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 – priority for urgent matters
- Guideline 2 – family dispute resolution services
- Guideline 3 – independent representation of children
- Guideline 4 – parenting orders
- Guideline 5 – child maintenance and child support
- Guideline 6 – spousal maintenance
- Guideline 7 – arrears of spousal or child maintenance or child support
- Guideline 8 – parentage
- Guideline 9 – special medical procedures involving children
- Guideline 10 – recovery, location and information orders
- Guideline 11 – divorce and nullity of marriage
- Guideline 12 – property
- Guideline 13 – assistance after final court orders
- Guideline 14 – appeals
- Guideline 15 – enforcement of court orders
- Guideline 16 – contempt of court and breach of court orders
- Guideline 17 – international child abduction matters
- Guideline 18 – 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 5 – child maintenance and child support
5.1 – assistance for child maintenance – Stage 1 matters
A child maintenance matter is a Stage 1 matter if it relates to a child born before 1 October 1989 and:
- the parents of the child have never lived together
or - separated before 1 October 1989, and did not resume living together
and - the child does not have a full-blood sibling born on or after that date.
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance for a child maintenance application to the court under the Family Law Act 1975 to vary an order in a Stage 1 matter.
5.2 – assistance for child support – Stage 2 matters
A child support matter is a Stage 2 matter if it relates to:
- a child born on or after 1 October 1989
- a child born before 1 October 1989 whose parents separated after that date
- a child who has a full blood sibling born on or after 1 October 1989.
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance in relation to a Stage 2 matter for an application to a court for, either:
- leave under Division 3 of Part 7 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
- an order under Division 4 of Part 7 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act.
A grant of legal assistance for an application to a court should usually be limited to proceedings in State or Territory Magistrates’ or local courts or the Federal Magistrates Court, unless such proceedings are unavailable.
5.3 – Social Security Appeals Tribunal review of child maintenance and child support decisions
If a person’s circumstances affect their ability to adequately represent themselves, VLA may provide a grant of legal assistance for either:
- an application under the child support legislation to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) for review of a child support decision or child maintenance decision
- an application under the child support legislation to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of a decision of the SSAT
- an appeal under the child support legislation to a court on a question of law from a decision of the SSAT.
5.4 – assistance for applicant children
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance to a child (including an adult child) seeking a child maintenance order if VLA is satisfied that they are the most appropriate person to seek the order.
5.5 – application of the Commonwealth family law guidelines to the maintenance of ex nuptial children in Western Australia
VLA may provide a grant of legal assistance for a matter in Western Australia involving the maintenance of an ex-nuptial child only if the matter is provided for by the child support legislation as it extends to Western Australia.
The Commonwealth family law guidelines, and any amendments to these guidelines, apply to a matter in Western Australia involving the maintenance of an ex nuptial child in the same way that the child support legislation, and any amendments to the child support legislation, apply to the matter.
See:
- section 13 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
- section 5 of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.
Documentary requirements
Applications under guidelines 5.1 and 5.2 are within the simplified grants assessment process or the standard grants assessment process.
Applications under guidelines 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5 are only within 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 to VLA for assessment:
- a completed VLA application form
- the client’s instructions (if the application is made via a lawyer)
- a statement of the lawyer’s opinion about how the matter meets guideline 5
- for applications under guideline 5.3 a copy of the relevant decision or order being reviewed or appealed
- relevant proof of means.
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 child support checklist only after ensuring that the following documents are retained on file unless they are requested by VLA for assessment:
- their client’s instructions
- a brief statement of the lawyer’s opinion about how the matter meets the Commonwealth’s merits test and guideline 5, if this is not clear from other information on the file
- for applications under guideline 5.3 a copy of the relevant decision or order being reviewed or appealed
- relevant proof of means.
Lawyers are also encouraged to complete a family law merits worksheet and a proof of means worksheet for their file.