By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 11 April 2026.
Key points
- A grant of legal aid from Legal Aid NSW depends on passing its eligibility tests, including the means test, which looks at your income and assets. For phone help, call LawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
- Standard test, income: you pass if your net assessable income (your income after the deductions Legal Aid NSW allows) is $450 a week or less. Above $450 a week you pass only in exceptional circumstances.
- Standard test, assets: up to $815,000 of equity in your home is not counted, and a single applicant is allowed $5,020 of other assets ($6,530 with dependants or a financially associated person). If your net assessable assets are over $100, you pay an assets contribution.
- Simplified test: used for summary criminal matters, District Court appeals, apprehended violence order matters, and civil matters in NCAT and the Administrative Review Tribunal. A single person household passes the income part with gross income under $670 a week, cut from $1,157 a week on 30 July 2026. Cash assets must be under $10,000.
- Contributions: under the standard test the income contribution starts at $75 and rises with income, unless your matter is exempt. The simplified test has a $75 initial contribution, which Legal Aid NSW says it has no discretion to reduce or waive.
- Over the limit? A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in New South Wales is a fixed $295. Call 1800 577 015 at any hour for free general legal information, or request a consultation.
Legal Aid NSW's standard means test passes an applicant whose net assessable income is $450 a week or less and does not count up to $815,000 of home equity, and its Simplified Means Test passes a single person household with gross income under $670 a week, according to Legal Aid NSW's Policy Online, read on 22 October 2026.
Every figure on this page was read on 22 October 2026 from Legal Aid NSW's Policy Online: its income test and assets test pages (which show no publication date), its pages on the Simplified Means Test and on how the means test sets the initial contribution (both last published 30 July 2026), its policy bulletins on the changes of 1 May 2023, 1 June 2026 and 30 July 2026, and its 2026-27 service and policy changes page. Legal Aid NSW decides each application itself, and the means test is only one of its eligibility tests; this page is not a promise of eligibility.
The standard means test: income
Legal Aid NSW works out your net assessable income: your income less the deductions it allows. Since 1 May 2023, Family Tax Benefit and rent assistance count as income. These are the most Legal Aid NSW deducts each week:
| Deduction | Most allowed a week |
|---|---|
| Income tax | The tax you pay |
| Housing costs | $615 in the Greater Metropolitan Region; $400 in all other regions |
| Allowance for a financially associated person | $225 |
| Allowance for each dependant | $135 |
| Child support you pay | $135 per child |
| Childcare | $325 |
| Net assessable income | Passes the income test? |
|---|---|
| $450 a week or less | Yes |
| More than $450 a week | Only in exceptional circumstances |
If you receive a Centrelink payment at the maximum rate, you satisfy the income test, and you pay a $75 income contribution unless your matter is exempt.
Your net assessable income also sets an income contribution towards your legal costs:
| Net assessable income (a week) | Income contribution |
|---|---|
| $0 to $213 | $75 |
| $214 to $234 | $150 |
| $235 to $255 | $225 |
| $256 to $276 | $300 |
| $277 to $307 | $375 |
| $308 to $338 | $450 |
| $339 to $369 | $565 |
| $370 to $396 | $720 |
| $397 to $423 | $915 |
| $424 to $450 | $1,150 |
| Over $450 (exceptional circumstances only) | From $1,425, rising with income |
The standard means test: assets
Legal Aid NSW leaves these out when it assesses your assets:
| Asset | How it is treated |
|---|---|
| Equity in your home | Not counted, up to $815,000 |
| Household furniture and effects, clothing, and tools of trade | Not counted, at a reasonable value |
| Motor vehicles | Not counted: one for a one-person household, two for a household of two or more adults |
| Farm or business equity | Not counted, up to $287,750 |
| Allowable assets (for example, cash) | $5,020 allowed for a single applicant; $6,530 with dependants or a financially associated person |
| NDIS, redress and emergency payments | Not counted |
| Assets restrained under the Proceeds of Crime Act | Not counted |
What is left is your net assessable assets. If that is $100 or less, you pass the assets test. Above $100, you pay an assets contribution:
| Net assessable assets | Assets contribution |
|---|---|
| Up to $100 | Nil |
| $101 to $500 | $100 |
| $501 to $3,000 | $100, plus 65 percent of the amount over $500 |
| Over $3,000 | $1,725, plus the full amount over $3,000 |
If you own a home and your matter is expensive, or the dispute is about the property, Legal Aid NSW requires a charge over the property. Legal Aid NSW raised its home equity figure from $521,100 to $815,000 on 1 May 2023.
The Simplified Means Test
Legal Aid NSW uses a shorter test for summary criminal matters, District Court appeals, apprehended violence order (AVO) matters and, since 1 June 2026, civil matters in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and the Administrative Review Tribunal. You pass the income part if your household's gross income is less than the limit for your household type.
| Household | Gross income less than (a week) | Limit before 30 July 2026 (a week) |
|---|---|---|
| Single person | $670 ($34,840 a year) | $1,157 |
| Couple only | $920 | $1,365 |
| Single person with children | $1,376 | $1,933 |
| Couple with children | $1,670 | $2,145 |
Your cash assets must be less than $10,000. People receiving Centrelink income support pass the income test automatically. An initial contribution of $75 applies, and Legal Aid NSW says it has no discretion to reduce or waive it. When the Legal Aid NSW Board cut these limits on 30 July 2026, it pointed to growing demand for duty and grant services in the Local Court.
Phone lines in New South Wales
| Line | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| LawAccess NSW | 1300 888 529 | 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday |
| Legal Aid NSW Youth Hotline | 1800 10 18 10 | 9am to midnight weekdays, and 24 hours from Friday 9am to Sunday midnight and on public holidays |
If you earn too much for legal aid
- Phone help is still available from LawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529.
- Community legal centres give free help to some groups of people and in some areas of law.
- A private lawyer. Go To Court Lawyers arranges a 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in New South Wales for a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person, and the lawyer tells you what any further work would cost before you commit. Call 1800 577 015 at any hour, or request a consultation.
Legal aid in other states uses different figures. Legal Aid Queensland, for example, does not normally grant aid to a single person with no children earning more than $1,040 gross a week; Victoria Legal Aid's test uses assessable income after allowable expenses.
How Go To Court Lawyers can help
Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. If you want advice, a 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in New South Wales is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available. Go To Court Lawyers is not part of Legal Aid NSW and cannot decide a legal aid application.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 22 October 2026. Figures read on 22 October 2026 from Legal Aid NSW's Policy Online: the means test's income test, assets test and initial contribution pages, the Simplified Means Test page (last published 30 July 2026), Policy Bulletins 2023/5, 2026/2 and 2026/6, and the 2026-27 service and policy changes page.