The Federal Court has made arrangements with the State
and Territory Bars to enable litigants who do not have
a lawyer in Federal Court proceedings to obtain free
legal assistance in certain circumstances.
There are a number of guidelines that apply to the Scheme.
These are summarised below.
The scheme does not cover litigants who may be eligible
for Legal Aid. Contact your local Legal
Aid office to
see if you qualify.
The Scheme does not cover people who are considering
whether or not they should commence a proceeding in the
Federal Court. Only litigants who are already parties
to Federal Court proceedings will be considered for a
referral.
A Judge of the Court decides whether or not you will
be referred for legal assistance. Registry staff cannot
make a referral. You may wish to raise the issue with
the Judge at a directions hearing.
Judges will only make a referral when it is in the interests
of justice to do so. Judges will take into account factors
such as your financial situation, the type and complexity
of the proceeding and whether you have access to other
sources of legal assistance.
The Judge will specify the scope of the referral. For
example, it may be a referral to obtain written advice,
draft a particular document or appear at a hearing. There
is no obligation for a barrister to continue to act for
you once the particular task is completed.
If a Judge makes a referral under the Scheme a Registrar
of the Court will attempt to find a barrister prepared
to act for you and if successful, will provide copies
of Court documents to the barrister.
Barristers are not obliged to accept the referral. If
a barrister does accept a referral then they will not
charge you any professional fee. However, there may be
other expenses, such as transcript, photocopying or expert
report fees which you will have to pay.
If you win the case, the Court may order the other side
to pay the barrister’s fees.
A barrister may cease to act for you if you agree, if
a Registrar gives the barrister leave to do so, or if
the barrister’s professional rules allow them to
cease to act in certain circumstances, such as where
the litigant rejects or ignore the barrister’s
advice, where the barrister has a conflict of interest,
or where the barrister has insufficient time to give
the matter proper attention.
If you have a particular query regarding the Scheme
you can:
attend your local District Registry in person;
telephone your local District Registry and speak
to the Duty Registrar;
If you are a self-represented litigant and you wish
to apply for assistance under the Scheme you should raise
the matter with the Judge during your next directions
hearing. If the matter is urgent contact the Duty Registrar.
Court staff cannot provide legal advice about potential
proceedings which you may wish to commence in the Court.
A list of sources of free or low-cost legal advice is
available from the Registry and
on this website.
