Legal financial assistance for witnesses engaging with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion

A legal financial assistance scheme to assist entities, including individuals and organisations, with the costs of legal representation and disbursements associated with being requested to formally engage with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. Before applying for this scheme, you should exhaust other options for legal assistance. Your options depend on the nature of your employment or former employment relevant to the issues for which you are giving evidence to the Royal Commission. If you are eligible for another form of assistance, you will generally not be eligible for assistance under this scheme. Further information is available at Legal assistance for witnesses – Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion | Attorney-General's Department. Eligibility: To be eligible to apply you must have received correspondence from the Royal Commission: calling you, or granting you leave to appear, as a witness at a public or private hearing, or granting you leave to attend a private session (if legal representatives are authorised to be present by the Royal Commission), or requesting you to attend an interview, or requesting you to provide a written statement that will be used as evidence, or that you must comply with a notice to produce. The department may seek the advice of the Office of the Royal Commission to determine whether an entity is eligible. If your organisation has been called by the Royal Commission, the organisation will be assessed to determine whether it can meet the cost of its legal representation without incurring serious financial difficulty. If you have been called in your personal capacity, you will be exempt from an assessment of financial circumstances. We assess your application according to the: Legal financial assistance scheme for witnesses to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion Guidelines Commonwealth Legal Financial Assistance - Assessment of Costs, which sets the amounts that will be paid should your application be approved. If a grant is approved, we will only pay after the work has been performed and your legal representative has lodged a claim for payment with us. Grant Activity Timeframe: If your application is complete, we will assess it within 21 days. If it is incomplete, we will notify you and ask for the missing information. We will not assess incomplete applications. If you receive less than 21 days’ notice of appearing or attending an interview of the Royal Commission, we will try to assess your application before the date of your appearance. Total Amount Available (AUD): $2,187,000.00 Instructions for Application Submission: Access to the scheme is through direct application to Legal Financial Assistance Casework at the Attorney-General's Department. Legal assistance for witnesses – Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion | Attorney-General's Department Alternatively, apply by downloading the application form (in GO Documents), and emailing the completed form to finass@ag.gov.au with any supporting documentation. You will need to attach a copy of the written correspondence you received from the Royal Commission requiring your participation. Other Instructions: You are responsible for finding and engaging your own legal representative.