Table of contents
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Table of contents
- 1 – Introduction
- 2 – Types of matters that may be assisted
- 3 – Criminal law guidelines
- 4 – Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
- 5 – Commonwealth civil law guidelines
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6 – State family guidelines
- Guideline 1 – child involved in a case in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
- Guideline 2 – parent, guardian or other interested person involved in a case in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
- 7 – State civil law guidelines
- 8 – Public interest and strategic litigation
- 9 – Standard grants assessment process
- 10 – Simplified grants assessment process
- 11 – Referral and practitioner panels
- 12 – Means test
- 13 – Commonwealth merits test
- 14 – State reasonableness test and interests of justice test
- 15 – Special circumstances
- 16 – Applying for a grant of legal assistance
- 17 – Decision to grant or refuse assistance
- 18 – Reconsideration and review of decisions
- 19 – Standard terms and conditions
- 20 – Contributions and overdue payments
- 21 – Abandoning legal assistance
- 22 – Finalising grants of legal assistance
- 23 – Allocation of work to lawyers and law firms
- 24 – Payments to lawyers and service providers
- 25 – Compliance reviews
- 26 – Privacy protection
- 27 – Complaints and feedback
- Topic index
- Invoice, worksheets and forms
- Contact us
Guideline 1 – child involved in a case in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance to a child who is the subject of an application in the Family Division of the Children’s Court if the child is considered to be mature enough to provide instructions.
How does VLA assess the child’s maturity?
Children who are 10 years old or more
VLA will generally consider that a child aged ten or older is mature enough to give instructions.
Children who are less than 10 years old
VLA may provide assistance to a child under ten where:
- a judicial officer considers the child is mature enough to provide instructions and refers the matter to VLA; and
- VLA considers it appropriate to provide assistance for the child.
VLA does not apply the means test to:
- the child
or - any financially associated person of the child.
Where a court makes an order under section 524(4) of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 that it is in the best interests of a child under the age of 10 to be legally represented, VLA will process and allocate a grant of assistance to a VLA practitioner or a practitioner on VLA's section 29A Family Law Panel.
Documentary requirements
Applications for children who are less than 10 years old must be referred to VLA for determination.
Application form signature
As a formality, a child should make their mark on an application for a grant of legal assistance.
Simplified grants assessment process
Lawyers seeking a grant of legal assistance via the simplified grants assessment process must submit an application via ATLAS, only after ensuring that the following documents are retained on file (unless they are requested by VLA for assessment):
- a copy of any protection, breach, variation or irreconcilable differences application
- a copy of any report
- an indication of the orders sought by the parties
- copies of any orders made
Lawyers are also encouraged to complete a Children's Court (Family Division) worksheet for their file.