Table of contents
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Table of contents
- 1 – Introduction
- 2 – Types of matters that may be assisted
- 3 – Criminal law guidelines
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4 – Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
- Guideline 1 – early intervention and dispute resolution
- Guideline 2 – litigation
- Guideline 3 – parties who are not parents
- Guideline 4 – assistance for applications to discharge or vary parenting arrangements
- Guideline 5 – independent representation of children
- Guideline 6 – child support and child maintenance
- Guideline 7 – spousal maintenance
- Guideline 8 – arrears of spousal or child maintenance or child support
- Guideline 9 – parentage
- Guideline 10 – special medical procedures involving children
- Guideline 11 – recovery, location and information orders
- Guideline 12 – nullity of marriage
- Guideline 13 – assistance after final court orders are made
- Guideline 14 – appeals
- Guideline 15 – contravention and enforcement of court orders and contempt of court
- Guideline 16 – international child abduction matters
- Guideline 17 – family law costs management
- Family law trials and final hearings
- Jurisdiction of family law proceedings
- 5 – Commonwealth civil law guidelines
- 6 – State family guidelines
- 7 – State civil law guidelines
- 8 – Standard grants assessment process
- 9 – Simplified grants assessment process
- 10 – Referral and practitioner panels
- 11 – Means test
- 12 – Commonwealth merits test
- 13 – State reasonableness test and interests of justice test
- 14 – Special circumstances
- 15 – Applying for a grant of legal assistance
- 16 – Decision to grant or refuse assistance
- 17 – Reconsideration and review of decisions
- 18 – Standard terms and conditions
- 19 – Contributions and overdue payments
- 20 – Abandoning legal assistance
- 21 – Finalising grants of legal assistance
- 22 – Allocation of work to lawyers and law firms
- 23 – Payments to lawyers and service providers
- 24 – Compliance reviews
- 25 – Privacy protection
- 26 – Complaints and feedback
- Topic index
- Invoices, worksheets and forms
- Contact us
Guideline 3 – parties who are not parents
If Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) makes a grant of legal assistance for:
- early intervention and dispute resolution
- a court application for a parenting order
- to discharge or vary a parenting order or a parenting plan
then usually the grant is made to one of the parents of the relevant child.
However, VLA may provide a grant of legal assistance in accordance with VLA’s family law guidelines to a party who is not a parent in court proceedings for parenting orders under the Family Law Act 1975 if either:
- the person is significant to the care, welfare and development of the child (such as a grandparent)
- VLA considers it to be in the child’s best interests.
For example, if the child’s safety or welfare is at risk, then it may be in the child’s best interests for VLA to provide a grant of legal assistance to a third party.
VLA considers that any adult who has primary care of the child, or who spends substantial time with the child, has standing to intervene as a third party or to issue proceedings in their own right.
If there are State child protection orders in place, or current court proceedings under a State child welfare law are on foot, and those orders or proposed orders are in favour of a person who is not a parent, VLA may make a grant of legal assistance to the extent necessary to secure the child’s best interests.