Civil or family legal aid
Civil or family legal aid is available for many types of private disputes and non-criminal problems that may go to court.
Family matters including:
- relationship property problems
- child support or maintenance
- care of children matters
- protection orders
- care and protection orders for children and young persons
- adoption
- paternity
- mental health (compulsory treatment orders)
Civil matters including:
- recovering a debt
- breach of contract (for example hire purchase)
- defamation
- bankruptcy or insolvency
Tribunal or specialist court matters including:
- Employment Relations Authority
- Employment Court
- Environment Court
- Human Rights Tribunal
- Legal Aid Tribunal
- Maori Land Court
- Refugee Status Appeal Authority
- Social Security Appeal Authority
- Taxation Review Tribunal
- Tenancy Tribunal
- Waitangi Tribunal
Civil/Family legal aid is not available for:
- problems that wouldn’t go to court (such as drawing up a will)
- divorce (dissolution of marriage)
- Disputes Tribunal
- immigration matters (except refugee matters)
- companies or groups of people (except in some cases, such as Waitangi Tribunal matters)
- reviews by Work and Income (although legal aid may be available to appeal a decision made by the Social Security Appeal Authority)
- problems with schools, universities and other educational institutions (such as suspension meetings before the school’s board of trustees)
- Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal
