Disbursement assistance is available to support certain pro bono legal work. Disbursement assistance may be available through:
The nature of the assistance available varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Disbursement support schemes
On 1 July 2012 the Commonwealth changed its legal financial assistance schemes and introduced a new Disbursement Support Scheme that aims to provide financial support for pro bono work in Commonwealth law matters.
Details of all Commonwealth, State and Territory disbursement assistance schemes can be found in Chapter 1.12 of the Australian Pro Bono Manual.
Court and Tribunal fee waiver arrangements
Court and Tribunal registries will be able to provide information regarding available fee exemptions and waivers.
Fee exemption and waiver guides are also available in the following jurisdictions (many also provide information regarding the Federal Courts and Tribunals):
- NSW – the NSW Department of Justice has produced a fee exemption waiver guide for NSW Supreme, District and Local Courts.
- Qld – LawRight has produced a suite of Factsheets which provide details on fee waivers and reductions in the Queensland Courts, the AAT, Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court and High Court.
- SA – the Legal Services Commission has published a court and tribunal fee waiver guide which covers all South Australian Courts and Federal Courts and Tribunals.