490 The Legal Aid Act 1969, which introduced New Zealand`s first civil legal aid scheme, stated in its long title that it was intended to assist persons with “low or medium means”. Its successor, the Legal Services Act 1991, states that its intention is to make legal aid and services more readily available to people with insufficient resources. The 1991 Act maintains the income and capital “criteria” of the 1969 Act for determining a person`s financial eligibility for legal aid. 571 The net effect is that a legal aid recipient who owns a dwelling has the option of keeping his dwelling, but is subject to a burden vis-à-vis the Commission des services juridiques, which is likely to have more favourable repayment terms than a commercial mortgage. For example, fees in favour of the Commission des services juridiques may not need to be reimbursed before the sale of the apartment and even then, they may be transferred from one apartment to another. (Legal Services Act, § 49) However, as noted earlier, this aspect of the operation of the legal aid system was unknown to women who commented on the impact of fees on their households in favour of the commission. If you have more than 5 dependants, the income threshold increases by $7,124 for each additional dependant. Legal aid is a legal fund provided by the government that is used for your legal fees. It includes legal advice and representation for people who may not be able to afford it themselves. The Legal Aid Office offers this service to eligible individuals, so you can get legal help if you need it. 515 Women involved in matrimonial property disputes are the group of beneficiaries most likely to be charged, as women make up the vast majority of beneficiaries (70%) and matrimonial property disputes are the most likely to encumber property. It has been shown that the vast majority of female beneficiaries have dependent children and are “unemployed” (see Chapter 5, paragraph 394). It has also been shown that women have lower income levels than men and are financially more affected by marriage breakdown (see Chapter 4, paragraph 223).

530 Although it is not possible to calculate precisely the current income from initial contributions, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research has indicated that, if 20 000 applications for legal aid were granted each year, taking into account the effects of the Domestic Violence Act, the amount of revenue lost as a result of the cancellation of the USD 50 contribution would be in the order of USD 640 000. (New Zealand Institute of Economic Research 1997, 5-6) This amount does not take into account the administrative costs of collecting the initial contribution from recipients. These would jeopardize potential revenues. 568 In addition to the margin of inconsistency in the exercise of the discretion of the subcommittees (see also para. 592-606), the fact that the capital test is based primarily on the type of condominium rather than its value can create inequalities between low-income applicants who own a property, particularly a home, and those who have little ownership but create money in the form of savings. The amount of savings that excludes a person who would pass income and capital audits in addition to his or her savings from eligibility for civil legal aid is the amount that convinces the district subcommittee that “the person can afford to continue without legal aid.” (§ 28 para. 2) It is unclear how the District Legal Services subcommittees interpret this provision, but some lawyers who provide legal assistance have questioned the resulting situation. It is clear from their submissions that they believe they can throw people who need legal assistance, whom they cannot afford, into the “black hole” between not being eligible for legal aid and not being able to afford legal services.

547 Overall, it follows that the legal aid model, which is so closely linked to the private market for legal services, is subject to significant restrictions on its ability to provide eligible New Zealanders with the legal representation they need. Amendments to the Legal Services Act 1991 would be necessary to empower the Legal Services Board to introduce alternative methods of legal aid in jurisdictions or regions of New Zealand where it believes better coverage is needed. “Our own firm has lost the number of times we have paid the $50 ourselves on behalf of clients to ensure they receive legal aid.” – Pacific Islands Women`s Consultation Report, 30,551 The New Zealand Law Society`s survey of lawyers confirms the view that the complexity of the legal aid application process discourages applications. Of the 30% of lawyers who said they had not actively discussed or accessed legal aid, almost half (45%) cited long forms as a reason. (Lawyer Survey, 36) Similarly, the Commission des services juridiques` 1995 review of the Act respecting legal services indicated the following: 67% of respondents said that simplified forms were desirable. (Revision of the Legal Services Act 1991, 7) New Zealand judges had long had the power to appoint a defence lawyer,[1] but under the Westminister Poor Prisoners Defence Act 1903,[2][3] efforts were made to introduce similar legislation in New Zealand. [1] [4] This was the Justices of the Peace (Amendment) Act, 1912, which provided legal aid for crimes. [1] The Legal Aid Act 1939 (No. 42)[5] “empowered the New Zealand Law Society to establish committees and bodies of legal practitioners to assist the poor” and gave the Governor General the power to introduce regulations on the definition of a “poor person”. [5] Although no new rules were introduced, in practice the legal profession provided legal aid to those in need of members of the public. The applications were addressed to the local district bar and, if successful, the district bar would find a lawyer to represent them. “I think when you look at the pressure that has been put on the legal aid system over the last decade and the lack of response to ensure that we are dealing with fees for lawyers and thresholds for people who qualify for legal aid, the investment of nearly $190 million will make a big difference.

610 Chapters 6 and 7 examine the provision of community legal services and the operation of the civil legal aid system. The following chapters discuss the regulation and provision of legal services provided by lawyers in private practice in general. 578 Within the criminal legal aid system, there are certain mechanisms for monitoring the services provided. Successful candidates receive lawyers from lists of practitioners established by district bar associations. Companies and district and higher court judges have the power to remove low-quality lawyers from the lists. (Legal Services Act, § 18) However, in many districts, the standards used to create lists and remove practitioners from the lists are not clearly defined. The New Zealand Law Society has recently issued guidelines on these two issues to assist district societies. Start on the left side of the table by finding out how many dependents you have. Your children are your dependents and your spouse or partner will also be your dependant if they have no income. Next, look at the corresponding image on the right side of the table.