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
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6 – State family guidelines
- Guideline 1 – child involved in a case in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
- Guideline 2 – parent, guardian or other interested person involved in a case in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
- 7 – State civil law guidelines
- 8 – Public interest and strategic litigation
- 9 – Standard grants assessment process
- 10 – Simplified grants assessment process
- 11 – Referral and practitioner panels
- 12 – Means test
- 13 – Commonwealth merits test
- 14 – State reasonableness test and interests of justice test
- 15 – Special circumstances
- 16 – Applying for a grant of legal assistance
- 17 – Decision to grant or refuse assistance
- 18 – Reconsideration and review of decisions
- 19 – Standard terms and conditions
- 20 – Contributions and overdue payments
- 21 – Abandoning legal assistance
- 22 – Finalising grants of legal assistance
- 23 – Allocation of work to lawyers and law firms
- 24 – Payments to lawyers and service providers
- 25 – Compliance reviews
- 26 – Privacy protection
- 27 – Complaints and feedback
- Topic index
- Invoice, worksheets and forms
- Contact us
Guideline 2 – parent, guardian or other interested person involved in a case in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance for a person to respond to certain proceedings in the Family Division of the Children’s Court if:
- the person is a parent as defined in the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005; or
- the person is not a parent (as defined in the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005) but the person is:
- joined as a party to the proceeding; and
- deemed by the Court to be critical to its ability to make a decision that is in the child's best interests; and
- referred to VLA by the Court; and
- VLA is satisfied that the circumstances of the case are exceptional.
VLA may provide a grant of legal assistance to that person if one of the following apply:
- they are a parent and are seeking to retain or regain primary care of the child in a protection application proceeding
- they oppose a breach application being proved
- they oppose a finding of irreconcilable difference
- they oppose an application to vary or extend an order
- the Department of Human Services (DHS) is applying for a guardianship order or permanent care order
- for matters other than protection applications, they seek an order different to an order recommended by DHS (including an interim accommodation order)
- for matters other than protection applications, they oppose certain conditions being made, or seek to include other conditions, in an order relating to a substantive issue which will significantly affect their lifestyle or their family’s lifestyle
- the parent is a child under the age of 18 years old.
Where the matter is a protection application, parents who are seeking access only, or who are only seeking particular conditions in orders, will not meet this guideline (unless the parent is a child under the age of 18 years old).
VLA may limit a grant for a final contested hearing
If VLA makes a grant of legal assistance for a final contested hearing, then VLA may limit the nature and extent of the assistance to:
- specific issues
- specific arguments
- a specific number of days.
Interim Accommodation Order contested hearings
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance for an Interim Accommodation Order contested hearing where:
- the specific issue to be contested at the hearing is who the child is to be placed with or a term or condition of the placement; or
- the child is younger than two years of age; or
- the parent is under the age of 18 years old.
A ‘question of placement’ includes:
- where the child/ren are to live;
- with whom the child/ren are to live;
- the exclusion of parties from the residence in which the child/ren are to live.
VLA will not usually grant assistance to revoke or vary orders if there are no current proceedings
If there are no current proceedings, then, unless there are compelling reasons, VLA will not make a grant of legal assistance to a person for an application to vary or revoke an order made in the Family Division of the Children’s Court.
Documentary requirements
Applications under this guideline are within the simplified grants assessment process or the standard grants assessment process.
Standard grants assessment process
Lawyers seeking a grant of legal assistance via the standard grants assessment process should submit an application via ATLAS for assessment, including all of the following documents:
- a copy of any protection, breach, variation or irreconcilable differences application
- a copy of any report
- an indication of the orders sought by the parties
- relevant proof of means.
Simplified grants assessment process
Lawyers seeking a grant of legal assistance via the simplified grants assessment process should submit an application via ATLAS, only after ensuring that the following documents are retained on file (unless they are requested by VLA for assessment):
- a copy of any protection, breach, variation or irreconcilable differences application
- a copy of any report
- an indication of the orders sought by the parties
- copies of any orders made
- the lawyer’s assessment of how the matter meets state family guideline 2
- reference to how the matter meets the State's reasonableness test or interests of justice test
- relevant proof of means.
Lawyers are also encouraged to complete a State family matter worksheet for their file.