Application for assistance

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Information about this form

What is this form?

This form is to apply for legal assistance from Community Law, which is a pro bono legal service connecting volunteer lawyers to people who need legal help.

Who should apply?

We give free legal help in limited situations. To be eligible, your problem needs to be something that fits our expertise, capacity, and policies.

We assess each application individually in order to determine if we can assist. We prioritise helping people and organisations that are most in need.

What happens next?

After an application is submitted, you will get a confirmation email. We may call or email you asking for more information before we determine whether we can assist you.

We try to respond to applications within 7 days, however it may take longer over holiday or busy periods. If there are any urgent upcoming deadlines, we may not be able to assist beforehand.

Agreement

I understand that this is an application only, that I am making a request for assistance, and until Community Law indicates that legal assistance will be provided, no client-solicitor relationship is created.

Do you have authority, in writing, to submit this application on behalf of the client? * "in writing" means signed, text or email.

Yes No

Has the client agreed, in writing, to our Client Terms - General (including the acknowledgments and authorisations)? * "in writing" means signed, text or email. Do you agree to our Client Terms - General (including the acknowledgments and authorisations)? * Have you read and agreed to our Terms and Conditions ? *

Yes No

I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy *

Yes No

Application Type

Type of applicant *

Do you have authority to submit this application on behalf of this organisation and share their information? * We are only able to communicate with people who have authority to make a legal enquiry on behalf of an organisation. That means that you must either be an Executive Officer/CEO, Chairperson or board member(s) of your organisation, or someone who is authorised by any of those people to make an enquiry on behalf of the organisation. Do you have authority to submit this application on behalf of the client and share their information? * We are only able to communicate with people who have authority to make a legal enquiry on behalf of the client.

Yes No

Information about the client

Has the client applied for or received assistance from Community Law before?

Yes No

Client's name *

Client's date of birth *

Client's email address

Client's phone number *

Client's address

Client's locale

Does the client need face-to-face interaction?

Yes No

On average, how much money has the client earned per month over the last 12 months?

Is the client receiving a main benefit from MSD? *

Yes No

How many people are in the client's household? * Household includes client, partner and dependents.

Does the household own their primary place of residence? *

Yes No

Estimated value of home *

Estimated mortgage remaining on home *

Cash, savings and term deposits *

Estimated value of other assets * Do not include household chattels or family car. Please include family trust, other land, boats and other vehicles.

Estimated value of other debts * Do not include the mortgage on the family home or money owed on family’s main car.

Tell us a little about the client’s background and personal circumstances We ask this to assess the public interest in this matter and/or whether we can refer to a specialist program. E.g. What do they do for a living? Are they a social minority? Do they have any health concerns? Are they homeless or at risk of homelessness? Have they been affected by a natural disaster or other event? Any other personal circumstances.

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Information about your organisation

Has the organisation applied for or received assistance from Community Law before?

Yes No

Organisation name *

Organisation email address

Organisation phone number *

Organisation address

Organisation website

Organisation company/business number

How many employees does your organisation have (salaried and freelance)?

Organisation locale

Which special interest area does your organisation work within?

What is your organisation's annual revenue? * We ask this to see if you are eligible for free legal assistance.

Tell us a little about the organisation or business We ask this to assess the public interest in this matter and/or whether we can refer to a specialist program. What do they do? What is their structure? How much revenue/profit do they receive per year? Have they been affected by a natural disaster or other event? Any other details.

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How should we contact the organisation? E.g. do not call directly, during work hours only, prefer email, etc.

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Information about the assistance required

What has happened/what is the issue? *

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If known, what are the areas of law?

If known, what jurisdiction applies to the legal issue?

If other parties are involved, please provide their names. Other parties are the people on the other side of the legal issue (eg. a person or business they have a dispute with).

Please provide the names of any lawyers this referral should not be offered to, such as lawyers for the other parties or where conflicts might exist.

If related parties are involved, please provide their names. Related parties are the people on the client's side of the legal issue (e.g. another family member experiencing the same issue, a business owned by the client).

What help is needed from a lawyer? E.g. general advice, assistance negotiating with someone, writing a legal document, representation in a court or tribunal etc.

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What is the outcome you are hoping to achieve? What is the outcome the client is hoping to achieve?

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Are you receiving assistance with this issue from another legal assistance organisation? * Is the client receiving assistance with this issue from another legal assistance organisation? *

Yes No

Are there any upcoming court date or hearing, or any other deadlines? Please note that if there are any urgent upcoming deadlines (within 2 weeks), we may not be able to assist beforehand.

Relevant Date *

Relevant Date Description *

Upload any related documents (e.g. letters received)

Max file size: 10 MB. Max total attachments: 5
Allowed file types: pdf, doc, docx, jpg, jpeg, png, rtf, xls, xlsx, txt, csv, msg, eml, mp4

Your application has been submitted.

What happens next?

You will receive a confirmation email within the next 3 to 5 minutes confirming your application for assistance. We may call or email you asking for more information before we determine whether we can assist you.

We try to respond to applications within 7 days, however it may take longer over holiday or busy periods. If you have any urgent upcoming deadlines, we may not be able to assist you beforehand.