What is Legal Aid?
Legal Aid is a Victorian government-funded service that helps people who cannot afford legal representation. Victoria Legal Aid pays for your lawyer through a ‘grant of legal assistance’.
Important things to know before applying for Legal Aid:
- Demand for legal services is high, so Legal Aids funds are limited, but most are granted on criminal or family law matters.
- Your legal problem must match Legal Aids guidelines.
- You need to complete a merits test. This covers:
- Whether there are reasonable grounds for the appeal
- Whether your case is likely to succeed or fail
- What the benefits will be to yourself and the public if you are to receive legal assistance
- If there may be possible harm to you if the grant is refused
- Whether it is in the interest of justice that this grant is provided
- The guidelines include a means test, which is used to determine whether you can afford to pay
for your own lawyer.
Legal Aid Criminal Lawyers – Authorised to Represent Criminal Cases
Slades & Parsons provide criminal defence privately and, in some cases, on Legal Aid funding.
We do not take on criminal cases pro bono.
Slades & Parsons is a member of the Summary Crime and Indictable Crime Victoria Legal Aid Section 29A Panels, making us among Victoria Legal Aid’s preferred criminal law firms. We are authorised to take on Legal Aid cases in the Magistrates’ Court, the County Court, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeal.
We can represent clients on Legal Aid funding on any criminal offences punishable by imprisonment, provided they are eligible under the Victoria Legal Aid guidelines.
We have a team of experienced criminal defence lawyers who can provide legal advice and provide you with the next steps in applying for a Legal Aid grant. Find out if you are eligible for Victoria Legal Aid’s ‘grant of assistance’ by contacting us today.
Contact Us Today
Contact Slades & Parsons to find out if you are eligible for Victoria Legal Aid’s ‘grant of assistance’. We’ll be back in touch shortly.