National Anti-Corruption Commission General Scheme
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) General Scheme funds the reasonable costs of your legal representation if you are:
- appearing at a hearing of the NACC
- applying, or proposing to apply, for administrative review of a matter arising under the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022.
You may have received a notice or summons from the NACC that includes a non-disclosure notation. If so, you should seek the NACC’s advice about who you may tell about your notice or summons before you enquire about or apply for assistance.
You should also seek legal aid from a legal aid commission in your state or territory before applying under the NACC General Scheme. If you will be receiving legal aid for your NACC matter, you will generally not be eligible for assistance under the NACC General Scheme.
Who is eligible
In accordance with the National Anti-Corruption Commission Regulations 2023, we may provide legal financial assistance to:
- a person who is summoned to attend a hearing of the NACC
- a person who is not giving evidence at a hearing and is being represented at the hearing by a legal practitioner with the consent of the Commissioner
- a person who has applied, or proposes to apply, to the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 for an order in respect of a matter arising under the Act.
How to apply
- Download and complete the Application Form for the NACC General Scheme.
- Email your completed form and required documents to finass@ag.gov.au.
How we assess your application
We assess applications according to the:
- Commonwealth Guidelines for Legal Financial Assistance 2012
- Addendum to the Commonwealth Guidelines for Legal Financial Assistance 2012: Administration of the National Anti-Corruption Commission General Scheme
- Commonwealth Legal Financial Assistance - Assessment of Costs, which sets the amounts that will generally be paid should your application be approved.
The decision-maker may approve legal financial assistance if they are satisfied that either:
- refusing the application would cause you serious financial difficulty
- the circumstances of the case are of such a special nature that the application should be granted.
Which costs are covered
We will pay for reasonable costs of legal representation and disbursement that you incur when you:
- attend a hearing of the NACC
- apply for administrative review in respect of a matter arising under the Act.
These could include:
- your solicitor's costs, such as attending hearings or preparing documents
- disbursements such as solicitor's travel or obtaining reports.
Your solicitor should invoice us directly by email to finass@ag.gov.au.
Assessment timeframes
If your application is complete, we will assess it within 28 days. If it is incomplete, we will notify you and ask for the missing information. We will not assess incomplete applications.
Payments process
We will only assess a claim for payment after:
- we have approved your application
- the work has been performed
- we have received an invoice.
Find out more
To contact the Legal Financial Assistance Casework team, email finass@ag.gov.au.
If you need an alternative way to contact us, you can leave a message for the team with our department’s switchboard at 02 6141 6666 (or +61 2 6141 6666 for overseas callers).
If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact the department through the National Relay Service and give 02 6141 6666 as the number you would like to call.