NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
LEGAL AID REGULATIONS 1990
As in force at 12 December 1990
Table of provisions
Part I Preliminary
1 Citation ............................................................................................ 1
Part IA Commission
1A Election of staff member appointment as Commissioner ................. 1
Part II Legal Aid Committees
2 Interpretation ................................................................................... 2
3 Tenure of office................................................................................ 2
4 Chairman of Legal Aid Committee ................................................... 3
5 Resignation...................................................................................... 3
6 Removal from office ......................................................................... 3
7 Meetings of Legal Aid Committee .................................................... 3
8 Interests to be disclosed .................................................................. 4
Part III Review Committees
9 Interpretation ................................................................................... 4
10 Tenure of office................................................................................ 4
11 Resignation...................................................................................... 4
12 Removal from office ......................................................................... 5
13 Meetings of Review Committee ....................................................... 5
14 Interests to be disclosed .................................................................. 5
ENDNOTES
NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
As in force at 12 December 1990
LEGAL AID REGULATIONS 1990
Regulations under the Legal Aid Act 1990
Part I Preliminary
1 Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid Regulations
1990.
Part IA Commission
1A Election of staff member appointment as Commissioner
(1) For the purposes of section 6(1)(f) of the Act the election of a
person by the staff of the Commission to be appointed as a
Commissioner shall be conducted as follows:
(a) whenever the occasion for the election arises the Director
shall, in writing, advise all staff members then employed of
that fact and that they are entitled to be nominated as, or to
nominate another member as, a candidate for election and to
vote at the election;
(b) nominations of candidates shall close on the date specified in
the advice under paragraph (a), being not earlier than 5 days
after the date of the advice, and shall:
(i) be in writing and sent to the Director to be received by
the Director before that closing date;
(ii) be signed by the person nominating; and
(iii) indicate by the signature of the person nominated that
the person accepts the nomination;
(c) as soon as practicable after the closing date for nominations,
the Director shall send to each staff member a ballot-paper, in
such form as the Director thinks fit, listing in alphabetical order
the names of the candidates for election and indicating a date,
Part II Legal Aid Committees
Legal Aid Regulations 1990 2
being not earlier than 5 days after the date on which the ballot-
paper was sent, on which the votes should be received by the
Director;
(d) a vote shall be recorded on the ballot-paper by the person
voting indicating his or her choice of candidate by placing a
cross against the name of one candidate only;
(e) the Director shall advise each candidate for election of the
time and place where the votes will be counted and each
candidate may attend at the counting in person or be
represented by a member of the staff nominated by him or her
for that purpose;
(f) the counting of votes shall be on the "first-past-the-post"
system and shall be conducted by the Director in such manner
as the Director thinks fit;
(g) if more than one candidate has received an equal number of
the most votes after counting is completed a further election
shall be held between those candidates as if they were the
only candidates nominated for election, and this regulation,
with the necessary changes, applies accordingly;
(h) at the conclusion of the counting of votes where a clear winner
is determined, the Director shall declare the winning candidate
to be the elected candidate and, as soon as practicable,
advise the Minister of the winner's name.
(2) At an election under subregulation (1) the Director may vote but
may not nominate or be nominated a candidate.
(3) An election under this regulation shall be by secret ballot.
Part II Legal Aid Committees
2 Interpretation
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
Chairman means a person elected to be Chairman pursuant to
regulation 4(a) or (b).
member means a member of a Legal Aid Committee.
3 Tenure of office
A member, other than the Director, holds office, subject to this Part,
for one year, but is eligible for re-appointment.
Part II Legal Aid Committees
Legal Aid Regulations 1990 3
4 Chairman of Legal Aid Committee
The members of a Legal Aid Committee shall elect:
(a) one of their number to be the Chairman of the Committee; and
(b) another of their number to preside at meetings at which the
Chairman is not present.
5 Resignation
A member, other than the Director, may resign his or her office by
writing signed by him or her and given to the Commission.
6 Removal from office
(1) The Commission may remove a member, other than the Director,
from office for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.
(2) If a member, other than the Director:
(a) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of a law for the
relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or
her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her
remuneration for their benefit;
(b) is absent, except by leave of the Committee from
3 consecutive meetings of a Legal Aid Committee; or
(c) fails to comply with his or her obligations under regulation 8,
the Commission shall remove the member from office.
7 Meetings of Legal Aid Committee
(1) A Legal Aid Committee shall hold such meetings as are necessary
for the performance of its functions.
