Tasmania Legal Aid: The Means Test, Charges and How to Apply

Tasmania Legal Aid (TLA) is Tasmania's legal aid commission, and for most people the first step is a free call to the Legal Help line, 1300 366 611, before applying for a grant of legal assistance.

Free Help Before You Need a Grant

The Legal Help line, 1300 366 611, runs weekdays, though TLA's own pages give slightly different opening times, so check TLA's current contact page rather than treat either boundary as fixed. TLA's criminal law team goes to court to represent people, including on bail applications, and appears at hearings in the Magistrates Court.

TLA's family law team provides mediation for separating couples and specialist support for people affected by family violence, especially children. Some matters skip the means test entirely: people under 18, Mental Health Stream or Guardianship Stream TASCAT matters, the Safe at Home family violence program, and NDIS appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

TLA runs several named specialist teams alongside general Legal Help: Senior Assist, working with Anglicare caseworkers on elder abuse; an NDIS Appeals team; a Mental Health and Disability team for TASCAT guardianship and mental health hearings; and TasVOCAL, for victim survivors of institutional sexual abuse. TLA also holds a memorandum of understanding with Women's Legal Service Tasmania for joint legal work; WLST itself serves women statewide on family law, separation, property, family violence, child support and child protection.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tasmanians, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service has lawyers on call 24 hours a day for people in police custody, with offices in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie covering criminal law, family law and child safety matters, plus a dedicated family violence and sexual assault support service. TLA holds a memorandum of understanding with TALS for joint legal work. See family violence orders in Tasmania for how a protection order application itself works, and family law in Australia for the parenting and property process more broadly.

The Means Test: Two Systems

Tasmania runs two parallel means tests rather than one. The Tasmanian Simplified Means Test applies to applications lodged electronically. A nominal contribution of $60 currently applies within the means test limits, and anyone whose sole income is a Centrelink benefit is automatically treated as financially eligible provided they clear the assets test.

Above the threshold, the contribution rises in steps: $60 up to the threshold, $200 up to $100 over it, $320 up to $200 over, $500 up to $300 over, $790 up to $400 over, and $1,090 up to $500 over. Under the simplified assets test, an initial contribution may be sought once assessed assets exceed $740 for someone with no financial association with another person, or $1,490 where there is one. Excluded assets include the home lived in unless its equity exceeds the area housing benchmark, furniture and effects unless exceptionally valuable, tools of trade unless exceptionally valuable, and cars unless their equity exceeds $11,500. Farm or small business equity limits follow the Department of Social Services assets test categories: $118,000 for a single home owner, $202,000 for a single non home owner, $167,000 for a married home owner, and $251,000 for a married non home owner.

The older National Means Test runs in parallel. The Guidelines say its figures are to be updated each January and July, but the version updated 1 July 2024 still shows an assessable income threshold of $180 a week reduced by itemised deductions, a housing cost deduction capped at $120 a week, a childcare deduction capped at $115 a week, a dependant allowance of $67 a week, and a maintenance deduction capped at $67 a week. It uses the same allowable asset levels as the simplified test, $740 single or $1,490 with dependants, figures the Guidelines state as at 1 January 1995, so the two tests converge on assets but differ in how they calculate income.

A grant is refused outright where the contribution the income test would require exceeds TLA's estimate of private legal costs, meaning someone can be assessed as too well off for aid but still unable to afford a private lawyer for that matter. A discretionary exceptional circumstances override exists, covering someone with insufficient time to raise private funds or who could not reasonably be expected to borrow, exercised by the people TLA designates, and the applicant still pays a full contribution, potentially secured by an equitable charge.

Merit Test

TLA's Grants of Legal Aid Guidelines apply a Commonwealth Merits Test to Commonwealth matters and a State Merits Test to State matters. The State Merits Test asks whether aid is reasonable in all the circumstances, taking into account the benefit to the applicant if aid is granted or the detriment if it is refused, whether the applicant has reasonable prospects of success, whether an ordinarily prudent self-funding litigant would risk their own money on the case, and whether spending limited public funds is appropriate given the likely benefit to the applicant or, sometimes, the community.

