Annual Applications Received for Legal Aid and Success Rate of Applicants

10 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Law in the past five years (a) what is the annual number of applications for legal aid that have been received by the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB); (b) of these, how many applicants are successful; and (c) what is the percentage of unsuccessful applicants who do not pass the means test.

Mr K Shanmugam: LAB provides legal advice, legal assistance and legal aid on civil matters, to Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents with limited means. LAB receives an average of 8,500 applications each year – slightly more than half are for legal advice and assistance, and the remaining for legal aid.

Applicants for legal advice or legal assistance have to pass the means test. Applicants for legal aid have to pass both the means test and legal merits test. Unsuccessful applicants may fail the means test or legal merits test, or both.

The information on the applications LAB received between 2017 and 2021 are provided in the table below.