(2) Meetings of a Legal Aid Committee shall be convened at any time
by the Chairman or, if for any reason the Chairman is unavailable,
by the person elected under regulation 4(b) to preside at meetings
at which the Chairman is not present.
(3) At a meeting of a Legal Aid Committee, 3 members constitute a
quorum.
(4) The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Committee at
which he or she is present, and if the Chairman is not present the
member elected under regulation 4(b) shall preside.
Part III Review Committees
Legal Aid Regulations 1990 4
(5) Questions arising at a meeting of a Legal Aid Committee shall be
determined by a majority of the votes of members present and
voting.
(6) The member presiding at a meeting of a Legal Aid Committee has a
deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, has a
casting vote.
(7) A Legal Aid Committee may regulate the conduct of proceedings at
its meetings as it thinks fit and shall cause minutes of the
proceedings to be kept.
8 Interests to be disclosed
(1) A member who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter
considered or about to be considered by a Legal Aid Committee,
otherwise than as a member of, and in common with the other
members of, an incorporated company consisting of more than
25 persons and of which the member is not a director shall, as soon
as possible after the relevant facts have come to his or her
knowledge, disclose the nature of his or her interest at a meeting of
the Committee.
(2) A disclosure under subregulation (1) shall be recorded in the
minutes of the meeting and the member shall not be present during
a deliberation of a Legal Aid Committee with respect to the matter.
Part III Review Committees
9 Interpretation
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
Chairman means the person appointed to be the Chairman of a
Review Committee under section 37(2) of the Act.
member means a member of a Review Committee.
10 Tenure of office
A member holds office, subject to this Part, for one year, but is
eligible for re-appointment.
11 Resignation
A member may resign his or her office by writing signed by him or
her and given to the Commission.
Part III Review Committees
Legal Aid Regulations 1990 5
12 Removal from office
(1) The Commission may remove a member of a Review Committee
from office for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.
(2) If a member:
(a) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of a law for the
relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or
her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her
remuneration for their benefit;
(b) is absent, except by leave of the Committee, from
3 consecutive meetings of the Review Committee; or
(c) fails to comply with his or her obligations under regulation 14,
the Commission shall remove him or her from office.
13 Meetings of Review Committee
(1) A Review Committee shall hold such meetings as are necessary for
the performance of its function.
(2) Meetings of a Review Committee shall be convened by the
Chairman or, if for any reason the Chairman is unavailable, by
another member of the Committee.
(3) At a meeting of a Review Committee, 3 members constitute a
quorum.
(4) Questions arising at a meeting of a Review Committee shall be
determined by a majority of the votes of members present and
voting.
(5) A Review Committee may regulate the conduct of proceedings at
its meetings as it thinks fit and shall cause minutes of the
proceedings to be kept.
14 Interests to be disclosed
(1) A member who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter
considered or about to be considered by a Review Committee,
otherwise than as a member of, and in common with the other
members of, an incorporated company consisting of more than
25 persons and of which the member is not a director shall, as soon
as possible after the relevant facts have come to his or her
knowledge, disclose the nature of his or her interest at a meeting of
the Committee.
Part III Review Committees
Legal Aid Regulations 1990 6
(2) A disclosure under subregulation (1) shall be recorded in the
minutes of the meeting of the Review Committee and the member
shall not be present during a deliberation of the Committee with
respect to the matter.
(3) A member who made, or participated in the making of, a decision
that is to be reviewed by the Review Committee shall not be
present during a deliberation of the Review Committee with respect
to the decision.
ENDNOTES
Legal Aid Regulations 1990 7
ENDNOTES
1 KEY
Key to abbreviations
amd = amended od = order
app = appendix om = omitted
bl = by-law pt = Part
ch = Chapter r = regulation/rule
cl = clause rem = remainder
div = Division renum = renumbered
exp = expires/expired rep = repealed
f = forms s = section
Gaz = Gazette sch = Schedule
hdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision
ins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation
lt = long title sub = substituted
nc = not commenced
2 LIST OF LEGISLATION
Legal Aid (Committees) Regulations (SL No. 16, 1990)
Notified 29 June 1990
Commenced 29 June 1990
Amendment of Legal Aid (Committees) Regulations (SL No. 50, 1990)
Notified 12 December 1990
Commenced 12 December 1990
3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS
General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table
of amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation
Amendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22 of 2018) to: r 1.
4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS
pt 1A hdg ins No. 50, 1990, r 2
r 1A ins No. 50, 1990, r 2