Legal aid is now available for Commonwealth parole matters

23/05/2019

The Legal Aid NSW Board has approved new policies for Commonwealth parole matters and revocation of Commonwealth parole matters. These two matters are dealt with separately.

Commonwealth Parole Assistance is available for Commonwealth parole matters. Assistance for these matters is only available through the in-house practice and is provided by the Commonwealth Crime Unit (CCU) under Extended Legal Assistance (ELA). Please see Policy Bulletin 2019 No.5 for more details and contact the CCU for queries and referrals: ccu@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

Revocation of Commonwealth Parole Legal aid is available for revocation of Commonwealth Parole matters in the Local Court. When Commonwealth parole is revoked the matter is heard in the Local Court, as the State Parole Authority does not have the jurisdiction. Previously, there was not a policy that captured this specific circumstance and there was the potential for clients to appear unrepresented. The new policy makes it clear that legal aid is available for revocation of Commonwealth Parole matters in the Local Court as well as appeals to the Supreme Court. Please see the Policy Bulletin 2019 No.8 for details of the policy.