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This information is general and is not a substitute for legal advice. The Legal Service Commission provides free advice for most legal problems. Contact the Legal Helpline on 1300 366 424 or visit www.lsc.sa.gov.au or www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au
The Legal Services Commission helps people with legal problems. You may have been arrested, had a car accident, have a problem with your family, received a summons, or any of a hundred other things and not know where to go. The Legal Services Commission can provide legal information, legal advice and grants of legal aid.
Anyone can call the Legal Helpline for fast legal information and advice. This is a free service. Simply call 1300 366 424 between 9:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday.
Legal Chat is an online text service that provides legal information via mobile phone, tablet or desktop when the Legal Helpline is open. Legal Chat is currently unavailable. Please call our free Legal Helpline on 1300 366 424.
For face-to-face advice, we can make an appointment for you to talk to a legal adviser at one of our offices. We can provide initial advice for most legal problems and can refer you to other places to get help. To save yourself time, you should first call the Legal Helpline for initial advice. Appointments are free of charge, but are generally restricted to 30 minutes.
The Disability Information and Legal Assistance Unit (DiLA) provides specialised information and legal advice for South Australians with disability, as well as their supporters and advocates. To find out more, visit www.lsc.sa.gov.au/dila.
This service, located at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA), recognises that people coming to the Court have more than just legal needs. The service has both duty lawyers and social support workers.
Duty lawyers can provide advice, help with adjournments, legal aid applications and referrals, but cannot provide ongoing assistance or representation.
Social workers support people affected by family violence with other non-legal needs such as safety, accommodation, financial counselling and accessing other support services
Duty solicitors are legal aid lawyers at the Magistrates Courts and Youth Courts who help people charged with criminal offending. Duty solicitors are available to provide advice and help with bail applications and adjournments. Whether the duty solicitor can help you depends on what you have been charged with, your personal circumstances and how many other people need help on that day. They are usually very busy so it is best to get advice before going to court.
This is a statewide service for women experiencing family violence. Lawyers can provide advice and representation in relation to intervention orders in the Magistrates Court and tenancy matters at the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Call 1800 246 642 or visit wdvcas.lsc.sa.gov.au.
Family Law Conferencing uses mediation to help resolve family law problems. To use our conferencing service, either you or the other person involved in the dispute must be receiving legal aid. To find out more about conferencing, see our Family Law Conferencing brochure or call Family Dispute Resolution on 8111 5534.
Another way of resolving family law problems without going to court if your relationship is still amicable is via amica. This is an online tool that can help you to reach agreement about parenting, property and money matters when you separate. Visit amica.gov.au.
We provide a range of services for those owed or owing child support. For help and advice, call 8111 5576, leave your details and we will call you back. You can also email childsupportunit@lsc.sa.gov.au.
Bring any papers you may have about your problem. It may also be useful to write down your questions beforehand.
Looking for information? Visit our Law Handbook at www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au, a comprehensive and easy to understand guide to the law in South Australia.
We also run legal information sessions, workshops and webinars. Visit lsc.sa.gov.au/Education for more information and to request an information session.
Legal Services publishes a number of booklets, pamphlets and other resources on a range of legal topics. To download or order our publications, visit lsc.sa.gov.au/publications.
If you need this publication in a different format, call 8111 5555 and ask to speak to someone in the Community Legal Education Team. We would be happy to discuss your needs.
If you need more than legal advice, we may provide a lawyer to help with your case. To apply for legal aid, you must fill in an application form and show us proof of your income and assets. You can apply online via the Online Legal Services Portal (lsc.sa.gov.au/legalaid). Alternatively, hard copy application forms are available from our offices or private lawyers. You will generally get a letter within 14 days to say if you have been granted legal aid. A faster response will be provided in urgent matters.
Legal aid is not available for every legal problem. In granting legal aid we consider:
Yes. You can choose a private lawyer to represent you under a grant of legal aid. However, there are some rules to ensure that your lawyer is appropriately experienced to represent you under a grant of legal aid. If you don’t already have a lawyer, we may use one of our experienced staff lawyers or pay a private lawyer to represent you.
Legal aid is not free. There is a minimum contribution of $70 for family law matters and $50 for all other matters. You may be asked to contribute more towards your legal costs, depending on your income and assets. If you have real estate, a Statutory Charge can be placed on the title, so that your legal costs will be repaid at a later date when the property is sold or transferred. See our Statutory Charge fact sheet for more information.
We will pay legal fees from the date when legal aid is granted. You must pay for any legal costs incurred before your application is approved.
No. Under our legal aid guidelines there are certain matters for which representation is not normally available. However, these guidelines may be waived in special circumstances. Even if we cannot represent you, we can usually provide you with information and advice. Call our Legal Helpline for details on 1300 366 424.
We do not usually represent people in the following:
Translating and Interpreting Service
131 450
National Relay Service
TTY users phone 133 677
Speak and listen users 1300 555 727
SMS Relay 0423 677 767
Internet relay users visit nrschat.nrscall.gov.au
Legal Helpline
1300 366 424
Child Support Advice
8111 5576
27 February 2024
We embrace diversity and welcome all people, irrespective of culture, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity.
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Legal Services acknowledges Aboriginal people as the Traditional Owners and ongoing occupants of the lands and waters in South Australia and we respect their spiritual, cultural and heritage beliefs. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community and pay our deep respect to Elders past and present.
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