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Table of contents
1 – Introduction
Victoria Legal Aid services
Roundtable Dispute Management
Handbook overview
National Commonwealth legal aid guidelines
2 – Types of matters that may be assisted
Criminal law matters
State family matters
Commonwealth family law and child support matters
State civil law matters
Commonwealth civil law matters
Other matters: special circumstances
Types of matters that will not be assisted
3 – Criminal law guidelines
Guideline 1.1 – ‘not guilty’ plea in the Magistrates’ Court
Guideline 1.2 – ‘guilty’ plea in the Magistrates’ Court
Guideline 1.3 – Assessment and Referral Court List matters
Guidelines 1.4 and 1.5 – social security prosecutions
Guideline 2 – traffic offence charges in the Magistrates’ Court
Guideline 3.1 – committal proceedings involving homicide, consent or identification
Guideline 3.2 – committal proceedings in other cases
Guideline 4 – trials in the County or Supreme courts
Guideline 4.1 – County Court and Supreme Court pleas
Guideline 5.1 – proceedings in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court
Guideline 6 – bail applications in the Magistrates’, County and Supreme courts
Guideline 7.1 – criminal appeals to the County Court
Guideline 7.2 – interlocutory appeals to the Court of Appeal
Guideline 7.3 – appeals to the High Court
Guideline 7.4 – leave to appeal against sentence in the Court of Appeal
Guideline 7.5 – appeal against sentence in the Court of Appeal
Guideline 7.6 – leave to appeal against conviction/conviction and sentence in the Court of Appeal
Guideline 7.7 – appeal against conviction/conviction and sentence in the Court of Appeal
Guideline 8 – stay applications under the Criminal Procedure Act
Guideline 9 – hearings under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act
Guideline 10 – Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act
County Court breach proceedings
Guideline 11 – two-counsel policy
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
Guideline 1 – general guideline for Commonwealth civil matters
Guideline 2 – social security and other benefits: administrative appeals
Guideline 3 – assistance for migration cases
Guideline 4 – equal opportunity and discrimination
Guideline 5 – war veterans' matters
Guideline 6 – other Federal Court and High Court proceedings
Guideline 7 – Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Guideline 8 – extradition proceedings
Guideline 9 – appeals
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
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
Notes on the guidelines – simplified grants assessment process
10 – Referral and practitioner panels
Section 29A practitioner panels
Removal and suspension from a section 29A panel
Section 29A panel practitioner manual
Section 30 Referral Panel
Removal from the Section 30 Referral Panel
11 – Means test
Whose income and assets are assessed in the means test?
People with other sources of funds
People the means test does not apply to
Income test
Estimated legal costs and the income test
How the initial contribution is calculated based on income
How income is calculated
What is included as income
Allowable deductions
Assets test
How the initial contribution is calculated based on assets
How the value of assets is calculated
What is included as assets
Allowable assets
Farm or business – special rule for calculating equity
Documentary proof of means
12 – Commonwealth merits test
The reasonable prospects of success test
The prudent self-funding litigant test
The appropriateness of spending limited public legal aid funds test
13 – State reasonableness test and interests of justice test
State reasonableness test
State interests of justice test
14 – Special circumstances
The Commonwealth’s special circumstances
The State’s special circumstances
Additional information requirements
15 – Applying for a grant of legal assistance
The application forms
Does a person need a lawyer to help them apply?
Helping a client apply for a grant of legal assistance
How to fill in the application form
Giving false information or omitting relevant information in the application
Late applications and time limits
How to apply for further assistance, or additional assistance
Submitting the application
Urgent applications
Applications by children
Applications to take legal action against VLA
Applications by VLA staff for a grant of legal assistance for themselves
Interstate matters
Forum test
Australian legal aid commissions application forms
16 – Decision to grant or refuse assistance
If a grant of legal assistance is refused
If a grant of legal assistance is made
Limits on the costs payable by VLA
17 – Reconsideration and review of decisions
Which decisions may be reconsidered or reviewed?
