On this page:
19/12/2024
CPIP urgent assignments process will be temporarily paused during the Christmas shut down period, from Wednesday 25 December 2024 and will resume back on Monday 6 January 2025.
During this time, lawyers providing legal aid do not need to email legal aid to make themselves available for urgent CPIP assignments until Monday 6 January 2025.
All urgent assignments will continue to be processed by legal aid grants officers during this time following the usual urgent assignment process.
We appreciate your understanding.
19/12/2024
The Legal Services Commissioner would like to share an end of year message.
Please see the attached letter [PDF, 183 KB]
12/12/2024
Please note that the nationwide holiday roster for the PDLA service will be implemented this Friday. This roster will run from 6pm on Friday 13 December 2024 to 6am on Monday 6 January 2025 and will replace all current lists or rosters.
During this period, PDLA lawyers scheduled on the nationwide holiday roster will receive a flat hourly rate for delivering the service during their rostered shifts. During these shifts, PDLA providers will be answering PDLA calls from across New Zealand.
These changes have been made to ensure timely access to justice throughout the holiday period.
A copy of the nationwide roster for this period can be found on our website at the following link starting Friday 13th December:
If you are scheduled on the nationwide roster for this period, please ensure you have checked your rostered shifts and have read the guidelines and information on the page above.
Due to the nature of the holiday roster, we will suspend daily text reminders for the Auckland region while the holiday roster is in effect.
If you have any questions, or are no longer available for one of your rostered shifts, please contact duty.lawyer@justice.govt.nz
12/12/2024
From Thursday 12 December 2024, Legal Aid applications for Repeat Criminal Parole proceedings, where you have previously represented your client in a Parole matter, no longer require a completed Legal Aid Application form to be submitted. Instead, you can send an email to Legal Aid Services that provides the following information:
Subject: Repeat Criminal Parole Application
Please note that any applications submitted using the Legal Aid Application form will continue to be accepted.
Please see the attached email template [DOCX, 13 KB] that you can use when applying for Legal Aid for Repeat Criminal Parole Proceedings.
5/12/2024
From Monday 9 December 2024, Legal Aid applications for Mental Health proceedings no longer require a completed Legal Aid Application form to be submitted. Instead, you can send an email to Legal Aid Services that provides the following information:
Email subject: Mental Health Application
Please note that any applications submitted using the Legal Aid Application form will still continue to be accepted.
Please see the attached email template [DOCX, 14 KB] that you can use when applying for Legal Aid for Mental Health Proceedings.
Thank you to the NZLS Family Law Section for providing input and feedback on this update.
3/12/2024
Legal Services Commissioner Tracey Baguley says the data shows payments to 1380 firms whose legal aid providers undertook work on a range of cases in the criminal, civil and family courts and a number of specialist courts and tribunals.
The Ministry spent $285 million on legal aid in the 2023/24 financial year which is an increase of $29 million when compared to 2022/23.
At the end of 2023/24, there were 2563 private lawyers approved to provide legal aid services, working for firms or independently.
You can view the report on the page Legal aid payments to firms(external link).
28/11/2024
As of 28th November, the Ministry of Justice will pilot sending daily text message reminders of upcoming shifts to PDLA lawyers on rosters in the Auckland region.
The pilot aims to assist providers with managing their PDLA commitments.
Depending on the success of the pilot, we will assess if it will be implemented in other regions where there is a roster.
An email will be sent out to PDLA lawyers in the Auckland Region with further information.
The PDLA rosters will continue to be available on our website. For more information, or to view the rosters, refer to: Police Detention Legal Assistance Roster | New Zealand Ministry of Justice(external link).
28/11/2024
As we approach the end of the year, Legal Aid would like to ensure that it processes all provider invoices as seamlessly as possible. Please ensure that you submit all invoices as early as possible prior to the Christmas break to avoid disappointment.
Wednesday 4th December 2024 will be the cut-off date for payment of invoices prior to the holiday season. Invoices received after this date, may be processed and paid, but we will not be able to guarantee this.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
21/11/2024
We have updated the policy for assigning a provider for civil proceedings under the following Acts:
• Gangs Act 2024
• Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009
If you have been instructed for civil proceedings under the Gangs Act 2024 and you currently hold a PAL2 criminal approval or higher, you can represent your client for these civil matters without applying for a civil approval.