Matters TLA Will Not Fund

TLA's Guidelines set out real exclusions rather than a blanket criminal and family law coverage. Aid is not available for traffic offences unless the charge is dangerous or negligent driving causing death or serious injury, for drug charges that can be dealt with summarily, or for breach of community based order proceedings such as probation, community service or bail breaches, even where they end up in the Supreme Court. A defended Magistrates Court matter needs a genuine defence on the merits or a strong prospect of no case to answer; aid is explicitly refused where the only argument is putting the prosecution to proof.

Youth Justice Act 1997 matters are treated as inherently serious once they reach court, since most matters are diverted out of court through cautioning or conferencing first, but aid still needs a probability of a serious outcome such as detention, subject to a discretionary special circumstances override, and TLA's own practitioners are preferred over private ones absent a conflict. The Dietrich and Pirimona fairness principle, the rule that an unrepresented accused may not get a fair trial, is written into the Guidelines as its own named test, weighing the complexity of the case, the number of charges, the type of evidence, the likely sentence, and the accused's background and capacity.

Family Violence Act 2004 grants normally go to TLA's own family violence lawyers rather than private lawyers. Restraint orders are a separate guideline. Applicants get aid where they face threats or actual injury, threats or actual property damage, offensive or provocative behaviour likely to lead to a breach of the peace, or stalking that has caused fear, or where the Director considers their safety at risk with no other reasonable protection, provided the police were told and did not seek an order or lay charges. Respondents normally do not get aid unless the order would curtail an important right, such as staying in the home, and a court might make a lesser order, they were arrested on a warrant under section 106 of the Justices Act 1959 and are still in custody, or the Director considers the case has merit with a reasonable prospect of resisting it. On the civil side, planning appeals are not considered for aid at all, and damages or compensation claims are directed to a separate Civil Disbursement Fund rather than funded under the general civil guideline. Aid for an inquest will not normally be granted unless the applicant faces a real possibility of being charged with a serious offence connected to the death, or the Director sees a strong public interest reason for a full airing of the facts.

Contributions and Charges Over Property

Contributions can be Simplified, using the income and asset tables above, or Standard, a more detailed table split into three cost categories: Category 1 up to an estimated $900, Category 2 up to $3,000, and Category 3 over $3,000. At $160 a week assessable income the contribution is $60 across all three categories, then rises steeply, for example to $740 for Category 1, $1,470 for Category 2 and $2,930 for Category 3 in the $275 to $284 a week band. From $345 a week, only Category 3 matters remain fundable, at $5,530 plus $50 for every $1 of assessable income above $335, and Category 1 matters stop being fundable from $285 a week. Standard asset contributions run from $20 at $100 of net assets to $1,300 at $3,000, and above $3,000 the contribution becomes $1,300 plus 100 percent of assessable assets above that point, a materially steeper taper than a straightforward percentage of assets.

TLA can also require an applicant to sign an equitable charge over property they have an interest in, wherever costs and disbursements may exceed $1,000, either when the grant is made or later. The charge can be lodged with the Registrar-General, and the assisted person must be told in writing that it has been lodged and how much is owing. Where litigation itself recovers or preserves a specific asset, TLA may take a charge over that asset directly. A charge amount owing is reduced only where paying it would, in TLA's opinion, cause exceptional hardship, and where a charge is taken instead of a contribution because the person lacks the income to fund the matter, TLA typically does not call it in until the death of whichever member of the couple survives the other.

How to Apply and How Long It Takes

All applications are lodged online by a lawyer on the applicant's behalf, so a client cannot apply directly. The lawyer will need a Centrelink number if the applicant receives one, and, if the applicant is working, the last three months of bank statements and six weeks of pay slips. TLA states a processing time of up to 2 weeks for a decision. Typical contributions for successful applicants run from $60 to $200, and fully free grants exist for children, family violence matters and mental health matters. Once a grant is made, TLA asks the applicant to tell it immediately about any change in contact details, finances or information affecting eligibility. Knowingly giving false or misleading information in an application is an offence under section 46 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1990.

If Your Grant Is Refused

Section 28 and Part 5 (sections 29 to 34) of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1990 set a specific, dated process. Section 28 requires TLA to notify the person and their lawyer in writing within 14 days of a decision on legal aid or a costs payment, and to give written reasons on request. Section 29 lets the person request in writing that the decision go to a Review Committee, within 14 days of receiving that notice, or a longer period TLA allows. Sections 30 and 31 let TLA set up Review Committees of 3 members each, one private legal practitioner, one TLA officer and one person who is neither. Section 33 guarantees a reasonable opportunity to make a written submission, and the person may ask to attend and address the committee in person. Under section 34 the committee can confirm, change, or set aside and substitute the original decision, and its decision is final, though section 34(6) lets the person make a fresh application if their circumstances later change.