Internal reconsideration of decisions
Independent review of decisions
18 – Standard terms and conditions
19 – Contributions and overdue payments
Contributions
Final contributions
Overdue contribution payments
Charge or other security over an assisted person’s property
Equitable charge
Statutory charge
Irrevocable authority
Caveats
Dealings with charged property
Debt policy
20 – Abandoning legal assistance
21 – Finalising grants of legal assistance
22 – Allocation of work to lawyers and law firms
How VLA allocates work to lawyers or law firms
General terms of allocation of work
Requesting a change of allocated lawyer
23 – Payments to lawyers and service providers
Professional costs
Counsels' fees
Payments to agents
Duty lawyer schemes
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
Fee Schedule 1 – Lump sum and other fees payable in criminal law matters
Conditions for paying lump sum fees in criminal law matters
Table A – Fees for summary criminal proceedings
Table B – Lump sum fees for bail applications in the Magistrates’ Court and in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court
Table C – Lump sum fees for bail applications in the County Court
Table D – Lump sum fees for bail applications in the Supreme Court
Table E – Lump sum fees for Magistrates’ Court stage of an indictable crime matter
Table F – Lump sum fees for County Court and Supreme Court stage of an indictable crime matter
Table F(i) – Lump sum and other fees for serious indictable crime matters in the Children’s Court
Table G – Lump sum fees for sentence appeals in the County Court
Table H – Lump sum fees for appeals against sentence and conviction in the County Court
Table J – Lump sum fees for County Court breach matters
Table K – Lump sum fees for appeals to the Court of Appeal
Table K(i) – Lump sum fees for appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Court of Appeal
Table K(ii) – Lump sum fees for interlocutory appeal
Table L – Lump sum fees for criminal appeals in the High Court
Principles applying to payment of fees for the County or Supreme court stage of an indictable crime matter
Table NN – Circuit fees for committals and bail, pleas and appeals in the County Court and solicitor out-of-office fees for trials
Summary criminal proceedings
Principles applying to payment of preparation fees to solicitors
Principles applying to payment of fees for Magistrates' Court stage of indictable matters
Fee Schedule 1A – Fees payable in criminal matters if an Appeal Costs Certificate has been granted
Table BBB – Fees for criminal matters if an Appeal Costs Certificate is granted
Fee Schedule 4 – Counsel’s fees in criminal trials
Principles applying to payment of preparation fees to counsel
Table ZZ – Hourly rates for counsel’s preparation fees and conferences in indictable criminal trials
Table RR – Counsel’s circuit fees
Table M – Guide to fees in criminal trials if two counsel briefed
Table Z – Fees for applications and reviews in Serious Sex Offender (Detention and Supervision) Act proceedings
Table T – Counsel’s fees in Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act matters
Fee Schedule 7 – superceded fee tables
Table A3 – Serious indictable crime matters in the Children’s Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table CC – Lump sum fees for bail applications in the Magistrates’ Court and in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table B1 – Lump sum fees for committal proceedings and inquests with the character of committals prior to 18 January 2011
Table D1 – Lump sum and other fees for bail applications, appeals and proceedings for breach of certain County Court orders prior to 18 January 2011
Table D2 – Lump sum fees for preparation for plea or trial in the County Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table D3 – Lump sum fees for pleas in the County Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table FF – Lump sum fees for all bail applications in the Supreme Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table GG – Lump sum fees for all criminal trials in the County Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table HH – Lump sum fees for preparation for plea or trial in the Supreme Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table JJ – Lump sum and other fees for plea in the Supreme Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table KK – Lump sum and other fees for criminal trials in the Supreme Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table LL – Appeal by convicted person against either sentence or conviction, or sentence and conviction in the Court of Appeal prior to 18 January 2011
Table L(i) – Appeal by the Crown to the Court of Appeal prior to 18 January 2011
Table L(ii) – Interlocutory appeal prior to 18 January 2011
Table MM – Lump sum and other fees for criminal appeals in the High Court prior to 18 January 2011
Table A1 – Standard rate fees in summary criminal proceedings prior to 18 January 2011
Table A1(i) – Consolidated rate fees in summary criminal proceedings prior to 18 January 2011
Table EE – Circuit and overnight fees for work done prior to 18 January 2011 in accordance with Tables D1 and D3
Table P – Expert reports and court attendances by psychologists and psychiatrists in criminal matters prior to 18 January 2011
Table AA2 – Standard rate fees in summary criminal proceedings prior to 1 July 2011
Table B2 – Lump sum fees for bail applications in the Magistrates’ Court and in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court
Table G2 – Lump sum fees for sentence appeals in the County Court
