer;

2 Commissioners appointed by the Minister, one to represent community interests and one, on the nomination of the Law Society;

and

a Commissioner appointed by the Minister after having been elected by the staff of the Commission from amongst their number as prescribed.

The Director shall, ex officio, be a Commissioner.

The performance of the function, or the exercise of the powers, of the Commission is not affected by reason of there being a vacancy in the membership of the Commission.

The appointment of a Commissioner is not invalidated, and shall not be called in question, by reason of a defect or irregularity in connection with his or her nomination.

The function of the Commission is to provide legal assistance in accordance with this Act.

The Commission has such powers as are necessary to enable it to perform its functions and exercise its powers.

In the performance of its function, the Commission shall have regard to the amount of money for the time being standing to the credit of the Legal Aid Fund or the Contingency Legal Aid Fund and of any money likely to be received by the Commission for the purposes of the Funds.

In the performance of its function, the Commission must do the following:

ensure that legal assistance is provided in the most effective, efficient and economic manner;

ensure that its activities are carried on consistently with, and do not prejudice, the independence of the private legal profession;

liaise and co-operate with, and if the Commission considers it desirable to do so, make reciprocal arrangements with, professional bodies representing private legal practitioners and other bodies engaged or interested in the provision of legal assistance in the

Territory or elsewhere;

liaise with professional bodies representing private legal practitioners in order to facilitate the use, in appropriate circumstances, of services provided by private legal practitioners;

make maximum use of services which private legal practitioners offer to provide on a voluntary basis;

encourage and permit persons who are not legal practitioners to participate, so far as the Commission considers it practicable and proper to do so, on a voluntary basis, under professional supervision, in the provision of legal assistance by officers;

provide officers and agencies of the Commonwealth or a State concerned in the provision of legal assistance with such statistical and other information as they reasonably require;

make its services available to persons eligible for legal assistance by establishing such local offices, and by making such other arrangements, as it considers appropriate;

determine priorities in the provision of legal assistance as between different classes of persons or classes of matters;

arrange for the provision of duty lawyer services at sittings in the Territory in such courts as it considers appropriate;

endeavour to secure the services of language interpreters, marriage counsellors and other appropriate persons to assist legally assisted persons in connection with matters in respect of which they are provided with legal assistance;

initiate and carry out educational programs designed to promote an understanding by the public (and by sections of the public having special needs in this respect) of their rights, powers, privileges and duties under the laws in force in the Territory.

Without limiting the generality of section 7, legal assistance may be provided by the Commission by arranging for the services of a private legal practitioner to be made available at the expense of the

Commission or by making available the services of officers.

The Commission shall determine guidelines for the allocation of work between officers and private legal practitioners and make the guidelines available to them.

Where the Commission provides legal assistance by making available the services of officers, the Commission shall pay disbursements and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the course of providing that assistance.

Where the Commission provides legal assistance by arranging for the services of private legal practitioners, the Commission shall, except where the services are provided on a voluntary basis, pay fees to the private legal practitioners for the performance of those services (being fees determined by the Commission in accordance with section 30(8), (9) and (10)) and shall pay disbursements and out-of-pocket expenses properly incurred by them.

Subject to and in accordance with any agreement or arrangement between the Commonwealth and the Territory, the Commission may provide financial assistance to voluntary legal aid bodies in the

Territory for the provision of legal assistance.

The Commission may accept money or property on trust and may, in accordance with the Trustee Act 1893, act as trustee of money or other property held by it on trust.

The Commission shall hold money received by it on trust separate from other money held by the Commission.

Money held by the Commission on trust may be invested by the

Commission in any manner in which trust funds may, for the time being, be invested under the Trustee Act 1893, but not otherwise.

The Commission shall determine, and make known to the public, guidelines to be applied in:

the application of section 26 for the purposes of determining whether legal assistance may be provided to a person under this Act;

determining the conditions subject to which assistance referred to in section 28(1)(a) or (b) will be granted;

determining the extent (if any) to which the Commission will pay costs awarded against a legally assisted person in a proceeding;

determining the amount of costs or disbursements that will be required to be paid to the Commission under section 32 by a legally assisted person who has been successful in the proceeding in respect of which the legal assistance was provided;

determining the conditions (including conditions relating to the recovery of money by the Commission on a contingency basis) subject to which money in the Contingency Legal Aid Fund will be made available for the provision of legal assistance to bring or defend legal proceedings; and

determining an amount to be paid under section 33 towards costs an assisted person is directed to pay.