Family & relationships
Find the right guide for separation, parenting arrangements, property, adoption and other family decisions.
Understand your next step
Your issue. Your guide. Your next step.
Choose the situation closest to yours, get your questions and documents organised, then find an office to contact. Practical preparation for Australian legal enquiries.
Eleven subjects. One clearer starting point.
Not sure which legal category fits?
Explore the decisions, documents and common assumptions for your situation. Each subject leads to every relevant category guide.
Property & housing
Navigate buying, selling, building, renting, strata and other property questions before making your next commitment.
Work & employment
Choose a guide for employment advice, dismissal, discrimination, bullying and workplace decisions.
Business & money
Find practical guidance for contracts, businesses, finance, tax, debt, intellectual property and commercial decisions.
Wills & later life
Explore wills, powers of attorney, estate administration, inheritance disputes and later-life planning.
Crime & courts
Prepare for enquiries about criminal charges, bail, traffic matters, protection orders, appeals and court appearances.
Injury & compensation
Explore injury, compensation, insurance and redress guides with practical evidence and cost questions.
Migration & citizenship
Prepare for visa, sponsorship, citizenship, cancellation and migration review enquiries.
Disputes & resolution
Compare routes for contract disputes, consumer problems, mediation, litigation and other disagreements.
Rights & public decisions
Navigate public decisions, discrimination, disability, education, guardianship and other rights-related enquiries.
Specialist services
Find guidance for specialist legal services, regulated industries, international documents and creative work.
Every directory category, explained
Find your guide.
Browse all 97 legal categories, or narrow the library by subject. Each entry leads to a dedicated guide and matching directory providers.
97 category guides across the directory
Business & money
Agribusiness
Agribusiness advice connects commercial arrangements with land, production, family ownership and seasonal commitments.
Find providers →Banking & Finance
A banking or finance problem may concern a loan, guarantee, account restriction, payment, security or a transaction that was not authorised.
Find providers →Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a personal insolvency process with consequences beyond the debt balance.
Find providers →Business & Commercial
Business legal advice starts with the commercial decision you need to make: signing with a supplier, bringing in an owner, changing distribution arrangements or responding to a customer dispute.
Find providers →Buying & Selling a Business
Buying or selling a business involves more than agreeing a price.
Find providers →Competition & Consumer Law
Consumer and competition enquiries can involve a faulty purchase, advertising, sales practices, contract terms or conduct between businesses.
Find providers →Contracts
Contract advice may concern an agreement you are considering, one already operating or a relationship that has broken down.
Find providers →Corporate Law
Corporate-law enquiries concern how a company is owned, governed and controlled, as well as the transactions it undertakes.
Find providers →Debt Disputes
A debt dispute is about whether money is owed, how much is owed or who is responsible.
Find providers →Debt Recovery
Organise the agreement, payment record and demand before asking about recovery or a response.
Find providers →Franchising
A franchise enquiry should identify your role and the stage of the relationship: considering a franchise, renewing, transferring, operating or exiting.
Find providers →Insolvency & Restructuring
A business in financial difficulty may need advice before a missed payment becomes a wider crisis.
Find providers →Insurance Law
Insurance advice may concern a rejected claim, a reduced payment, delay, cancellation, disclosure or the interpretation of cover.
Find providers →Intellectual Property
Intellectual-property advice begins with the asset you want to protect, use, license or challenge.
Find providers →Not-for-profit & Charity Law
Not-for-profit legal work can concern setting up an organisation, changing its structure, managing a board, receiving grants or resolving a member dispute.
Find providers →Tax Law
Tax legal advice can concern an assessment, audit, objection, recovery action or the tax consequences of a transaction.
Find providers →Technology & Privacy
Technology and privacy enquiries often combine a commercial system with questions about information: what is collected, who can access it, where it goes and what happens when the service ends.
Find providers →Crime & courts
Appeals
An appeal asks a higher court or another authorised body to examine a decision through a particular legal process.
Find providers →Assault & Violence
An assault or violence allegation can involve police contact, charges, bail and related protective orders.