Table C2 – Lump sum fees for bail applications in the County Court
Costs payable in State family matters
Table A2 – Standard fees in State family cases in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
Table A4 – Lump sum fees in Family Violence Protection Act matters
Costs payable in Commonwealth family law matters
Principles applying to family law matters generally
Fee Schedule 1L – Family law stage of matter limits
Stage 1 – negotiations/primary dispute resolution
Stage 2 – litigation
Stage 3 – preparation for trial
Stage 4 – trial costs for lawyer in the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 5 – appeals in the Family Court
Counsel’s fees – trial costs
Dissolution proceedings
Independent children’s lawyer proceedings – Family Court
Independent children’s lawyer proceedings – Federal Magistrates Court
Counsel’s fees – independent children’s lawyer
Assistance for child support matters
Fee Schedule 3 – Counsel’s fees in family law matters
Table 6 – Counsel’s fees in family law matters
Daily circuit fees for counsel in family law matters
Costs payable in family law matters for events prior to 18 February 2008
Table 3a – Costs payable in family law matters (not including child representative/independent children’s lawyer proceedings)
Table 4a – Costs payable to private lawyers in child representative/independent children’s lawyer proceedings in the Family Court
Table 5a – Costs payable to private lawyers in child representative/independent children’s lawyer proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court
Table 6a – Costs payable to counsel or lawyer advocate in child representative/independent children’s lawyer proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court and Family Court
Costs payable in civil law matters
Fee Schedule 2 – Professional costs, lump sum and other fees in civil law matters
Preparation fees for counsel in civil law matters
Table Y – Lump sum fees for Chief Examiner or Examiner (Witness Assistance) court cases
Table V – Social security reviews and appeals
Table V(i) – Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal
Table W – Equal opportunity cases
Table N – Lump sum fees for coronial inquests
Table O – Lump sum fees for hearings before the Mental Health Review Board, the Forensic Leave Panel and the Guardianship List
Table X – Lump sum fees for Infringements Court cases
Table A5 – Lump sum fees in Stalking Intervention Order Act matters
Fee Schedule 6 – Fees in war veterans’ cases
Table U – Lump sum fees in war veterans’ cases
Fees in war veterans’ cases prior to 5 July 2010
Table U1 – Lump sum and other fees in non-complex war veterans’ cases
Table U2 – Lump sum and other fees in complex war veterans’ cases
Table U3 – War veterans’ cases at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
24 – Compliance reviews
Compliance review methodology
Compliance notices
Rights to request reconsideration or review of decisions to give compliance notices
Decision reconsideration and review process
Compliance reviews – consequences for an assisted person
25 – Privacy protection
Personal information in the application for legal assistance
Right to access and amend personal information held by VLA
Privacy complaints
26 – Complaints and feedback
Complaints and feedback about VLA services, staff and private lawyers funded by VLA
Complaints about VLA’s compliance with the Legal Aid Act
Topic index
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Advance search
Invoices, worksheets and forms
General forms
Grants of legal assistance – guide and application form
Simplified grants process – application form
Recipient-created tax invoice agreement
Financial statement
Centrelink consent and authority form
Family law tax invoices
Independent children's lawyers' tax invoices
Stage 1 tax invoices – Family Court
Stage 1(a) Up to and including 1st court hearing after appointment
Stage 1(b) Subsequent court hearing
Stage 1(c) Interim contest hearing
Stage 1(e) Roundtable Dispute Management (litigation intervention)
Stage 2 tax invoices – Family Court
Stage 2(a) Preparation for and days of trial
Stage 2(c) Additional preparation fees
Stage 2 Callover
Stage 2 Defaulters List
Stage 2 Subpoena List
Stage 2 Subpoena List (Objection)
Stage 1 tax invoices – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 1(a) Up to and including 1st court hearing after appointment
Stage 1(b) Subsequent court hearing
Stage 1(c) Interim contest hearing
Stage 1(d) Roundtable Dispute Management (litigation intervention)
Stage 2 tax invoices – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 2(a) Preparation for hearing
Stage 2(c) Additional preparation fees
Stage 3 tax invoice – Federal Magistrates Court
Section 30 panel family law tax invoices
Stage 1 tax invoice – Roundtable Dispute Management
Stage 2 tax invoices – Family Court
Stage 2(e) Inititating application – Family Court
Stage 2 tax invoices – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 2(e) Initiating application – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 2(i) – Roundtable Dispute Management
Stage 2 tax invoices – State Magistrates' Court
Stage 2(a) Application in State Magistrates' Court (finding of paternity)
Stage 2(c) Initiatating court proceedings – State Magistrates' Court
Stage 2(b) Application for recovery or information order
Stage 2(f) Subsequent hearing – Family and Federal Magistrates courts
Stage 2(g) Interim contest hearing – Family and Federal Magistrates courts
Stage 3(e) Additional preparation
Stage 3 tax invoices – