The Legal Aid Agency has confirmed that the new Submit a Bulk Claim (SaBC) portal will go live on 4th February 2026, replacing the old CWA system that has been unavailable since the cyber-attack in May 2025.

This represents a significant change to how you submit your civil and criminal legal aid billing, and there are important new requirements you need to be aware of.

The biggest change is that ALL claims must include fee codes. This is a new mandatory field that did not exist in the old CWA system.

What this means for you: Access Legal Case Management Release 16.2.3.0 (and later versions) now automatically derives the required fee codes when you generate your export file for submission to the LAA. This happens at the point of creating the XML export file, based on your existing Legal Aid case information.

Fee Code Format: - Alphanumeric characters, maximum 10 characters - Must be included in all export formats (XML) - Positioned in Column 2 for both Civil and Criminal bulk uploads.

A new Provider ID field must be included in all submissions.

Unlike the old CWA system, you cannot edit or amend claims once they have been uploaded to SaBC.

What this means for you: You must ensure your data is complete and accurate in Access Legal Case Management BEFORE you export and upload. Double-check everything!

The new SaBC system has specific submission requirements you need to follow:

SaBC performs comprehensive validation checks when you upload your file:

What this means for you: Allow extra time for your first few submissions while you get used to the new system requirements.

Access Legal Case Management now automatically derives and includes the required fee codes when you generate your export file for submission. This automation:

The fee codes are automatically included in your XML export file at the point of generation - no additional steps required from you.

Before exporting for submission, verify that all mandatory fields are populated on your matters:

For Civil Legal Aid matters: - Matter Type 1 code - Matter Type 2 code - Stage Reached / Level codes - Outcome codes - LAA Contract information - Procurement Area - Access Point

For Crime matters: - Case class (e.g., Investigation, Proceedings, Prison Law) - Stage information - Outcome codes - Representation Order details (where applicable)

These fields are required for the system to automatically derive the correct fee codes.

When you are ready to submit your claims:

For Civil Legal Aid: - Use the standard Access Legal Case Management process to create your submission - Navigate to Legal Aid (LAA) > Civil Billing in the workflow - Use the appropriate billing form (e.g., Consolidated Matter Report Form for Legal Help) - Generate your XML export file

For Crime: - Use the Crime billing process in Access Legal Case Management - Navigate to Legal Aid (LAA) > Crime Billing - Generate your CDS6 or appropriate submission file – This creates the export in the required format (XML)

The system will automatically derive and include all required fee codes in your export file. The Provider ID will also be automatically included.

Important: You must submit files even for nil claims periods (this is a new requirement)

Note: Once submitted, uploads cannot be deleted and re-uploaded - contact LAA for assistance if errors are detected after submission

Criminal Lower: Single fee code per claim (e.g., police station work, magistrates’ court proceedings, prison law)

Legal Help: Single fee code per claim (e.g., MISCGEN for miscellaneous Legal Help fixed fee)

Family: May require multiple fee codes depending on the matter type and stage (e.g., FPB1 for Public Family LH Fixed Fee)

Fee codes are automatically derived based on: - Civil cases: Matter Type 1, Matter Type 2, Case/Stage Level, and Outcome codes - Crime cases: Case class, stage, and outcome information

❌ Don’t export your XML without ensuring all mandatory matter fields are complete

❌ Don’t assume the LAA will ignore validation errors - they will cause rejection

❌ Don’t try to manually edit the XML file after export - re-run the export process from Access Legal Case Management

❌ Don’t leave submissions until the last minute - allow time for troubleshooting

❌ Don’t submit multiple offices in one file - multi-office firms must upload separately per office/Contract.

✅ Do ensure all Matter Type codes, Outcome codes, and Stage codes are correctly populated before export

✅ Do verify all mandatory fields are complete before generating your export

✅ Do submit early in the month to allow time for corrections if needed

✅ Do keep backups of your case data before making bulk changes

✅ Do submit files even for nil claims periods - this is now mandatory

If your firm has multiple offices: - Each office must submit separately - Do not combine multiple offices in a single submission file - Each office submission should contain only that office’s claims

For Access Legal Case Management software questions:

Contact the Access Legal Case Management support team - we are here to help you through this transition.

Email: [email protected]

For LAA policy and submission questions:

Email: [email protected]

Alternative: [email protected]

For vendor-specific communications:

Slack: LAA channel ‘laa-software-vendor-communication’

Useful Resources:

Now - 3rd February:

4th February:

By 17th February:

This is a significant change from the old system. The new portal is stricter and requires complete, accurate data BEFORE upload. Access Legal Case Management Release 16.2.3.0 and later versions automate the fee code derivation for you, but you must ensure your underlying case data is correct and complete.

Important: This SaBC system is an interim solution following the May 2025 cyber-attack. The LAA will eventually replace it with a transformed Legal Aid service, though the timeline for this is not yet confirmed. For now, all providers must use SaBC for their Legal Aid billing submissions.

Take the time now to:

We understand this represents a change to your workflow, particularly with the backlog from May 2025 onwards. Access Legal Case Management automated fee code derivation eliminates the manual burden, and our support team is ready to assist you through this transition.

Do not wait until 4th February to start preparing - upgrade (if necessary) and review your data now to ensure a smooth transition.

For installation and upgrade support, please contact:

Access Legal Access Legal Case Management Support Team

[email protected]