Table of contents
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Table of contents
- 1 – Introduction
- 2 – Types of matters that may be assisted
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3 – Criminal law guidelines
- Guideline 1.1 – ‘not guilty’ plea in the Magistrates’ Court
- Guideline 1.2 – ‘guilty’ plea in the Magistrates’ Court
- Guideline 1.3 – Assessment and Referral Court List matters
- Guidelines 1.4 and 1.5 – social security prosecutions
- Guideline 2 – traffic offence charges in the Magistrates’ Court
- Guideline 3.1 – committal proceedings involving homicide, consent or identification
- Guideline 3.2 – committal proceedings in other cases
- Guideline 4 – trials in the County or Supreme courts
- Guideline 4.1 – County Court and Supreme Court pleas
- Guideline 5.1 – proceedings in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court
- Guideline 6 – bail applications in the Magistrates’, County and Supreme courts
- Guideline 7.1 – criminal appeals to the County Court
- Guideline 7.2 – interlocutory appeals to the Court of Appeal
- Guideline 7.3 – appeals to the High Court
- Guideline 7.4 – leave to appeal against sentence in the Court of Appeal
- Guideline 7.5 – appeal against sentence in the Court of Appeal
- Guideline 7.6 – leave to appeal against conviction/conviction and sentence in the Court of Appeal
- Guideline 7.7 – appeal against conviction/conviction and sentence in the Court of Appeal
- Guideline 8 – stay applications under the Criminal Procedure Act
- Guideline 9 – hearings under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act
- Guideline 10 – Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act
- County Court breach proceedings
- Guideline 11 – two-counsel policy
- 4 – Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
- 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 5.1 – proceedings in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance to a child (that is, a person under 18 years old) appearing in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court if the matter is not trivial or minor.
A matter that is ‘not trivial or minor’ means an offence more serious than, for example, a public transport fare evasion or being drunk in a public place.
Serious indictable crimes by children
Guideline 5.1 includes matters where a child has been charged with a serious indictable crime – that is, a crime which, if an adult had been charged, would not be heard in the Magistrates’ Court (for example, rape).
Documentary requirements
Applications under this guideline are within the simplified grants assessment process or the standard grants assessment process.
Standard grants assessment process
Lawyers or other applicants seeking a grant of legal assistance via the standard grants assessment process should forward all of the following documents for assessment:
- a completed VLA application form
- copies of the charge or charges
- full details of their prior convictions (if any); and
- if the applicant is lodging the application through a lawyer, then their lawyer’s assessment of the prospects of acquittal and/or of the likely penalty (see Criminal law guideline 1.1 for the meaning and examples of ‘likely penalty’)
- relevant proof of means (if a waiver does not apply).
Simplified grants assessment process
Lawyers seeking a grant of legal assistance via the simplified grants assessment process should submit a completed simplified VLA application form and a summary crime checklist, only after ensuring that the following documents are retained on file unless they are requested by VLA for assessment:
- a reference to guideline 5.1
- copies of the charge or charges
- the lawyer’s assessment of the likely penalty having regard to any prior relevant convictions (if any)
- full details of the person’s prior convictions (if any)
and - relevant proof of means (if a waiver does not apply).
Lawyers are also encouraged to complete a proof of means worksheet for their file.