By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 11 April 2026.
Key points
- A grant of legal aid pays a Tasmania Legal Aid lawyer or a private lawyer to help with your legal problem. Tasmania Legal Aid looks at three things: your financial situation (the means test), what your case is about, and whether your case is strong. For free and confidential legal information, ring Legal Help on 1300 366 611, 8:45am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
- Income: with no dependants, you pay a nominal $60 contribution if your gross household income is up to $525 a week, a higher contribution above that, and aid is normally refused above $1,025 a week. The figures rise with each dependant.
- Assets: you may be asked for a contribution if your assessed assets are more than $740 ($1,490 if you have a financial association with another person). Your car is not counted unless you have more than $11,500 equity in it.
- Your home: according to Tasmania Legal Aid's website, the house you live in is not counted if your equity is $370,000 or less in the South, $270,000 or less in the North, or $259,250 or less in the North-West. Its July 2025 guidelines list lower amounts, so check with Legal Help.
- Most grants carry a contribution, usually between $60 and $200. Not means tested: children under 18, the mental health and guardianship streams of the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT), the Safe at Home program, and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) appeals.
- Over the limit? A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in Tasmania is a fixed $295. Call 1800 577 015 at any hour for free general legal information, or request a consultation.
Tasmania Legal Aid's simplified means test, in its guidelines updated 1 July 2025, charges a nominal $60 contribution where gross household income is up to $525 a week with no dependants and normally refuses aid above $1,025 a week, the same figures as in its 1 July 2024 edition.
Every figure on this page was read on 22 October 2026 from Tasmania Legal Aid's own publications: its Grants of Legal Aid Guidelines (updated 1 July 2025) for the income limits, the contributions and the assets amounts, and its website pages "How an application for legal aid is decided" (last changed 12 February 2026) and "Applying for legal aid" for the home-equity amounts, the property mediation limit, the usual contribution and how long an answer takes. Tasmania Legal Aid decides each application itself; this page is not a promise of eligibility.
The income test
The guidelines set out a simplified means test, which applies to applications lodged electronically. It looks at your household's gross weekly income: yours, and that of anyone you have a financial relationship with, such as a partner or a relative who usually supports you. The figures depend on how many dependants rely on that income. Up to the first figure you pay a nominal $60 contribution; between the two figures you pay a higher contribution; above the second figure, "normally, aid is not granted".
| Dependants | Nominal $60 contribution up to (gross a week) | Aid normally not granted above (gross a week) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | $525 | $1,025 |
| 1 | $650 | $1,150 |
| 2 | $775 | $1,275 |
| 3 | $900 | $1,400 |
| 4 | $1,025 | $1,525 |
| 5 or more | $1,150 | $1,650 |
Between the two figures, the contribution depends on how far your income is over the first figure:
| Gross weekly household income | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Up to the first figure | $60 |
| Up to $100 over it | $200 |
| Up to $200 over it | $320 |
| Up to $300 over it | $500 |
| Up to $400 over it | $790 |
| Up to $500 over it | $1,090 |
If your only income is a Centrelink benefit, the guidelines say you are automatically treated as financially eligible, as long as you are within the assets test. Tasmania Legal Aid's website says to include Family Tax Benefit (Part A and B) payments as income.
The assets test
Counted: land, cash, shares, debentures and other investments, and the assets of anyone you are financially associated with, unless you need legal aid because you are in dispute with that person. You may be asked to pay a contribution if your assessed assets are more than $740, or $1,490 if you have a financial association with another person.
| Not counted | Limit |
|---|---|
| The house you live in | According to Tasmania Legal Aid's website: equity of $370,000 or less (South), $270,000 or less (North), or $259,250 or less (North-West). Its 1 July 2025 guidelines list lower amounts; confirm with Legal Help |
| Household furniture, and tools you need for your job | Unless exceptionally valuable |
| Your car or cars | Unless you have more than $11,500 equity |
| Special case | What applies |
|---|---|
| Family law property mediation | Tasmania Legal Aid's website says aid is available where the assets in dispute total up to $500,000 |
| Farmer or small business operator | Equity in the farm or business is allowed up to $118,000 (single, owns or is paying off their home), $202,000 (single, does not own their home), $167,000 (married, owns or is paying off their home) or $251,000 (married, does not own their home), in the 1 July 2025 guidelines. The guidelines' home-equity amounts differ from the website's, so confirm these with Legal Help too |
Who does not need to pass the means test
The guidelines say the means test does not apply to:
- children, meaning people under 18;
- people seeking legal help in the mental health stream or the guardianship stream of the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT);
- people seeking legal help from the Safe at Home program; and
- people seeking legal help with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) appeals.
What Tasmania Legal Aid funds, and whether your case is strong
Tasmania Legal Aid funds some criminal, family and civil law problems. It gives examples: you are at risk of going to prison, your problem is about a child, family violence is involved, you have an NDIS appeal, or you have a hearing about mental health treatment. It says its guidelines on which problems are funded are complex, and suggests calling 1300 366 611 to find out whether yours might be covered.
It also assesses the merit of each case: the legal and factual merits, and whether the case is more likely to succeed or fail if it goes to court; whether a sensible person would risk their own money to take the case to court; and whether the benefit to you of having a lawyer justifies spending limited public funds on your case.
How to apply
- Ring Legal Help on 1300 366 611, 8:45am to 5pm Monday to Friday, to check whether your problem might be covered.
- All applications are lodged online for you by a lawyer. If you want a Tasmania Legal Aid lawyer, it can help you apply; if you want a private lawyer, contact them to help you apply.
- Have ready your Centrelink number if you have one and, if you are working, recent bank statements and pay slips. Give everything you are asked for, or the application may be refused.
- Tasmania Legal Aid says it can take up to two weeks for an answer. If you have not had one after two weeks, or your court date is close, ask your lawyer first and then contact Tasmania Legal Aid on 1300 366 611.
- You can ask for a decision to be reviewed, but not on the ground that you have too much income or assets. If you can give more information about your income and assets, your lawyer can apply again with it.
If you earn too much for legal aid
- Free and confidential legal information is still available from Legal Help on 1300 366 611.
- 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 Tasmania 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, charges a single person in the workforce with no children no income contribution up to $695 gross a week and does not normally grant aid above $1,040 (see legal aid eligibility in Queensland); Legal Aid NSW's simplified test for some matters passes a single person earning less than $670 gross a week.
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 Tasmania 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 Tasmania Legal Aid and cannot decide a legal aid application.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 22 October 2026. Figures read on 22 October 2026 from Tasmania Legal Aid's Grants of Legal Aid Guidelines (updated 1 July 2025) and its "How an application for legal aid is decided" (last changed 12 February 2026) and "Applying for legal aid" pages.