Duty Lawyer Service

We provide a free duty lawyer service to most Magistrates Courts in South Australia. Duty lawyers are usually Legal Services employees. In some country areas, private lawyers provide duty lawyer services on our behalf.

The duty lawyer provides legal advice, assistance and representation to those who are charged with criminal offending and face disadvantage in court due to factors such as a lack of financial resources, lack of understanding of court procedures, language barriers, cultural background, age, physical or mental health, and gender.

The duty lawyer service operates full time in the Adelaide Magistrates Court and the Youth Court located in the Adelaide CBD. The duty lawyer service is also available in all metropolitan Magistrates and Youth Courts, as well as Mount Barker, Port Augusta, Whyalla, and Mount Gambier, when the courts sit to hear the general lists. This is when matters are listed for mention, and may proceed by way of plea or remand/adjournment.

The service duty lawyers can provide is limited and prioritised based on legal need.

Priority 1: Representation of people in custody

A duty lawyer’s first priority is to represent people in custody who have recently been arrested and wish to apply for bail. They may have been arrested that day, night or weekend before they are brought to court. This category is often referred to as overnight arrests or overnight custodies.

Duty lawyers can also help people in custody who have previously appeared in court and remain unrepresented in the matter before the court that day.

Duty lawyers can help people in custody:

• understand what will happen next
• apply for bail
• apply for a bail assessment or home detention report in respect of bail 
• by appearing on the return of a bail assessment report or home detention report
• provide submissions to the court following a plea of guilty in minor criminal matters (where imprisonment is unlikely)
• request an adjournment to allow the person to apply for legal aid or hire a private lawyer
• put forward an urgent in-custody application form to have someone assigned to act as soon as possible. 

Priority 2: Representation of people who are not in custody

The second priority of a duty lawyer is to represent people who are not in custody but need help to apply for an adjournment or to enter a plea of guilty in summary or less serious criminal matters.

A duty lawyer will usually only be able to help where the person would be at a serious disadvantage without representation. 

For more complex matters requiring more detailed preparation for sentencing submissions, the duty lawyer will generally advise the defendant to seek an adjournment and apply for legal aid or hire a private lawyer as soon as possible.

Priority 3: Advising people who are not in custody

A duty lawyer’s third priority is to provide legal advice to people who are not in custody and who are appearing in court that day. A duty lawyer can help an unrepresented defendant:

• assess merit and whether they should apply for legal aid
• consider whether they may have a legal defence to the alleged offending
• consider whether to seek an adjournment and apply for legal aid or hire a private lawyer who can negotiate with police or represent them at trial
• understand the possible penalties they may be facing for the alleged offending, including a fine, licence disqualification, good behaviour bond and community service
• understand when they may be at risk of imprisonment and if a suspended sentence or home detention may be an option.

Duty lawyers can also help unrepresented defendants understand court procedure, conduct their own guilty plea and prepare submissions in mitigation of penalty. 

Declining assistance

Duty lawyers can only provide limited assistance and cannot always help every person.

A duty lawyer may decline to represent someone if:

• they have already instructed a lawyer in the matter
• the matter is complex, or there is a real risk of imprisonment, and therefore needs more senior legal representation
• they could reasonably represent themselves, such as for simple cannabis possession charges, minor traffic offences or intervention order proceedings
• they are hostile, aggressive or unable to give adequate instructions
• the duty lawyer has a conflict of interest
• the duty lawyer has higher priorities requiring attention. 

Prison Advisory Service

Duty lawyers also provide free advice to prisoners in metropolitan and country prisons. This includes answering queries about sentences, providing information and advice about parole, helping prisoners complete legal aid forms, and referring prisoners to other agencies.