Legal assistance

National legal advice service

A national legal advice service will be established to support people who want to engage with the Royal Commission. The service will provide independent, trauma‑informed and culturally safe legal advice to members of the public, including family members, carers and supporters. The service will assist people to understand their legal rights and options and can refer individuals to counselling and other support services.

Individuals do not need to be formal witnesses to the Royal Commission to access the service, and it will operate for the duration of the Royal Commission.

Details of how to access the service will be available soon.

Legal financial assistance scheme

The Royal Commission may contact some persons and organisations who have made submissions to appear as a witness at a hearing. If contacted, you may be eligible for legal financial assistance.

The Australian Government will provide legal financial assistance to individuals and entities to help meet the reasonable costs of legal representation and disbursements associated with engaging with the Royal Commission.

The legal financial assistance scheme is administered by the Attorney-General's Department, independently of the Royal Commission.

For information on applying under the scheme, visit Legal assistance for witnesses – Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion or contact Legal Financial Assistance Casework by emailing finass@ag.gov.au.

The Royal Commission cannot decide or resolve individual cases or award any form of compensation.