Find providers →Bail Applications
Bail advice concerns release and conditions while a criminal matter proceeds.
Find providers →Criminal Law
Prepare a confidential criminal-law enquiry, identify current obligations and compare representation.
Find providers →Domestic Violence & AVO
Advice about a domestic or personal violence order may be needed by a person seeking protection, a person named as defendant or someone affected by existing conditions.
Find providers →Drink Driving
A drink-driving matter can involve an infringement, a criminal charge, an immediate licence action or later court consequences.
Find providers →Drug Offences
Drug-related legal enquiries can arise during an investigation, after a search, on charge or before a court appearance.
Find providers →Firearms Licensing
Firearms licensing advice may concern an application, condition, suspension, refusal, revocation or review.
Find providers →Fraud & White Collar
A fraud or white-collar matter may begin with an internal concern, regulator request, search, interview or charge.
Find providers →Traffic Law
Traffic-law enquiries can concern infringements, licence decisions, driving charges or a court outcome.
Find providers →Youth Justice
A young person facing police contact or criminal proceedings needs advice suited to their age, circumstances and jurisdiction.
Find providers →Disputes & resolution
Class Actions
A class action involves claims pursued on behalf of a group, but seeing a news report does not establish whether you are covered or what you must do.
Find providers →Commercial Litigation
Commercial litigation concerns business disputes that may need formal proceedings, but the first useful decision is often what outcome justifies the cost.
Find providers →Defamation
Defamation enquiries concern published material and alleged reputational harm, whether you are the person affected or the person who wrote, shared or hosted it.
Find providers →Litigation & Disputes
A dispute can involve a contract, service, property, money or conduct that has caused loss.
Find providers →Mediation
Mediation is a structured opportunity to discuss a dispute with a neutral facilitator.
Find providers →Family & relationships
Binding Financial Agreements
A financial agreement is a formal legal arrangement, not simply a document recording that partners currently agree.
Find providers →Child Custody & Parenting
People often search for custody advice when they need help with where children live, time with parents, decisions or communication after separation.
Find providers →Child Protection & Care
Child-protection matters involve a government agency's concerns about a child's safety and care.
Find providers →De Facto Relationships
Advice about a de facto relationship may concern financial arrangements while together, separation, property or a disagreement about whether the relationship meets the relevant legal definition.
Find providers →Divorce & Separation
Separation can create several legal tasks at once, while divorce is the process relating to ending a marriage.
Find providers →Family Law
Prepare for a family-law appointment: priorities, safety, documents and practical next steps.
Find providers →International Family Law
A family matter involving more than one country may raise questions about children, travel, recognition of orders, divorce or overseas assets.
Find providers →Property Settlement
Property settlement after separation concerns the financial arrangements between former partners, including assets, debts and other relevant resources.
Find providers →Surrogacy & Adoption
Surrogacy and adoption are distinct pathways with different legal requirements.
Find providers →Injury & compensation
Dust Diseases & Asbestos
A dust-disease or asbestos-related enquiry may arise long after exposure and can involve employment, products or other settings.
Find providers →Institutional Abuse Claims
Seeking advice about institutional abuse should allow you control over the pace and method of the conversation.
Find providers →Medical Negligence
A disappointing medical outcome and legally actionable negligence are different questions.
Find providers →Motor Vehicle Accidents
After a road accident, injury assistance and vehicle-damage disputes may involve different insurers and processes.
Find providers →Personal Injury
Personal-injury advice starts with how, where and when an injury happened, and whether a claim or insurer is already involved.
Find providers →Product Liability
Product problems can range from an ordinary refund dispute to injury or property damage allegedly caused by a defective item.
Find providers →Professional Negligence
Professional-negligence advice concerns alleged harm caused by a professional's work, such as legal, accounting, valuation or other specialist services.
Find providers →Psychological Injury
Psychological-injury advice depends on the context: work, an accident, another event or an insurance policy.
Find providers →Public Liability
A public-liability enquiry may follow an injury in a shop, venue, footpath, rental property or other place.
