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 13 – assistance after final court orders
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance for:
- an application to discharge or vary parenting orders or registered parenting plans (see also Commonwealth family law guideline 4)
- an application for a recovery order, a location order and/or information order (see also Commonwealth family law guideline 10).
- an appeal (see also Commonwealth family law guideline 14)
- variation of a child maintenance or child support order (see also Commonwealth family law guideline 5 and Commonwealth family law guideline 6)
- ongoing work by an independent children's lawyer in exceptional circumstances where it is necessary for the implementation of orders.
Limitations on assistance for enforcement, breach or contravention proceedings
As of 18 February 2008 VLA does not provide assistance in relation to enforcement, breach or contravention of orders. An application with exceptional merit may be submitted for consideration via the standard grants assessment process.
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
- a statement of how the application meets Commonwealth family law guidelines 4.2, 10 or 14
- a copy of the previous orders
- 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 family law 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 statement of how the application meets Commonwealth family law guideline 4.2, 5, 6, 10 or 14
- a brief statement of the lawyer’s opinion about how the matter meets the Commonwealth merits test
- a copy of any previous orders relating to the parties
- relevant proof of means.
Lawyers are also encouraged to complete a family law merits worksheet and a proof of means worksheet for their file.