TLA's published review page says not every decision can be reviewed: it does not review a condition that the person be represented by a TLA lawyer or a private lawyer, or a refusal because income or assets are too high, and suggests reapplying with more financial information instead. The Act itself does not set out those exceptions. Requests can be made online, by email, by post, or by phone, and TLA's own operational target is a response within 20 working days, a service standard rather than the 14 day written notification the Act itself requires for the underlying decision.

Where Else to Go

Tasmania has three regional community legal centres: the Launceston Community Legal Centre for welfare rights, disability discrimination, employment and family law in greater Launceston, Hobart Community Legal Service for welfare rights, employment, child support, discrimination and consumer credit in greater Hobart, and the North-West Community Legal Centre for family law, motor vehicle accidents, administrative law, criminal law, neighbour disputes, consumer credit and residential tenancy. Women's Legal Service Tasmania operates statewide, and the Tenants' Union of Tasmania and the Environmental Defenders Office Tasmania cover their own specialist areas. TLA also runs its own referral directory, filterable by categories such as 24 hour availability, Aboriginal services, disability, family law, housing, LGBTI, mental health, veterans, women, and young people. See the Australia legal aid hub for how every state and territory commission compares.

Recent Changes and National Funding

The National Access to Justice Partnership 2025 to 2030 replaced the National Legal Assistance Partnership nationally from 1 July 2025, committing 3.9 billion dollars over five years across five funded streams, legal aid commissions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services, community legal centres, family violence prevention legal services, and women's legal services. TLA's own current Grants of Legal Aid Guidelines, updated 1 July 2024, still name the superseded National Legal Assistance Partnership 2020 to 2025 and an even older 2015 to 2020 partnership agreement as the source of its priority client criteria, so a reader comparing TLA's published Guidelines against the newer national agreement should expect the terminology to lag.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the phone number for Tasmania Legal Aid?

The Legal Help line is 1300 366 611, available weekdays. Check TLA's current contact page for exact hours, since TLA's own pages give slightly different opening times.

Is there a means test for legal aid in Tasmania?

Yes, and Tasmania runs two of them in parallel: a Tasmanian Simplified Means Test for electronic applications and an older National Means Test. Both use the same allowable asset levels, $740 for a single applicant or $1,490 with a financial associate or dependants, but assess income differently.

What happens if I cannot afford a private lawyer but do not qualify for free legal aid?

Tasmania Legal Aid can refuse a grant outright where the contribution the income test would require exceeds its estimate of private legal costs. TLA has a discretion to grant aid in exceptional circumstances, such as not enough time to raise private funds, but a full contribution still applies, potentially secured by an equitable charge over property.

Will I have to pay back my legal aid in Tasmania?

Many grants require a contribution, typically $60 to $200 for successful applicants, though children, family violence matters and mental health matters can be fully free. For higher cost matters, TLA can require an equitable charge over property where costs may exceed $1,000, lodged with the Registrar-General.

How long does a Tasmania Legal Aid application take?

TLA states a processing time of up to 2 weeks once a lawyer lodges the application online on the applicant's behalf.

What can I do if my application for legal aid is refused in Tasmania?

Under section 29 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1990, you can request a review within 14 days of getting TLA's written decision. A 3 member Review Committee decides, and its decision under section 34 is final, though section 34(6) lets you make a fresh application if your circumstances change. TLA's review page says it does not review refusals because income or assets are too high, and suggests reapplying with more financial information instead.

Does Tasmania Legal Aid help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?

Yes. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service has lawyers on call 24 hours a day for people in police custody, with offices in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie, and TLA holds a memorandum of understanding with TALS for joint legal work.

Where can I get help if Tasmania Legal Aid cannot assist me?

Tasmania's community legal centres in Launceston, Hobart and the North West, Women's Legal Service Tasmania, the Tenants' Union of Tasmania, the Environmental Defenders Office Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service each cover matters outside TLA's own guidelines.