For legal aid to be granted for an expert report from a psychologist the following tests must be satisfied:
- the applicant has been provided aid for the substantive matter, and
- the request meets the merits test.
Requests for an interstate report writer are determined by the Assistant Director Grants.
Requirements
Extension of aid requests received from preferred supplier or in-house practitioner
Practitioners seeking a grant of legal assistance should electronically submit an extension of aid request via the Grants Online system with details as to why the report is required and the number of hours sought to prepare the report. The practitioner must also provide information to support the merit test with regards to the “appropriateness of spending limited public legal aid funds" test, and the "prudent self-funding litigant" test.
Grant(s) of aid
The grant of aid for a psychologist to prepare the following reports is outlined below:
- Long assessment and report for an adult is PY6
- Neurological assessment for an adult or child is PY7
Review of decisions
A decision to refuse legal aid for this type of matter may be appealed to the external review officer (refer to review of decisions).