Panel Information and Forms

A legal practitioner willing to undertake legal aid assignments (whether criminal, family or civil) must be a member of the Legal Services Commission’s General Panel of practitioners. For certain matters, a practitioner may also be required to be a member of a specialist panel. A practitioner must be a member of the General Panel before being eligible to apply for membership of a specialist panel.

Briefing Counsel

A solicitor acting on a legal aid assignment must advise the name of the counsel who is to be briefed for trial. Should counsel change, the solicitor must inform the Commission of the new counsel.  Counsel must be a member of the General Panel and, if relevant, the applicable specialist panel.

General Panel

Complex Criminal Law Panel

Guardianship and Mental Health Representation Panel

Independent Children's Lawyer Panel

Family Dispute Resolution Chairperson Panel

Application Forms

General Panel

To apply for inclusion on the General Panel a practitioner must complete an application form and sign a General Panel Agreement (which includes Practice Standards). By signing the Agreement, the practitioner agrees to be bound by the Agreement and the Practice Standards.

The General Panel Agreement will be returned to the practitioner after being signed by the Commission to confirm the practitioner’s inclusion on the Panel.  The date entered by the Commission is the date from which the Panel membership commences.

An application for inclusion on the General Panel must be made on the form accessible on this page.

Specialist Panels

Complex Criminal Law Panel

To be granted an assignment involving a complex criminal case a practitioner must be a member of the Complex Criminal Law Panel. A case is a complex criminal case if –
 

1. the case involves– the death of a person; and the charges arise either, directly or indirectly, from that death, unless the charge is a summary or minor indictable charge; or
    
2. the case is listed for trial in the Supreme Court; or
    
3. the case–
   • is a case of attempted murder;
   • is a case of conspiracy to murder;
   • is a sexual offence involving multiple complainants or multiple defendants;
   • involves a charge or a series of charges of dishonesty  totalling in excess of $500 000; or
   • involves any other serious criminal offence designated by the Director as a complex criminal case; or
4. the case has an estimated trial length of 20 days or more; or
    
5. the brief consists of more than 5 000 pages; or
    
6. the case involves an appeal–
   • in the Court of Criminal Appeal against conviction; or
   • in the High Court.

A practitioner may be included on the Complex Criminal Law Panel to undertake solicitor work only or to undertake counsel and solicitor work.  To be considered for inclusion on the Panel to undertake solicitor work only, a practitioner must have at least five years experience in criminal law. To be considered for inclusion on the Panel to undertake counsel work, a practitioner must have at least five years counsel experience in criminal law.

To act as lead counsel in a murder trial for which legal assistance has been granted a practitioner must be a member of the murder subpanel of the Complex Criminal Law Panel.

To be considered for inclusion on the murder subpanel of the Complex Criminal Law Panel, a practitioner must have a minimum of ten years counsel experience in complex criminal cases.

An application for inclusion on the Complex Criminal Law Panel must be made on the form accessible on this page.

Guardianship and Mental Health Representation Panel

Section 65 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993 (SA) and section 84 of the Mental Health Act 2009 (SA) provide for the establishment of schemes for legal representation in relation to particular proceedings under these Acts.

A practitioner will only be assigned a matter by the Legal Services Commission under these Acts if the practitioner is a member of the Guardianship and Mental Health Representation Panel.

To be considered for inclusion on the Guardianship and Mental Health Representation Panel a practitioner must–

1. be a member of the General Panel;
    
2. if holding a practising certificate with the restriction that the practitioner must complete supervised practice in accordance with LPEAC 2018 Rule 11, be able to be supervised by a practitioner employed within the same legal practice who holds an unrestricted practising certificate and is also a member of the Guardianship and Mental Health Representation Panel;
3. either–

• have experience in appeals under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993 (SA) or the Mental Health Act 2009 (SA) or
• have experience in administrative law;

4. if the practitioner is an employee, have the consent of his or her employer to the practitioner’s inclusion on the Panel; and
    
5. agree to comply with the Guardianship and Mental Health Representation Panel Practice Standards and fee scales.

An application for inclusion on the Guardianship and Mental Health Representation Panel must be made on the form accessible on this page.

Independent Children’s Lawyer Panel

In cases where the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia makes an order that the child’s interests in proceedings in the court ought to be independently represented, the court requests the Legal Services Commission to arrange the appointment of an Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL).

To be considered for inclusion onto the Independent Children's Lawyer Panel the practitioner must-

1. be a member of the General Panel established by the Legal Services Commission;
    
2. have completed the Independent Children's Lawyer National Training Program;
    
3. have a minimum of five years recent post admission experience in Family Law;
    
4. be currently primarily practising in Family Law matters; and
    
5. hold a current DHS Working With Children Check.

If counsel is briefed, counsel must be a member of the General Panel and –

1. have completed the Independent Children’s Lawyer National Training Program; or
2. have a minimum of five years recent post admission experience in family law.

At this time, Legal Services is accepting applications for inclusion on the Independent Children's Lawyer Panel.

Family Dispute Resolution Chairperson Panel

A family dispute resolution practitioner will only be appointed by the Legal Services Commission to chair a family dispute resolution conference if the practitioner is a member of the Family Dispute Resolution Chairperson Panel.

Applications for inclusion on the Family Dispute Resolution Chairperson Panel open periodically. At this time, applications for inclusion on the Family Dispute Resolution Chairperson Panel are closed. 

Application Forms

• Application form for inclusion on the General Panel of Practitioners
• General Panel Agreement and Practice Standards
• Information and Application for inclusion on the Complex Criminal Law Panel
• Information and Application for inclusion on the Guardianship & Mental Health Representation Panel
• Information and Application form for inclusion on the Independent Children’s Lawyer Panel
• Information and Application form for inclusion on the Family Dispute Resolution Chairperson Panel
• Family Dispute Resolution Chairperson Panel Agreement and Practice Standards
• EFT Form for Solicitor
• EFT Form for Barrister

Please note that each EFT application must be accompanied by a copy of the firm's stationery that shows the firm's street address and ABN.

By completing an application form the practitioner is acknowledging that the information provided is true and correct and will be relied on by the Commission in deciding on the practitioner’s admission to the panel for which they are applying.

A practitioner with a question in relation to panels should contact the Panels Officer on 8111 5531.