A man accused of hitting a woman with a metal bar five times could potentially avoid facing justice indefinitely after telling a judge he had just $12 to his name and could not afford a lawyer.
The young father is among a growing number of people charged with serious crimes in the Northern Territory successfully applying for their cases to be stayed under a recently revived High Court ruling.
The man, who the ABC has chosen not to name, faced the Darwin Local Court last week where he represented himself because he had been denied a legal aid lawyer.
He told Judge Ben O'Loughlin he was "on the bones of me backside", earning less than $400 a fortnight through JobSeeker, and suffering from medical issues while caring for three young children.
The court heard the man had received a rejection letter from Legal Aid NT (LANT) which has implemented sweeping cutbacks and stopped taking on new criminal cases due to an ongoing funding stoush with the NT government.
The impasse has left people who cannot afford representation, including children, unable to secure a lawyer and some victims waiting up to a year for their cases to be heard.
In granting the man's stay application, Judge O'Loughlin said the thing most likely to change the outcome in future was "Legal Aid changing their attitude".
More LANT service cuts flagged
Earlier this month, LANT director Catherine Voumard imposed deeper cuts at the government-funded service.
In an internal email leaked to the ABC, Ms Voumard told staff that after reviewing "pressures" at the Darwin Local Court, duty lawyers would only assist defendants who weren't in custody in "exceptional circumstances", or those who have a mental illness or language barrier, from October 1.
The decision comes just a few months after federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland wrote to the NT government warning it was expected to adequately fund legal services under the National Access to Justice Partnership, and failing to do so risked breaching international human rights obligations.
NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has maintained the organisation has more money than ever after the NT government increased baseline funding by $5.5 million as part of a multi-year agreement.
But on Friday, a spokesperson for Ms Boothby's department confirmed funding was being withheld because LANT had not signed the agreement.
They said LANT had been allocated $13 million in 2026-27, but only $3.4 million had been released, "with the remainder subject to the execution of a funding agreement".
The government did not respond to questions from the ABC about the terms of the offer and LANT did not respond to any of the ABC's questions.
Child sex case 'indefinitely delayed'
NT Criminal Lawyers Association president Beth Wild said the funding crisis was no longer just affecting defendants without representation, but now "undermining the entire justice system".
Ms Wild said the impact spanned from relatively minor offences to domestic violence and serious sexual offence cases in the Supreme Court.
Territory Criminal Lawyers principal Clancy Dane said the situation was "horrifying for victims".
"For victims it will be deeply disturbing knowing that their perpetrator is living their life in the community," he said.
"The time is long overdue for both the Attorney-General and the LANT director to explain in precise detail why they have been unable to work together to restore legal aid services, and critically, what they say is needed for full services to be restored."
In other cases before the Darwin Local Court this week, prosecutors scrutinised defendants' bank statements and personal circumstances to ensure they were genuinely unable to afford a lawyer.
In the case of the father granted a stay, prosecutor Melinda Listing said he should start saving to "represent himself in the future".
In another case involving a man from the Tiwi Islands receiving JobSeeker, which was adjourned, prosecutor Jeremy Banwell questioned unexplained transactions amounting to up to almost $1,000 moving in and out of his account.
"The Crown's ultimate position is, an individual may well have the capacity to afford legal representation, were they to adjust their spending habits," he said.
Ms Boothby said the government was continuing negotiations with LANT to finalise a funding agreement and would crack down on misuse of the service.
"Taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for alleged offenders who can genuinely afford a lawyer," she said.
