Instructing a Forensic Psychologist

How does a defence lawyer instruct a forensic psychologist in New Zealand?

A defence lawyer instructs a forensic psychologist by sending a written letter of instruction that names the client, states the specific questions the report must answer, gives the hearing date, lists the enclosed records, and identifies the funding pathway as Legal Aid or private. Precision AOD Solutions Ltd confirms scope, conflicts and turnaround in writing before assessment begins, and facilitates Legal Aid applications where the client is eligible. For who lawfully prepares each report a court or the Parole Board receives — and which reports Legal Aid funds — see our statutory reference matrix.

Most delays in court-directed psychological work are not clinical — they are instructional. An instruction that arrives without the right questions, records or timeline costs weeks in correspondence before assessment can begin. This guide sets out how to instruct Precision AOD Solutions efficiently, whatever body you instruct on behalf of.

Who Can Instruct Us

• Defence counsel and Legal Aid providers: independent assessments for sentencing, parole and fitness matters, with funding applications facilitated on the client's behalf
• Crown counsel: court-directed reports prepared to the statutory criteria the decision-maker must weigh
• Courts and tribunals: assessments ordered under statutory frameworks, delivered to hearing deadlines
• Ara Poutama Aotearoa (Corrections): assessments coordinated with prison psychology services and community probation
• Clients directly: self-referrals are accepted where no court process is underway; where proceedings exist we coordinate through counsel

Anatomy of a Letter of Instruction

A complete instruction answers six questions before we even need to reply:

1. Who is instructing? Counsel, court or agency details, with contact information for scheduling.
2. Who is to be assessed? The person's details, current location (including prison if applicable) and custody status.
3. What questions must the report answer? The specific statutory or decision-making questions — the clearer these are, the more directly the report maps to what the decision-maker must consider.
4. What is the hearing date? So the delivery timeline is fixed from day one.
5. What documents are provided? Summaries of facts, sentencing notes, prior reports, treatment records.
6. What is the funding pathway? Legal Aid or private; we facilitate Legal Aid applications where eligible.

Scope, Questions & Methodology

Every assessment is conducted by a psychologist registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board, working alongside qualified AOD clinicians where substance factors are relevant. Methodology is matched to the questions asked: validated instruments (VRS, RoC*RoI, SAPROF) for risk matters, structured clinical assessment for capacity and fitness questions, and multi-source evidence throughout. Reports document methodology so conclusions can be transparently tested — our forensic psychology services overview describes the full scope of what we prepare.

Fees, Conflicts & Turnaround

• Conflicts: checked at instruction, before any contact with the person to be assessed
• Funding: Legal Aid where eligible — approval typically takes 3–4 weeks and we facilitate the application; funding is contingent on individual circumstances and Legal Aid can still seek to recover costs in the future. Private work is quoted by report complexity
• Turnaround: assessment and report writing typically 10–15 business days from funding approval; earlier instruction means greater assessment depth
• Delivery: nationwide, including prison interviews by secure Audio-Visual Link

Funding detail and the application timeframe are covered in our FAQ.

After We Receive an Instruction

1. Acknowledgement within one business day, with conflicts confirmed
2. Funding pathway agreed — Legal Aid application initiated where applicable
3. Assessment scheduled: records review, interview, collateral information
4. Report delivered to the agreed timeline, written by the assessing psychologist

Send instructions to [email protected] or call 021 910 007. The report-type pages set out what each assessment contains: violence risk assessments, parole risk assessments, sentencing risk assessments, pre-sentence reports and Section 27 cultural reports.