If you have been instructed for civil proceedings under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 and you currently hold a PAL4 criminal approval, you can represent your client for these civil matters without applying for a civil approval.
The Grants Handbook has also been updated to include this policy change.
21/11/2024
As we approach the end of the year, Legal Aid would like to ensure that it processes all provider invoices as seamlessly as possible. Please ensure that you submit all invoices as early as possible prior to the Christmas break to avoid disappointment.
Wednesday 4th December 2024 will be the cut-off date for payment of invoices prior to the holiday season. Invoices received after this date, may be processed and paid, but we will not be able to guarantee this.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
21/11/2024 - The end of the year is fast approaching, and we will presume that you are available for the entire festive season unless you tell us otherwise!
If you have leave planned over the holidays, please let us know if you:
This will ensure that you don’t get disturbed unnecessarily during your break and allows us to identify any areas where provider coverage may be limited.
Please confirm your unavailability dates by email to legalaidprovider@justice.govt.nz no later than Friday 29th November 2024
21/11/2024
Cut-off date for submitting applications of the year to Legal Aid Providers Team is 29 November 2024
Applications received after 29 November will go to a Selection Committee in the new year.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us at legalaidprovider@justice.govt.nz
If you are considering applying for any further Legal Aid approvals before the new year, please note the following key dates:
Applications received after 29 November will go to a Selection Committee in the new year.
We will endeavor to consider the applications received by the cut-off date prior to Christmas shutdown. However, there is likely to be a delay during this time due to the shutdown period and reduced Selection Committee member availability. We thank you for your patience.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us at legalaidprovider@justice.govt.nz
14/11/2024
As we approach the end of the year, Legal Aid would like to ensure that it processes all provider invoices as seamlessly as possible. Please ensure that you submit all invoices as early as possible prior to the Christmas break to avoid disappointment.
Wednesday 4th December 2024 will be the cut-off date for payment of invoices prior to the holiday season. Invoices received after this date, may be processed and paid, but we will not be able to guarantee this.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
8/11/2024
Reminder to legal aid lawyers to complete the PDLA Holiday Roster 2024/25 Survey on Citizen Space.
On the 10th of October, Legal Aid Services (LAS) released information in an article on What’s new for legal aid lawyers(external link) inviting all providers with Police Detention Legal Assistance (PDLA) approval to express interest in participating in the nationwide holiday period roster running from the 13th December 2024 to 6th January 2025.
If you have not yet completed the survey and would like to be included on the roster, please make sure you follow the link below and register as soon as possible.
All legal aid providers with PDLA approval, regardless of their PAL level, will have the opportunity to be included in the upcoming roster. Further details on how the roster will operate are included in the survey above.
The survey will close on Friday the 15th of November 2024. PDLA providers who do not complete the survey by this date will Not be included on the holiday period roster.
If you have any further questions, please contact duty.lawyer@justice.govt.nz.
7/11/2024
The Criminal Process Improvement Programme (CPIP) identified changes to the duty lawyer service as a key piece of work to help address backlogs and delays in the courts.
The new Duty Lawyer Operational Policy seeks to reduce the number of court events required by supporting timely case progression through a Duty Lawyer or urgently assigned lawyer who can represent a defendant.
The policy has been piloted at Christchurch, Hamilton, and Hutt Valley from September 2023 and was extended to the four largest Auckland region courts at Auckland, Manukau, North Shore, and Waitakere from March to May 2024.
A review in July 2024 concluded that the pilots are delivering overall improved outcomes for bail progression and case progression. The review identified no evidence of harm to the fair trial rights of defendants.
The decision has been made to confirm the new policy as business as usual at all the pilot sites and to extend the policy to all remaining Public Defence Service supported district courts.
The opportunity to reduce backlogs and delays in the courts will be greatly expanded by extending the policy to these courts.
The policy is scheduled to commence on these dates:
18 November 2024 – Papakura DC
18 November 2024 – Pukekohe DC
25 November 2024 – Porirua DC
25 November 2024 – Wellington DC
10 February 2025 – Tauranga DC
24 February 2025 – Dunedin DC
17 March 2025 – Hastings DC
17 March 2025 – Napier DC
Details of information sessions to be provided for the lawyers at each court for will be sent directly to you.