Find providers →TPD & Superannuation Claims
Total and permanent disability insurance through superannuation is assessed against the applicable policy and circumstances.
Find providers →Victims Compensation
Victims-support and compensation arrangements differ by state and territory and by the type of assistance sought.
Find providers →Workers Compensation
Workers-compensation advice may concern notification, treatment, weekly payments, work capacity, a disputed decision or another possible claim.
Find providers →Migration & citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship advice may concern the appropriate application pathway, residence records, identity, character questions, a request for information or a refusal.
Find providers →Immigration
Immigration advice should begin with current status, location and the decision or application you face.
Find providers →Migration Agent Services
Choosing migration assistance involves checking both the person's authority and the precise service you are buying.
Find providers →Partner Visas
Partner-visa advice concerns the relevant pathway, applicant and sponsor circumstances, evidence and current immigration status.
Find providers →Skilled & Business Visas
Skilled and business-related migration enquiries require a current pathway assessment.
Find providers →Visa Appeals & ART
A visa refusal or cancellation may have a review pathway, but not every decision is reviewable in the same way.
Find providers →Visa Cancellation & Character
A character or cancellation issue can arise from a notice asking for a response, a cancellation decision or circumstances connected with criminal proceedings.
Find providers →Property & housing
Building & Construction
Building advice may be needed before signing, when work changes or when a project is delayed, defective or unpaid.
Find providers →Commercial Property
Commercial property advice connects the legal documents with how premises will actually be used.
Find providers →Licensed Conveyancing
A licensed conveyancer assists with property transactions within the scope of their licence and jurisdiction.
Find providers →Planning & Environment
Planning and environmental advice concerns what may be done with land, the approvals required and responses to decisions or enforcement.
Find providers →Property & Conveyancing
Know what to have reviewed before a property commitment, and what other checks to arrange.
Find providers →Residential Tenancy
Prepare a tenancy enquiry with the agreement, notices, repair history and relevant dates.
Find providers →Retirement Villages
Moving into a retirement village can involve a long-term contract with entry, ongoing and exit costs that differ from an ordinary home purchase or residential tenancy.
Find providers →Strata Law
Strata issues can involve common property, repairs, levies, by-laws, meetings, management or disputes between residents.
Find providers →Rights & public decisions
Administrative Law
Administrative-law advice concerns decisions made by government bodies and other authorities.
Find providers →Centrelink & Social Security
Social-security advice may concern eligibility, a payment rate, suspension, cancellation, an overpayment or a debt.
Find providers →Coronial Inquests
A coronial process investigates a death within the coroner's jurisdiction and differs from a criminal trial or a compensation claim.
Find providers →Education Law
Education-law issues may involve enrolment, discipline, adjustments, assessment, fees or a complaint about a school or tertiary provider.
Find providers →General Practice
A general-practice lawyer can be a useful starting point when an issue spans several areas or you are unsure which specialist you need.
Find providers →Health & Medical Law
Health-law enquiries extend beyond compensation after treatment.
Find providers →Human Rights & Discrimination
Discrimination and human-rights enquiries can arise in employment, education, housing, services and interactions with public bodies.
Find providers →Indigenous & Native Title
Native-title and Indigenous legal matters require care about the particular rights, community, land and decision-making authority involved.
Find providers →Mental Health & Guardianship Tribunal
Mental-health and guardianship tribunal matters can concern different decisions under different state or territory laws.
Find providers →Military & Veterans
Military and veterans' legal enquiries may involve service-related compensation, a decision review, discipline, employment or family issues.
Find providers →NDIS & Disability
Disability-related legal help may concern an NDIS decision, service agreement, provider complaint, discrimination or decision-making support.
Find providers →Specialist services
Aviation Law
Aviation legal work may involve licences, medical certification, operational approvals, enforcement, aircraft transactions or commercial disputes.
Find providers →Liquor Licensing & Gaming
Liquor and gaming advice may concern a new licence, transfer, variation, conditions, a complaint or enforcement action.
