It was a move national observers warned would have serious consequences for the NT’s most marginalised<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legal aid services provide people unable to afford a lawyer with access to free legal representation. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n A letter sent from LANT to NT lawyers on Tuesday \u2014 leaked to the ABC \u2014 revealed even children and adults in custody will be denied grants of funding for the rest of the month.<\/p>\n The measure means LANT will only take on criminal matters where its in-house and duty lawyers have capacity over the Christmas period.<\/p>\n Nationally, private lawyers take on about 70 per cent of legal aid cases, with legal aid lawyers responsible for the remaining 30 per cent<\/a>.<\/p>\n “All extension requests received this month that have not been actioned will be considered in January,” the letter said.<\/p>\n Over the Christmas period, NT judges only hear bail applications and urgent matters, such as applications for domestic violence orders.\u00a0<\/p>\n LANT’s offices will close from tomorrow until January 5.<\/p>\n Majority of Darwin prisoners unsentenced<\/a><\/p>\n More than half of all prisoners in the Northern Territory’s largest prison have not been sentenced, and more than 40 per cent of prisoners across the Northern Territory are on remand.<\/p>\n LANT is an independent commission set up under NT law to provide legal support to those unable to afford a private lawyer.<\/p>\n It is jointly funded through the NT and Commonwealth government, with the NT government responsible for funding criminal cases.<\/p>\n Last month, the ABC revealed LANT had taken “drastic measures” to deal with a funding shortfall threatening to plunge the service’s budget into a significant deficit.<\/p>\n Those measures included ceasing funding to matters other than those in custody and imposing the monthly cap.<\/p>\n The measures sparked concern vulnerable NT residents \u2014 including children and Aboriginal people who spoke a first language other than English \u2014 could spend more time in prison due to a lack of legal representation.<\/p>\n The lack of services will also affect children, who could lose access to legal representation until January. (ABC News: Jayden O’Neill)<\/p>\n Legal Aid had been in a similar financial position about a year prior in 2024, before receiving an almost $4 million bailout from the NT government<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the time, the number of cases LANT was funding had climbed, but the funding for its services had not kept pace.<\/p>\n The NT government has refused to provide further funding to address LANT’s current financial crisis, with a spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department saying LANT was responsible for its own sustainable management.<\/p>\n Justice issues trigger challenge in the High Court<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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