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
- 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
Costs payable in Commonwealth family law matters
Changes to the guidelines
From 1 November 2011 the new Commonwealth family law guidelines apply. Under the new guidelines Fee Schedule 1M – Family law stage of matter limits replaces Fee Schedule 1L.
The fees in this Fee Schedule 1M apply to all Family Law Act cases (including extensions) where legal assistance was approved on or after 1 November 2011.
Fee increase
Victoria Legal Aid increased all professional fees and disbursements by 10 per cent effective 1 October 2011.
The fee increase applies to all existing grants of legal assistance where the matter has not been finalised, and new grants made on or after that date. All appearances and additional preparation completed prior to the changes attract the old fees.
Index
- Principles applying to family law matters generally
- Fee Schedule 1M – Family law stage of matter limits
- Stage 1 – negotiations/Roundtable Dispute Management
- Stage 2 – litigation
- Stage 3 – preparation for trial
- Stage 4 – trial costs for lawyer in the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court
- Stage 5 – appeals in the Family Court
- Counsel’s fees – stage of matter limits
- Annulment proceedings
- Independent children’s lawyer proceedings – Family Court
- Independent children’s lawyer proceedings – Federal Magistrates Court
- Counsel’s fees – independent children’s lawyer
- Assistance for child support matters
- Fee Schedule 3 – Counsel’s fees in family law matters
Fees prior to 1 November 2011
To see the previous schedules for fees see Archived versions of the Handbook.