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
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7 – State civil law guidelines
- Guideline 1 – general civil claims of $5000 or more
- Guideline 2 – Mental Health Review Board cases
- Guideline 3 – guardianship and/or administration cases in the Guardianship List
- Guideline 4 – coronial inquests
- Guideline 5 – equal opportunity or discrimination cases
- Guideline 5a – Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal cases
- Guideline 6 – family violence protection order cases
- Guideline 6a – stalking intervention order cases
- Guideline 7 – adoption
- Guideline 8 – State civil law matters that will not be assisted
- Guideline 10 – infringements cases
- Guideline 11 – a public interest case or a test case
- Guideline 12 – witnesses appearing before the Chief Examiner or Examiner
- Guideline 13 – social security cases at the ARO and SSAT stages
- Guideline 14 – drought legal assistance package
- 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 10 – infringements cases
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance to a person who is liable to pay multiple infringements exceeding $1000 in total where the person either:
- wants to apply to revoke an infringement warrant or an enforcement order
- has a matter listed in the Magistrates’ Court in relation to an infringement warrant
- has a matter listed in the Special Circumstances List of the Magistrates’ Court.
There must be a strong likelihood that legal assistance will result in:
- the enforcement order being revoked
- the infringement penalty being substantially discharged.
In addition, the person must meet at least one of the following:
- have, or at the time of the offence suffered from, a mental or intellectual disability, disorder or illness
- have, or at the time of the offence suffered from, a serious addiction to drugs, alcohol or a volatile substance
- have been homeless at the time of the offence.
A person who does not meet this guideline is not eligible for assistance under the State's special circumstances.
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 to VLA for assessment.
- a completed VLA application form
- copies of the penalty enforcement notices for any infringements
- if the applicant is lodging the application through a lawyer, then their lawyer’s assessment of the likely outcome
- documentary proof of any illness or condition claimed to meet guideline 10
- relevant proof of means.
Simplified grants assessments process
Lawyers seeking a grant of legal assistance via the simplified grants assessment process should submit a completed simplified VLA application form and an infringments checklist only after ensuring that the following documents are retained on file unless they are requested by VLA for assessment:
- copies of the penalty enforcement notices for any infringements
- the lawyer’s assessment of the outcome
- documentary proof of any illness or condition claimed to meet guideline 10
- relevant proof of means.
Lawyers are also encouraged to complete an infringement matters worksheet for their file.