Disposable Income Limit to Qualify for Legal Aid
Ministry of LawSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling’s inquiry regarding the relevance of the $10,000 annual disposable income limit for legal aid eligibility. Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam stated that reviews are conducted regularly, with the 2013 review increasing qualifying coverage to 25% of residents. He noted that disposable income excludes permitted deductibles for dependants, CPF, and rent, allowing those with gross incomes up to $60,000 to potentially qualify. In 2013, deductibles were raised to account for the cost of living, and a new deductible was added for family proceedings involving children or protection. These measures ensure the means test remains sensitive to individual circumstances and helps the most vulnerable applicants access essential legal services.
Transcript
17 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for Law whether the current disposable income limit of $10,000 under the means testing to qualify for legal aid is still relevant compared with the cap of per capita income in other schemes which have increased over time.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Ministry of Law regularly reviews the means test which applicants have to satisfy for civil legal aid. Our last review was conducted in 2013, to allow approximately 25% of Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents to qualify for legal aid, up from 17% previously.
To qualify for legal aid, an applicant's disposable income cannot be more than S$10,000 per year and his disposal capital cannot be more than S$10,000. Disposable income is different from gross income. Disposable income allows for permitted deductibles (such as the expenses of the applicant and his dependants, Central Provident Fund contributions and rent) to be excluded. For example, an applicant with three dependants and a gross annual income of S$60,000 may have an annual disposable income of less than S$10,000 after excluding all permitted deductibles. In this way, the permitted deductibles take into account the specific circumstances of the individual.
In the 2013 review, permitted deductibles were raised to account for increases in the cost of living. In addition, a new deductible was introduced for family proceedings which involve children or protection orders to help the most vulnerable persons in a family dispute be eligible for legal aid. All these amendments help vulnerable applicants of limited means qualify for legal aid.