Legal Aid Act 1990

(1) For the purpose of facilitating arrangements for the services of private legal practitioners to be made available to legally assisted persons, the Commission shall cause to be prepared and maintained, and to be made available to Legal Aid Committees, a list of private legal practitioners who have notified the Commission that they are willing to act as legal practitioners on behalf of legally assisted persons, whether generally, in particular classes of matters or in particular courts.

(a) refuse to include in the list maintained under subsection (1) the name of a private legal practitioner who has notified the Commission that he or she is willing to act as a legal practitioner on behalf of legally assisted persons;

(b) remove the name of a private legal practitioner from the list maintained under subsection (1); or

(c) include the name of a private legal practitioner in that list together with limitations as to the classes of matters in which the services of the private practitioner will be sought by the Com­mission for the purposes of this Act.

(3) The Commission shall not refuse to include the name of a private legal practitioner in the list maintained under subsection (1), remove the name of a private legal practitioner from that list or include in that list limitations as to the classes of matters in which the services of a private legal practitioner will be sought by the Commission for the purposes of this Act, unless the Commission has:

(a) given written notice to the practitioner setting out the reasons for the proposed refusal, removal or limitation; and

(b) afforded the practitioner a reasonable opportunity to be heard in relation to the proposed refusal, removal or limitation.

(a) refused to include the name of a practitioner in the list maintained under subsection (1);

(c) included in that list, in relation to a practitioner, a limitation as mentioned in subsection (2)(c),

the practitioner may, before the expiration of 3 months (or where another period is prescribed for that purpose, the expiration of that other period) after receipt of the notice given to him under subsection (3), apply to the Supreme Court for an order directing the Commission to include his or her name in the list, to restore his or her name in the list or to remove the limitation, as the case may be.

(5) Where an application is made under subsection (4) to the Supreme Court, the Court may:

(b) postpone the making of the order applied for with liberty to apply; or

and, subject to subsection (6), the decision of the Court is final and conclusive.

(6) Where an application (including a further application made in pursuance of a previous application of this subsection) is dismissed, the applicant may, at any time after the expiration of 3 months (or where another period is prescribed for that purpose, the expiration of that other period) after the date of the dismissal, make a further application for an order as mentioned in subsection (4), and subsection (5) applies in relation to any such further application.

(7) In selecting a private legal practitioner whose services may be sought to be made available to an assisted person in a particular case, the paramount considerations shall be the interest of the assisted person and any choice expressed by the person for the services of a particular practitioner but, subject to those considerations, work shall be allocated among the practitioners whose names are on the list maintained under subsection (11) in a manner that is equitable having regard to the nature of their legal practices and their expertise in particular fields of law.

(8) In determining the fees to be offered to private legal practitioners for the performance of services on behalf of assisted persons, the Commission shall consult and take into account the views of the Law Society and, where it considers it appropriate, the body known as the Northern Territory Bar Association.

(9) Subject to subsection (8), the fees to be offered to private legal practitioners for the performance of services on behalf of assisted persons shall, so far as practicable, consist of fixed amounts in respect of the performance of particular services and be less than the ordinary professional cost of those services.

(10) The Director may, in such classes of cases as the Commission determines, refer to a Legal Aid Committee accounts from private legal practitioners in respect of fees, disbursements or out-of-pocket expenses in connection with the provision of legal assistance for the purpose of determining whether the amounts claimed are properly payable.

(11) The Commission shall maintain a record containing particulars of the number and type of matters dealt with by specified private legal practitioners under this Act and shall make the record available for inspection on request by the Law Society.

(12) The Commission may defer payment of fees payable by it to a private legal practitioner in connection with proceedings in respect of which legal assistance has been granted until:

(a) the Commission is satisfied that the practitioner has taken reasonable steps to recover party and party costs to which the assisted person is entitled;

(i) breach of this Act or the Legal Profession Act 2006 by the practitioner;

(ii) fraud or misrepresentation by the practitioner in relation to the provision of legal assistance or any such fraud or misrepresentation to which the practitioner is a party; or

(iii) improper action by the practitioner in bringing, defending or conducting proceedings in relation to which legal aid has been provided or any such action to which the practitioner is a party; or

(c) the completion of any criminal or disciplinary proceedings commenced against the practitioner in respect of a matter referred to in paragraph (b).

(13) Without affecting any other power of the Commission to refuse payment of fees, the Commission may refuse to make a payment of fees to a private legal practitioner in connection with proceedings in respect of which legal assistance has been granted if an allegation referred to in subsection (12)(b) against the practitioner is substantiated in criminal or disciplinary proceedings.