7/11/2024
As we approach the end of the year, Legal Aid would like to ensure that it processes all provider invoices as seamlessly as possible. Please ensure that you submit all invoices as early as possible prior to the Christmas break to avoid disappointment.
Wednesday 4th December 2024 will be the cut-off date for payment of invoices prior to the holiday season. Invoices received after this date, may be processed and paid, but we will not be able to guarantee this.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
31/10/2024
Cut-off date for submitting applications of the year to Legal Aid Providers Team is 29 November 2024
Applications received after 29 November will go to a Selection Committee in the new year.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us at legalaidprovider@justice.govt.nz
If you are considering applying for any further Legal Aid approvals before the new year, please note the following key dates:
Applications received after 29 November will go to a Selection Committee in the new year.
We will endeavor to consider the applications received by the cut-off date prior to Christmas shutdown. However, there is likely to be a delay during this time due to the shutdown period and reduced Selection Committee member availability. We thank you for your patience.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us at legalaidprovider@justice.govt.nz
31/10/2024
PAL3 criminal legal aid files with Sexual Violence charges will have Junior Counsel automatically approved.
From 1 November 2024, the Legal Aid Services policy is updated for the approval of Junior Counsel.
This update applies to PAL3 criminal legal aid files that include at least one sexual violence charge under Part 7 of the Crimes Act 1961.
Junior Counsel is automatically approved for any criminal legal aid file that contains one or more of the above charges. This applies to all active matters as well as all new legal aid files going forward.
As the lead provider on the file, we ask that you inform Legal Aid Services who your Junior Counsel is, so we can ensure the payments on the file are apportioned to the correct provider. There is no specific form for this, just let us know at any point before Junior Counsel commences work.
Hearing time is pre-approved for Junior Counsel, however any preparation time above the fixed fees will need to be requested by amendment to grant, as per current process.
It is important that any amendment to grant or invoice that includes claims for Junior Counsel clearly outlines who did each activity.
This policy change is for the automatic approval of one Junior Counsel. If you seek to have Co-Counsel or additional Junior Counsel, a request must still be submitted to Legal Aid Services.
24/10/2024 - The end of the year is fast approaching, and we will presume that you are available for the entire festive season unless you tell us otherwise!
If you have leave planned over the holidays, please let us know if you:
This will ensure that you don’t get disturbed unnecessarily during your break and allows us to identify any areas where provider coverage may be limited.
Please confirm your unavailability dates by email to legalaidprovider@justice.govt.nz no later than Friday 29th November 2024
17/10/24 - As a result of feedback from providers and in discussion with the Criminal Bar Association, we have been told that it is hard to identify when Legal Aid is calling, from today our name or 0800 number will display on your phone.
By default, calls will display as either Ministry of Justice (Android) or +64 800 268 787 (iPhone). If you save +64 800 268 787 into your contacts as “Legal Aid” then this will display instead.
Thank you for this improvement suggestion, we hope this change will be helpful for you.
10/10/2024 - From 6pm 13 December 2024 until 6am 6 January 2025 a national roster will be in practice to replace all regional PDLA rosters.
This year, LAS intends to activate the nationwide PDLA roster from 13 December 2024 to 6 January 2025. This will run in a similar manner to the previous years, with PDLA lawyers being paid a flat hourly rate to deliver the service during rostered shifts.
LAS is running a survey to give PDLA providers the opportunity to indicate whether they would like to be included on this year’s roster and to indicate what dates they would be available.
The survey is open from now until the 15th of November 2024 and can be accessed via this link:
All legal aid providers with PDLA approval, regardless of their PAL, will have the opportunity to be included in the upcoming roster. Further details on how the roster will operate are included in the survey above.
PDLA providers who do not complete the survey by 15/11/2024 will be unable to be included on the holiday period roster.
If you have any further questions about this, please contact duty.lawyer@justice.govt.nz
04/10/2024 - The Legal Services Commissioner would like to share an update on the Legal Aid Work Programme.
Please see this letter: LSC Letter Update October 2024 [PDF, 225 KB]
26/09/2024 - We have some webinars and a supporting factsheet designed to assist lawyers when invoicing Legal Aid.
