Addendum to the Commonwealth Guidelines for Legal Financial Assistance 2012: Administration of the National Anti-Corruption Commission General Scheme

Introduction

This document contains information about applying for Commonwealth legal financial assistance under the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) General Scheme as established by Part 4 of the National Anti‑Corruption Commission Regulations 2023 (the NACC Regulations).

The NACC General Scheme assists eligible individuals with the reasonable legal representation and disbursement costs associated with appearing or being represented at the NACC hearings, and judicial review of matters under the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (NACC Act).

Current and former parliamentarians seeking legal financial assistance in respect of their engagement with the NACC must first seek assistance under the NACC Parliamentary Scheme as established by Part 5 of the NACC Regulations. Current and former parliamentarians may email NACC.parlassist@ag.gov.au for further information.

Current or former employees of non-corporate Commonwealth entities or persons employed as a minister’s staff member under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984must first seek assistance under Appendix E to the Legal Services Directions 2017. The Human Resources area of the relevant entity should be contacted in the first instance to enquire as to the appropriate area for receiving Appendix E applications. It is not necessary to disclose your NACC matter at this first contact.

You must read this document with the Commonwealth Guidelines for Legal Financial Assistance 2012 (the Guidelines) before applying for a grant under the NACC General Scheme. The application form can be found on the National Anti-Corruption Commission General Scheme page.

About the NACC General Scheme

The Attorney-General’s Department (the department) administers the NACC General Scheme under the Financial assistance towards legal costs and related expenses program. The purpose of the program is to contribute towards achieving a just and secure society through the maintenance and improvement of Australia’s law, justice, security and integrity frameworks. This is delivered by administering programs and services to support access to justice. The program is part of Program 1.4 Justice Services within Outcome 1 of the department’s Portfolio Budget Statement.

The NACC General Scheme is administered in accordance with the Guidelines. However, where the Guidelines refer to a ‘grant’, the word ‘payment’ should be substituted as assistance provided under this scheme are not grants for the purposes of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Principles 2024. Please refer to Appendix A for further particulars.

This document prevails to the extent of any inconsistency with the Guidelines. The NACC Regulations prevail to the extent of any inconsistency with the Guidelines and this document.

Eligibility

The department can only consider your application if you satisfy the criteria in Part 4 of the Guidelines, the additional information below and Appendix A.

The section below replaces section 4.1 of the Guidelines.

In accordance with Part 4 of the NACC Regulations, to be eligible to apply for assistance you must:

• have been summoned to attend a hearing of the Commission, or
• be represented at a hearing by a legal practitioner with the consent of the Commissioner and not be giving evidence at the hearing, or
• have applied, or propose to apply, to the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 for an order in respect of a matter arising under the Act.

You must also have sought legal aid from a legal aid commission in your state or territory prior to applying under the NACC General Scheme. If you will be receiving legal aid for your NACC matter, we cannot provide you with funding under the NACC General Scheme.

The department may seek the advice of the National Anti-Corruption Commission to determine whether you are eligible.

Application process

The department will consider your application in line with Part 5 of the Guidelines, the Commonwealth Legal Financial Assistance Schemes Assessment of Costs July 2012 (the Assessment of Costs), the additional information below and Appendix A.

Your application will include an assessment of whether you have the means to meet the cost of the legal representation and associated disbursement costs without incurring serious financial difficulty.

In assessing section 5.8 of the Guidelines, the decision maker will likely consider that you are unable to meet the cost of your legal action if you receive Centrelink benefits as your main source of income. The decision maker may also consider circumstances where finances are unable to be accessed temporarily due to circumstances outside your control, for example, domestic violence, incarceration or where your assets have been restrained but may be returned to you at a later time.

Legal financial assistance available

The amount of legal financial assistance available under a grant will be assessed in accordance with the rates payable under the Assessment of Costs. It will also be subject to a consideration of funds available under the Financial assistance towards legal costs and related expenses program.

Submitting an application

It is our preference that completed applications are submitted by email to finass@ag.gov.au.

If you need further assistance in completing your application, please email us at finass@ag.gov.au or call Legal Financial Assistance Casework on 02 6141 4770 or 1800 117 995.

Notice of decision

The decision-maker must, within 28 days of receiving a complete application, provide a decision on the application to you, or the entity that applied on behalf of you.

Appendix A