Legal Aid Act 1990

(1) An application for legal assistance, other than legal assistance consisting of the giving of legal advice or the provision of duty lawyer services, shall:

(a) be made to the Commission in writing and shall be substantially in accordance with a form approved by the Commission; and

(2) The Commission may, in special circumstances, treat an application that does not comply with all the requirements of subsection (1) as having been duly made.

(3) An applicant for legal assistance to which subsection (1) applies shall furnish to the Commission such declarations, certificates and other documents as the Commission requires for the purpose of enabling a decision to be made as to whether legal assistance should be granted in respect of the application.

(4) Where legal advice is being provided to a person under this Act and it appears to an officer that the legal advice required by the person is likely to be of a substantial or continuing nature, the officer may require the person to make an application for legal assistance in accordance with subsections (1) and (3) and, where such a requirement is made, those subsections and sections 26(1), (2) and (3), 29 and 34(2) apply in relation to the application.

(5) The Commission may distribute to private legal practitioners application forms for completion by persons applying for legal assistance.