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The Bar Pro Bono Scheme is a structured pro bono referral scheme to assist eligible applicants to find a barrister to assist them with their matter. QPILCH, which operates a similar scheme in public interest matters, manages the Bar scheme on behalf of the Bar Association of Queensland, along with the QLS Pro Bono Scheme for the Queensland Law Society.
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In order to be eligible for the Bar Pro Bono Scheme you must meet the following criteria:
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 | You are unable to obtain legal aid. | |
You meet the ‘means test’. | |
Your matter has ‘legal merit’. | |
Your matter concerns civil law, not family or criminal law. |
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| What is the ‘means test’? | |
QPILCH assists those least likely to be able to pay for a barrister at applicable charging rates. You meet the means test if you are unable, to the satisfaction of QPILCH, to pay for the legal services required to resolve your matter. We focus on applicants who are experiencing hardship.
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| What is meant by ‘legal merit’? | |
Your matter has legal merit if it has strong prospects of success. We look at:
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| the legal and factual merits of your matter; | |
whether it is likely to succeed if it goes to court; | |
if, to the satisfaction of QPILCH, it is justified applying limited available resources on the matter. |
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If you are unsure whether your matter complies with these criteria, please call us for assistance by telephone on (07) 3846 6318.
If your matter complies with these criteria, QPILCH will seek to refer your matter to a barrister who will provide legal assistance for free or at reduced cost. Legal assistance includes:
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| advice and opinions; | |
drafting of documents; | |
alternative dispute resolution; | |
research; and | |
legal representation in courts and tribunals (representation can be for the full matter or for a discrete task). |
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Requests for assistance can come to QPILCH directly from individuals and organisations and from bodies such as community legal services, private practitioners, the courts, community organisations and other referral agencies:
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| The applicant should complete an application form. | |
QPILCH will assess the matter. | |
If eligible, the matter will be referred to a participating barrister (and law firm is necessary). | |
Participating barristers are not obliged to accept a referral, so we cannot guarantee that a referral will be made in all matters that comply with our means and merit tests. | |
In most cases, QPILCH will also seek to find a law firm to instruct a barrister. In only some cases are barristers willing to accept direct instructions from a client. | |
We send to the barrister who accepts the referral a ’brief’ of the documents you have provided us and we confirm with you when a barrister has accepted a referral. | |
If ineligible, or if we are unable to find a participating barrister to accept the matter for referral, QPILCH will write to you explaining why your matter has not been referred and, in appropriate cases, will make suggestions as to who else you could approach for assistance. |
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Please print out the Application Form and return to QPILCH at:
P: PO Box 3631, SOUTH BRISBANE BC QLD 4101
F: (07) 3846 6311
E: referral@qpilch.org.au
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 | Privacy Policy - Before completing the form, please refer to QPILCH’s privacy policy. | |
In most cases, barristers are willing to provide assistance for free on matters within our criteria. However, some matters may involve a number of applicants or groups and are expensive to run. In such cases, barristers may agree to assist on a low cost basis. Applicants may need to raise funds in order to make a contribution to the running of the case.
Even where a barrister is willing to act for free you may have to make a contribution towards the outlays needed to run your case, for example, travel costs.
It is also very important to realise that if your case involves litigation and you lose the case, the court or tribunal may order that you pay all the costs (legal fees and disbursements) of the other side (the winning party).
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