Legal Aid ACT believes it is important to investigate all complaints and concerns so we can ensure that our services to the community are maintained at a high standard.
Making a complaint
If you have a complaint about our services, a staff member, or a private lawyer funded by Legal Aid ACT, you should write to the Chief Executive officer at GPO Box GPO Box 512 Canberra ACT 2601 or email your complaint to legalaid@legalaidact.org.au.
If you need help to make a written complaint you can telephone the Legal Aid Helpline on 1300 654 314 and ask the Legal Aid Helpdesk staff for assistance.
Handling a complaint
If your complaint is about services you have received we will:
- deal with your complaint professionally, efficiently and impartially;
- inform you of the outcome of our enquiries;
- provide clear reasons for our decision; and
- treat you with courtesy and respect.
In return we ask that you assist our enquiries by:
- clearly identifying the matters you are complaining about;
- giving us all information about the complaint in an organised written form at the time you make the complaint;
- cooperating with our enquiries; and
- treating our staff with courtesy and respect.
Result of complaint
If your complaint is about services you have received then we will write to you once our enquiries are completed and tell you the result of the complaint.
If your complaint is about services provided to another person we will acknowledge the complaint and, if appropriate, investigate it. However we will not tell you the result of the complaint because section 92 of the Legal Aid Act 1977 prohibits the disclosure of information about the affairs of another person without that person's consent.
Complaints that are made anonymously may not be investigated.
If you are not satisfied with the result of your complaint, you can refer the complaint to the Ombudsman for further investigation.
If your complaint concerns the professional conduct of a lawyer, you can also contact the Law Society of the ACT.