Find providers →Maritime Law
Maritime matters can involve vessel operations, cargo, chartering, collisions, insurance, employment or regulatory requirements.
Find providers →Notary Public
A notary-public enquiry usually starts with a document that must be accepted by an overseas recipient.
Find providers →Sports & Entertainment
Sports and entertainment work often combines contracts, intellectual property, employment, image rights and organisation rules.
Find providers →Wills & later life
Contested Wills
A contested estate may involve whether a will is valid, whether someone should receive provision or how an executor is handling the estate.
Find providers →Elder Law
Elder-law advice may involve accommodation, financial arrangements, decision-making documents, family agreements or concerns about pressure and misuse of money.
Find providers →Estate Planning & Trusts
Estate planning looks beyond writing a will to how assets are owned, who controls them and what should happen if circumstances change.
Find providers →Powers of Attorney & Guardianship
Planning for another person to make decisions involves different documents and roles depending on the jurisdiction and type of decision.
Find providers →Probate & Estate Administration
Administering an estate involves identifying authority, assets, debts and beneficiaries, then carrying out the required steps.
Find providers →Superannuation Death Benefits
A superannuation death benefit can involve the fund balance and insurance, with a decision process separate from ordinary estate administration.
Find providers →Wills & Estates
Map assets, people and wishes before planning your will and related documents.
Find providers →Work & employment
Employer Advisory
Employer advisory work helps an organisation make informed decisions about contracts, pay, complaints, performance, restructures and exits.
Find providers →Employment Law
Employment advice may concern pay, a contract, leave, a workplace complaint, performance management or the end of a job.
Find providers →Unfair Dismissal
Identify the job-ending date, documents and urgent questions before seeking dismissal advice.
Find providers →Workplace Discrimination & Harassment
A workplace discrimination or harassment concern may involve conduct, a decision, a protected attribute, retaliation or a complaint process.
Find providers →Workplace Injury & Bullying
Workplace bullying and workplace injury can arise together, but stopping conduct and obtaining injury-related benefits are different objectives.
Find providers →Popular starting points
Family & relationships
Your first family lawyer appointment: what to prepare and ask
Prepare for a family lawyer consultation with a clear issue list, useful documents and questions about parenting, property, safety, fees and next steps.
Read the complete guide →Property & home
Before buying a property: questions for a solicitor or conveyancer
Prepare a property purchase enquiry: explain your buying stage, organise the contract, compare conveyancing quotes and clarify deadlines and responsibilities.
Read the complete guide →Wills & future planning
Preparing for a wills and estate-planning appointment
Organise your first wills appointment: map family circumstances, assets, existing documents, decision-makers and questions about scope and signing.
Read the complete guide →Charges & court
Contacting a criminal lawyer: prepare for the first conversation
Organise a criminal-law enquiry around the court date, documents and help needed. Ask about representation, costs, access and responsibility for the next step.
Read the complete guide →Make the appointment useful
Getting ready
How to organise documents before seeing a lawyer
Build a useful legal appointment pack with a one-page summary, factual timeline, document index and clear questions, without sending an unstructured file dump.
Costs & access
Finding affordable legal help: compare the available starting points
Understand private consultations, legal aid, community legal centres and specialist services, with practical questions about eligibility, scope and availability.
Your first conversation
Make the first minute useful
A plain-language way to open an enquiry, identify the immediate question and avoid telling your whole story before the office can help.
Your first conversation
Choose a contact channel you can actually use
Prepare for a phone call, written enquiry or in-person appointment, with practical questions about access, privacy and what happens next.
A notice, a demand or a job ending?
Debt & payment demands
Prepare a clear debt enquiry: identify your role, separate payment pressure from disputed facts and ask who can review the documents before you respond.
Prepare your enquiry →Rental problems
Plan a tenancy enquiry around the property's state, your role, the latest notice and the help you want, with questions about costs and local support.
Prepare your enquiry →After a job dismissal
Prepare an initial dismissal enquiry without guessing your legal claim: organise key dates, ask about urgent limits and clarify who will do what next.
Prepare your enquiry →