Associate Justice Minister Simon Bridges has released figures showing a 7.6% increase between 2014 and 2015 in grants of criminal legal aid to prisoners on muster.
Mr Bridges has provided the information in response to parliamentary questions for written answer from Green Party MP David Clendon.
Mr Bridges says the information provided has been taken from the legal aid application form, at the time aid was granted.
He says the increase in 2014 and 2015 is due to parole proceedings that were previously administered as civil legal aid, being administered as criminal legal aid since September 2013.
Criminal legal aid grants to prisoners on muster, calendar years
| Year | Grants |
| 2015 | 2,493 |
| 2014 | 3,190 |
| 2013 | 3,780 |
| 2012 | 4,751 |
| 2011 | 5,115 |
Civil legal aid grants to prisoners on muster, calendar years
| Year | Grants |
| 2015 | 420 |
| 2014 | 324 |
| 2013 | 850 |
| 2012 | 805 |
| 2011 | 542 |
A prisoner on muster has been defined as a person that provided a prison name and/or address at the time they applied for legal aid.