VLA Handbook for lawyers

The VLA Handbook for lawyers sets out how apply for a grant of legal assistance and the guidelines and conditions of receiving a grant. It also explains the payment structure for private lawyers who perform legal aid work.

Archived versions

For versions of the Handbook prior to these changes see Archived versions of the Handbook.

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Applying for a grant of legal assistance

• Application form – standard grants process
• Privacy protection
• Applying for a grant of legal assistance
• Special circumstances

Application assessment process

• Simplified grants assessment process
• Standard grants assessment process
• Reconsideration and review of decisions
• Decision to grant or refuse assistance
• State reasonableness test and interests of justice test
• Commonwealth merits test
• Means test

Existing grants of legal assistance

• Complaints and feedback
• Abandoning legal assistance
• Privacy protection
• Compliance reviews
• Finalising grants of legal assistance
• Contributions and overdue payments
• Standard terms and conditions
• Financial statement

Civil law

• Commonwealth civil law guidelines
• State civil law guidelines
• Civil law worksheets and checklists
• Costs payable in civil law matters

Criminal law

• Criminal law guidelines
• Criminal law worksheets and checklists
• Costs payable in criminal law matters

Family law (Commonwealth)

• Roundtable Dispute Management
• Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
• Family law worksheets and checklists
• Costs payable in Commonwealth family law matters

Family matters (State)

• State family guidelines
• Children's Court (Family Division) worksheets
• Costs payable in State family matters

Practitioners

• Referral and practitioner panels
• Payments to lawyers and service providers
• Complaints and feedback
• Roundtable Dispute Management
• Compliance reviews
• Allocation of work to lawyers and law firms
• Finalising grants of legal assistance
• Invoice, worksheets and forms

  Latest Handbook updates  

• Family law trials and final hearings

  Date: 01 September 2014

• Notes to family law trials and final hearings guideline

  Date: 01 September 2014

        ATLAS+ online grants management  

See the VLA website for more about ATLAS+, including:

• training and help desk support
• key contacts
• easy quick start and system administrator guides.

 Go to ATLAS+      

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