Feedback from lawyers indicates a consensus that a draft new family and civil legal aid application form is much clearer and more user-friendly, the New Zealand Law Society says.

The Law Society has provided comments to the Ministry of Justice on the draft form, which will combine five current application forms into one.

"The Law Society supports the aim of the proposed changes to create a simpler, easy to use form for legal aid applicants in the family, civil and mental health areas," it says.

The Law Society sought input from the legal profession on the new form. It suggests making some changes to the draft form to ensure that necessary information for accessing legal aid applications is included.

The suggested amendments include to the information required on income and assets and liabilities, and clarification to the question on justification for legal aid.

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