We have a 1-hour webinar on Legal Aid Invoicing and would like to invite you to attend. These will be held on the following dates and times:
To register for one of these sessions email Jeremy.Athogiaus@justice.govt.nz with your chosen date and time.
Group sessions can be arranged for dates/times that suit your firm/chambers. Email a request to Jeremy.Athogiaus@justice.govt.nz
We have also prepared a guide to assist lawyers when invoicing Legal Aid:
Invoicing Quick Reference Guide [PDF, 130 KB]
Please continue to contact us if you are experiencing any significant delays over 15 working days.
19/09/2024 - Reminder to check the Ministry of Justice website for updated provider application forms
We have been receiving applications to become a legal aid lawyer submitted using outdated forms sourced via Google.
These applications are unable to be processed and we are currently working on having these removed from Google.
Current versions of the forms to apply to be a legal aid lawyer can be found here: Become a legal aid lawyer | New Zealand Ministry of Justice(external link) on the Ministry website.
These forms are subject to updates from time to time, and we encourage providers to check the website for the latest forms.
19/09/2024 - Reminder: Travel to places of detention is pre-approved
All local and non-local travel to a place of detention (this includes prisons, mental health institutions and refugee detention centres) to take or update instructions is pre-approved.
No amendment to grant is required for this travel as outlined in the ‘Necessary travel’ section on page 125 of the Grants Handbook(external link).
19/09/2024 - Public Liability Insurance is recommended but not required by Legal Aid Services
We highly recommend and encourage providers to have Public Liability Insurance. However, there are no conditions of approval nor requirement that a provider of Legal Aid holds this type of insurance.
Please direct any queries to legalaidprovider@justice.govt.nz
12/09/2024 - All legal aid lawyers are required to send their correspondence to the correct email boxes.
This is a reminder that all court correspondence should be sent to the correct court where the hearing is scheduled.
Any correspondence sent to the wrong court or outside the appropriate jurisdiction may not be processed or forwarded. The relevant list of email addresses has been shared with you previously for your reference.
You can also find the list of courthouse information and email addresses here: Find us | New Zealand Ministry of Justice(external link).
12/09/2024 - As you are aware we have been experiencing increased volumes of work over the last few months. We appreciate that this has continued to have an impact on you, our valued providers, and we are working hard to address this.
We are pleased to advise that:
7 new recruits have recently joined us
4 additional Grants Officers have also been recruited on a fixed term basis to solely focus on the payment of invoices
Weekend work has continued
We are aware of the frustration caused by our invoicing process, much of this is bound by our obligations under the Public Finance Act, however we have been working with our finance team to see what improvements we can make to make things easier.
We are aware of discrepancies in GST calculation rounding, in these circumstances to avoid extra work we can now approve up to $1 more than claimed if there has been a calculation error on the invoice received. Prior to this we could only approve up to 1 cent more and anything above that meant that the invoice had to be returned for correction.
If you are experiencing any significant delays over 15 working days, please contact Operations Managers Kamini.McCarthy@justice.govt.nz or Greg.Ishikawa-Pearson@justice.govt.nz.
Thank you again for your cooperation and continued patience.
22/08/2024 - Operational changes in response to the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendations made in the 2023 Whakatika ki Runga (Justice System Inquiry) report.
The latest version of the Grants Handbook(external link) and Granting Aid for Waitangi Tribunal Matters – Operational Policy(external link) have been published. If you regularly refer to a downloaded copy, you will need to replace it with the latest version.
These documents have been updated to reflect current practice and improvements to the section 49 report and expert witness processes in response to the Waitangi Tribunal’s 2023 Whakatika ki Runga (Justice System Inquiry) report.
These changes only apply to legal aid for Waitangi Tribunal claimants and are in effect from 19 August 2024.
15/08/2024 - You may have noticed payment of legal aid invoices and responses to Amendments to Grant have been slower than usual. Over the last few months we have been impacted, more than usual, by technological issues, vacancies, and increases in volumes of work.
We appreciate that this has had an impact on providers, and we are working hard to address this. Weekend work and a recent recruitment intake will assist with the management of work volumes and quicker response times.
If you are experiencing any significant delay over 15 working days, please contact Operations Managers - Kamini.McCarthy@justice.govt.nz or Greg.Ishikawa-Pearson@justice.govt.nz
15/08/2024 - Full Audit Results 2023-2024
The 2023-2024 limited audit programme has now been completed.
This year’s programme involved the assessment of 32 providers, with audits spanning the Criminal, Family, and Waitangi Tribunal jurisdictions. These audits were carried out by external auditors who are experienced legal aid providers. They were tasked with evaluating the performance of selected legal aid providers and their compliance with professional, legislative, and contractual obligations.
We have now published a report outlining the key findings from the 2023-2024 full audit programme. We encourage you to read this report to better understand the full audit programme, and to gain insight into the commonly identified areas for improvement.
Audit Report 2023-2024 [PDF, 135 KB]
08/08/2024- Mileage rate increasing to $1.04 per km for invoices received from 12 August 2024.
As of 12 August 2024, we are updating our mileage rate to $1.04 per kilometre. The new mileage rate applies to all legal aid invoices received from 12 August 2024.
Invoices received prior to 12 August 2024 with the previous rate will be processed as claimed.
The best way to ensure prompt payment will be to update the mileage rate in the Word template package using the attached instructions. When the rate has been updated, it will then be correct for future invoices as the package will remember that rate.
In response to feedback received regarding the impact of returned invoices for small monetary amounts, we will be taking additional steps to minimise the impact of this mileage rate change.
If an invoice is submitted on or after 12 August 2024 with the previous rate, you will be contacted by phone to confirm:
if we are unable to speak to you, we will send you an email instead to confirm the above information.
We appreciate that returning or amending of invoices can be frustrating. To ensure there are no delays in payment, when invoices are resubmitted, they will be processed as priority.
You can access the attached instructions, using this link: Updating the mileage rate [PDF, 224 KB]
01/08/2024- The mileage rate will increase to $1.04 per km for invoices received from 12 August 2024.
We are updating our mileage rate to $1.04 per kilometre for all vehicles. The new mileage rate applies to all legal aid invoices received from 12 August 2024.
Invoices received prior to 12 August 2024 with the previous rate will be processed as claimed.
The best way to ensure prompt payment will be to update the mileage rate in the Word template package using the attached instructions. When the rate has been updated, it will then be correct for future invoices as the package will remember that rate.
In response to feedback received regarding the impact of returned invoices for small monetary amounts, we will be taking additional steps to minimise the impact of this mileage rate change.
If an invoice is submitted on or after 12 August 2024 with the previous rate, you will be contacted by phone to confirm:
If you want your invoice to be paid at the rate you have included in your invoice; or
A resubmission of an updated invoice
If we are unable to speak to you, we will send you an email instead to confirm the above information.
We appreciate that returning or amending of invoices can be frustrating. To ensure there are no delays in payment, when invoices are resubmitted, they will be processed as priority.
You can access the attached instructions, using this link: Updating the mileage rate [PDF, 221 KB]
01/08/2024- Safety Programme access has been expanded from 1 July 2024. Applicants to a protection order are now able to access a safety programme whether they apply without notice or on notice and if they withdraw or discontinue their application.
The Ministry of Justice received funding through Budget 2023 to increase access to family violence programmes.
Thanks to this funding, we are expanding the eligibility criteria for safety programmes. Safety programmes aim to provide those impacted by violence with a safe environment to work through their experiences. They provide information about family violence and its effects, the laws relating to it, as well as supporting those experiencing violence to develop strategies to stay safe.
In January 2024 changes were implemented to expand the eligibility criteria. We have built on those changes, and as of 1 July 2024, the following people in the Family Court can now access a programme:
On notice protection order applicants
Those who withdraw or discontinue their application for a protection order
Without notice protection order applicants who are directed to proceed on notice by the judge.
We estimate that 1200 additional people per year will now be able to access a safety programme in the Family Court.
What does this mean for you?
If your client applies for a protection order on notice, withdraws, or discontinues their application with the Family Court, please advise them that they are eligible for a safety programme.
In line with the current process for referrals to strengthening safety services, any time spent on the referral comes under the tasks covered in the ‘Application(s)/Order(s)’ activity on the family violence applicant fixed fee schedule.
Can children access safety programmes?
Children will be able to access safety programmes when requested by the service provider, as they are best placed to assess the risk to the applicant and their children.
For further information or if you have any questions, please contact implementation@justice.govt.nz.
01/08/2024-On 3 August 2024, we will be upgrading our system to allow us to email correspondence to participants who have provided an email address.
On 3 August 2024, we will be upgrading our system to email correspondence, rather than mailing physical letters, to participants who have provided an email address.
Participants who do not have access to email or choose to opt out will to continue receive letters in the mail.
To ensure your clients receive their legal aid correspondence as quickly as possible, it would be helpful if you could encourage them to include their email address on their legal aid application or contact us to add their email address if they have not already provided it.
18/07/2024 - The 2023-2024 Family Legal Advice Service (FLAS) audit programme has now been completed.
The 2023-2024 Family Legal Advice Service (FLAS) audit programme has now been completed. FLAS provides initial advice and information to parties in dispute over arrangements involving the care of their children.
The audit programme involved an assessment of approximately 220 files from across 44 providers. Going forward, we will be looking to assess around 250 files from across 50 providers in the next FLAS audit programme.
Each audited provider received an overall audit compliance percentage score, and it was great to see that 91 per cent of providers met the Ministry’s expectations of the FLAS audit. Further, over half (24 providers) received an audit score of 90 per cent or higher.
Common issues identified during audit were related to incomplete funding declaration forms, missing evidence for client’s proof of identity or eligibility, and inconsistent recording of information in RMS.
Providers delivering FLAS were reminded of their obligation to comply with all aspects of the FLAS Operational Policy, with specific audit findings provided to those included in the audit programme.
FLAS Operational Policy(external link)
Thank you to those who participated in the 2023-2024 FLAS audit programme, for your cooperation and ongoing contribution to the legal aid scheme.
If you have any questions about the FLAS audit results, please contact the Legal Aid Providers team at legalaidaudits@justice.govt.nz.
18/07/2024 - The 2023-2024 limited audit programme has now been completed.
Limited Audit Results 2023-2024
The 2023-2024 limited audit programme has now been completed.
The audit programme involved an assessment of approximately 2,090 files from 418 providers. These audits spanned the Criminal, Family, Civil, and Mental Health jurisdictions. Going forward, we are aiming to assess around 1,800 files from 360 providers each year.
A limited audit involves Ministry staff checking files to ensure providers meet the Ministry’s expectations. The limited audit assessment includes an overall outcome of “Meets” or “Does not meet” expectations, whether fees and disbursements are claimed accurately, whether record-keeping obligations are complied with, and whether there are any other concerns requiring further attention/support.
It was great to see that 96.2% of the audited providers met expectations.
File-keeping obligations
We identified some common issues during the audit. The main record keeping issues related to:
Invoicing obligations
Common invoicing issues found among Criminal files, related to:
The criminal fixed fee finder tool is designed to help providers find available fixed fees.
Criminal fixed fee finder tool(external link)
Common invoicing issues identified among Family files, related to:
The Ministry’s policy on fees and disbursements can be found in the relevant Fixed Fee Schedule and in the Grants handbook, and record-keeping obligations can be found in clauses 3.12, 3.13 and 3.14 of the Provider Contract for the provision of Legal Aid Services and Specified Legal Services, and clause 11 of the Practice Standards for Legal Aid Providers.
Legal Aid is also developing a range of training packages to further clarify Ministry’s expectations and providers’ obligations. This will help address invoicing issues identified during the audit process and avoid other errors. We will keep you posted on this development.
If you have any questions about fixed fees, disbursements, or non-fixed fee/fixed fee plus claims, please contact Legal Aid on 0800 253 425 for assistance.
If you have any questions about the limited audit results, please contact the Legal Aid Providers team at legalaidaudits@justice.govt.nz or give us a call on 04 466 0666.
Thank you to those who participated in the 2023-2024 limited audit programme, for your cooperation and ongoing contribution to the legal aid scheme.
27/06/2024 - A new version of the Word template package is available.
This update includes a change to the criminal invoice Form 23D Fixed Fees A-C. The change inserts a sentencing preparation fee that can be claimed at courts where the Criminal Process Improvement programme (CPIP) duty lawyer policy is being piloted.
The template package can be downloaded with instructions from the Ministry website: Download Word template package | New Zealand Ministry of Justice(external link)
27/06/2024 - At courts where the Criminal Process Improvement Programme (CPIP) solutions for improving judge alone trials are being implemented, registrars are inviting defence lawyers to attend a teleconference to monitor case readiness prior a scheduled judge-alone trial date.
Hearing time may be claimed for attending a teleconference. Waiting time does not apply.
27/06/2024 Budget 2022 investment for Legal Aid Services allowed the Ministry to implement a 15% increase to the legal aid eligibility thresholds and 16.5% increase to the debt repayment thresholds. These were to be followed by an annual increase of 1.9% to both thresholds for the next three years.
Please find a resource with the new eligibility thresholds as of 1 July 2024.
(Updated LAS – Eligibility Resource) [PDF, 167 KB]
Legal Aid Services’ policies, including the grants handbook for providers will be updated prior to these changes coming into effect.
20/06/2024-The Ministry of Justice is improving how it engages with defaulters that have outstanding overdue legal aid debt.
When a legal aid case is closed a letter is sent to the client advising them of their final repayment amount (if there is one) and advising them to get in contact our Legal Aid Debt unit within 28 days of the case closing.
Many clients do not get in contact following this letter. To improve contact with clients who have outstanding repayment obligations, we will be introducing contact campaigns (e.g., letters, texts, and email) to clients with overdue legal aid debt. These aim to encourage these clients to contact our Legal Aid Debt department to discuss their debt.
If you get questions from previous clients who have been contacted, please encourage them to contact us on 0800 600 090.
Further information on legal aid debt is available on our website: www.justice.govt.nz/courts/going-to-court/legal-aid/do-you-need-to-pay-back-your-legal-aid/
5/06/2024 - The Ministry of Justice is changing how our rosters are displayed from Thursday 6th June 2024. The new rosters are modernised to provide you with an improved experience; this includes a finder tool which allows to access any location’s roster and filter across a range of dates. This change will not affect the current publishing cycles.
New webpages will be created for each roster type, and new links will be provided on Legal Aid Lawyer Rosters | New Zealand Ministry of Justice(external link), under the sections for mental health, warrant of commitment and duty lawyer. These links will direct you to these new rosters upon release of the new tool.
How to use the tool
At the roster page you will be presented with the tool’s selection criteria.
Select your desired criteria from the dropdown box and date picker, click “Get Roster/List” and the roster will display further down the page for your viewing.
If you wish, you may also print the roster using the button located at the bottom of the webpage.
For any questions or concerns, please contact us at duty.lawyer@justice.govt.nz
28/05/2024 - Have you been involved in a case that used communication assistance or interpreter services in the past 12 months?
This Satisfaction Survey seeks your feedback on two important court services:
The Ministry of Justice is running a short survey with the judiciary and legal professionals to gain feedback regarding the communication assistance and interpreter services. The Ministry of Justice will use the information from the survey to monitor the quality of services and guide ongoing improvement.
The survey will take less than 5 minutes to complete and is available here: https://consultations.justice.govt.nz/nsd/bec529ad(external link).
Thank you in advance - your assistance is much appreciated. The survey will be open until 14 June 2024.
9/05/2024 - Storage devices such as hard drives can be funded under a legal aid grant for the purposes of providing disclosure or other documents to participants. This update applies to criminal, family and civil legal aid grants. Funding must first be requested and approved by way of an amendment to grant.
We have updated the Legal Aid Disbursement policy regarding the availability of funding for electronic storage devices such as portable hard drives and USB flash drives.
The policy has now been updated for criminal, family and civil legal aid grants, and these devices can now be funded by way of an amendment to grant.
Funding is only available if the following criteria are met:
When invoicing for a storage device, you must also include a copy of the GST receipt.
The Grants Handbook has been updated to reflect these changes.
If you have any questions about this updated policy, please contact AKLCriminallegalaid@justice.govt.nz or WGNCriminallegalaid@justice.govt.nz.
26/04/2024 - The specialist report fixed fee cannot be claimed for supervised contact reports. These reports are written by supervised contact organisations to advise the Court how the supervised contact sessions went and also provide any recommendations. As the $190 fixed fee cannot be claimed, the provider can submit an amendment to grant if required.
18/04/2024 Only Lawyers with Duty Lawyer Approval can act as Duty Lawyers.
If you would like to apply for approval to be a Duty Lawyer please refer to the Policy for Admission to Duty Lawyer Rosters(external link).
If you already have approval and would like to be added to the roster, please email the schedulers at duty.lawyer@justice.govt.nz.
14/03/2024 The Criminal Process Improvement Programme (CPIP) identified changes to the duty lawyer service as a key piece of work to help address backlogs and delays in the courts.
The new Duty Lawyer Operational Policy seeks to reduce the number of court events required by supporting timely case progression through a Duty Lawyer or urgently assigned lawyer who can represent a defendant.
The new Duty Lawyer Operational Policy is presently being piloted at three District Courts (Hamilton, Christchurch, and Hutt Valley). The pilots began in September 2023.
A review in January 2024 concluded that the pilots are delivering improved outcomes while fully safeguarding the fair trial rights of defendants.
The decision has been made to continue the new policy at the initial three sites and extend it to the four busiest Auckland region district courts. The opportunity to reduce backlogs and delays in the courts will be greatly expanded by extending the pilot to these courts.
The pilot is scheduled to commence on these dates:
25 March 2024 – Waitakere DC
08 April 2024 – North Shore DC
15 April 2024 – Manukau DC
27 May 2024 – Auckland DC.
Details of information sessions to be provided for the lawyers at each court for will be sent directly to you.
08/03/2024 - The Legal Services Amendment Act received Royal assent on 7 March 2024. This prevents the Legal Services Commissioner (the Commissioner) from funding written reports or in-person appearances, pursuant to section 27 of the Sentencing Act 2002. This change will take effect on Friday 22 March 2024.
Legal Aid Services (LAS) can continue to consider amendment to grant requests for section 27 matters until 22 March 2024.
To enable LAS to assess amendment to grants for section 27 report funding, please submit your requests by 12pm on Thursday 21 March 2024.
LAS will endeavour to assess new amendment to grant requests for section 27 report funding received after 12pm on 21 March 2024, and before 22 March 2024.
Providers can still submit invoices for a section 27 report, but only if the funding for the report was approved before 22 March 2024.
If you have any questions about amendment to grant submissions or invoicing, please contact WGNCriminallegalaid@justice.govt.nz or AKLCriminallegalaid@justice.govt.nz.
29/02/2024 - We have been recently experiencing technical difficulties with our computer system.
We are working hard to resolve these issues, however, this may result in longer processing times than you are used to. I apologise in advance, please bear with us.
We are working to restore normal service as soon as possible and have also allocated additional Ministry staff to assist with work volumes.
29/02/2024 - We have increased the Accommodation and Meals disbursement rate from 4 March 2024.
We have undertaken our annual review of the meals and accommodation disbursement for legal aid cases.
We have increased the maximum amount for overnight accommodation and meals to from $266.96 to $275.75 (excl. GST). Where an overnight stay is not required, the rate for meals has remained at $100.00 (excl. GST) per day. You can read more about this disbursement on page 130 of the grant’s handbook which can be found here: Grants handbook(external link)
The new maximum can be claimed on invoices received from 4 March 2024. Any invoices received prior to this date will be paid at the old rate.
In considering the increase, we have aligned the disbursement to the current Ministry expenditure guidelines. While there are no plans to undertake a full market review of the disbursement rates at this time, we intend to review this disbursement annually and will provide any further updates via What’s New for Legal Aid Lawyers in due course.
Thank you for your continued cooperation.
29/02/2024 - From January 2024, people who apply for protection orders without notice, which are then directed to proceed on notice by the judge, will be offered a safety programme before the protection order application is considered.
What does this mean for you?
Key points to note:
Background to the initiative:
This is the first phase of implementation for the Budget 23 initiative to ‘Improve access to family violence programmes in court and the community’ which will:
For further information on the Budget 23 initiative and its implementation, please see the summary of initiatives(external link), or contact moj-fvsv@justice.govt.nz with any questions.
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