Fiji Reviews 25-Year-Old Income Threshold for Legal Aid

Fiji's Minister for Justice, Siromi Turaga, has announced a review of the Legal Aid Commission's income threshold, a policy that has remained unchanged for over 25 years. The current benchmark of $15,000 net disposable annual income is being re-examined to ensure it accurately reflects current economic realities and does not unfairly exclude eligible Fijians from accessing legal assistance.

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The current 15,000 net disposable annual income threshold has been in place for more than 25 years. During that period, Fijians experienced significant changes in population, wages, household expenditure, and overall cost of living.

Turaga clarified in Parliament that while the $15,000 threshold has been used for assessing applications in criminal, family, and civil matters, it was never formally codified in law. He noted that significant changes in population, wages, household expenditure, and the overall cost of living have occurred since the threshold was introduced around 1998, making the existing criteria potentially outdated.

Opposition MP Jone Usamate raised concerns about how applicants can determine their eligibility during the review period. He questioned the need for standard criteria to help people understand the assessment process, particularly regarding the meaning of "merit" in determining eligibility when the $15,000 threshold is not rigidly applied.

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Are there any particular standard criteria that you will use so that people can have a better understanding of what it means that the 15,000 threshold does not apply? What does merit mean? So people can really understand whether they are eligible for getting Legal Aid Commission assistance or not.

Minister Turaga explained that the means assessment is not always applied rigidly, and the Director of Legal Aid has the discretion to consider applicants whose disposable income exceeds $15,000. However, he also acknowledged the financial implications and budgetary constraints faced by the Legal Aid Commission, which is described as potentially the largest law firm in Fiji. The review aims to balance the need for broader access to legal aid with the commission's capacity to handle the workload.

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There is also a reason for that. It has financial implications. We cannot grow Legal Aid. Currently, Mr. Speaker, as you understand, as a former Court of Appeals judge, Legal Aid is probably the largest law firm. And they are trying their level best to handle the workload. So there is also a budgetary constraint.