LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 1987 - SECT 48H Community legal centres

This legislation has been repealed.

LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 1987 - SECT 48H

48H Community legal centres

(1) An organisation, whether incorporated or not, is a community legal centre which complies with this section if:

(a) it is held out or holds itself out as being a community legal centre (or a centre or establishment of a similar description), and

(b) it provides legal services:

(i) which are directed generally to persons or organisations who or which lack the financial means to obtain privately funded legal services or whose cases are expected to raise issues of public interest or of general concern to disadvantaged groups in the community, and

(ii) which are made available to persons or organisations who or which have a special need arising from their location or the nature of the legal matter to be addressed or have a significant physical or social disability, and

(iii) which are not intended, or likely, to be provided at a profit to the community legal centre and the income (if any) from which cannot or will not be distributed to any member or employee of the centre otherwise than by way of reasonable remuneration under a contract of service or for services, and

(iv) which are funded or expected to be funded to a significant level by donations or by grants from government, charitable or other organisations, and

(c) at least one of the persons who is employed or otherwise used by it to provide those legal services is a barrister or solicitor (other than a barrister or solicitor who is an interstate legal practitioner) with a current practising certificate and is generally responsible for the provision of those legal services (whether or not the person has an unrestricted practising certificate).

(2) A community legal centre which complies with this section does not contravene this Part merely because:

(a) it employs, or otherwise uses the services of, solicitors or barristers (or both) to provide legal services to members of the public, or

(b) it has a contractual relationship with a member of the public to whom those legal services are provided or receives any fee, gain or reward for providing those legal services, or

(c) it shares with a solicitor or barrister employed or otherwise used by it to provide those legal services receipts from the business of the centre, being business of a kind usually conducted by a solicitor or barrister, or

(d) it adopts or uses the word "legal" (or some related term) in its name or any registered business name under which it provides legal services to members of the public.

(3) This section has effect despite anything to the contrary in this Part.