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 – 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
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24 – Payments to lawyers and service providers
- Professional costs
- Counsel's fees
- Payments to agents
- Duty lawyer schemes
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Disbursements
- Interim claims for authorised disbursements
- Table OO – VLA rates for reimbursement of authorised disbursements/expenses
- Table Q – Expert reports and court attendances in family law matters
- Table S – Expert reports and court attendances by psychologists and psychiatrists in criminal matters
- Cost ceilings
- Stage of matter limits
- Lump sum fees
- Costs payable in criminal law matters
- Costs payable in State family matters
- Costs payable in Commonwealth family law matters
- Costs payable in civil law matters
- 25 – Compliance reviews
- 26 – Privacy protection
- 27 – Complaints and feedback
- Topic index
- Invoice, worksheets and forms
- Contact us
Table Q – Expert reports and court attendances in family law matters
Table Q sets out the fixed fees which Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) will pay for expert reports and court attendances in family law matters.
These fees are effective from 1 August 2012. For fees payable prior to this see Archived versions of the Handbook.
VLA expects assisted people to get family reports from the Court Counseling Section, unless it is impractical or inappropriate.
In exceptional circumstances, the fees may be increased.
| Service provided | Fees payable |
|---|---|
| Family assessment and report | $2132 total cost Note: VLA will pay only the assisted person’s appropriate share of this total amount. Except in exceptional circumstances, VLA will not pay any part of the cost of a family report on behalf of the child representative/independent children’s lawyer. |
| Supplementary report (ie any second or later report by an expert): if prepared within nine months after the first report. | $1186 total cost Note: VLA will pay only the assisted person’s appropriate share or shares of this total amount. |
| Supplementary report (ie any second or later report by an expert): if prepared more than nine months after the first report | $1778 total cost Note: VLA will pay only the assisted person’s appropriate share or shares of this total amount. |
| Interview of a third party (eg a grandparent) who has intervened in a dispute | $357 additional fee on top of total cost |
| Attending court, including travel: half day | $532 Note: If the person attending court is the writer of the family report, then the fee is payable out of the grant of legal assistance made to the child representative/independent children’s lawyer. |
| Attending court, including travel: full day | $782 Note: If the person attending court is the writer of the family report, then the fee is payable out of the grant of legal assistance made to the child representative/independent children’s lawyer. |
A person is engaged to write a family report but does not need to complete the report:
|
The report writer may claim a fee for the actual work done. |
| Individual reports | Fee payable to psychiatrist or psychologist |
| Assessment and report | $1007 |
| Treating expert’s report | $426 |
| Supplementary report (ie any second or later report by an expert) | $498 |
| Attending court, including travel: half day | $532 |
| Attending court, including travel: full day | $782 |
| If the assisted person does not attend a firm appointment made with the expert | $97 |
Practitioners can claim these fees using ATLAS+ or submitting a tax invoice.