The Legal Aid South Africa means test, which is used to determine if applicants qualify for legal aid, has been revised upwards to account for inflation and make legal services available to more people.
The changes came into effect on Monday April 1.
Legal Aid SA considers what applicants earn, after tax, and own.
Applicants for legal aid in criminal and civic cases must earn less than R8 700 a month and under R9500 a month for civil-case applicants who are part of a household.
Applicants’ movable assets must not be worth more than R160 800 or R754 400 for immovable assets.
In criminal cases, children – minors below the age of 18 – continue to automatically qualify for legal aid and do not have to take the means test. If it is a civil case, the family of the child will need to take and pass the means test.
Visit www.legal-aid.co.za or call the Legal Aid advice line at 0800 110 110 for more information.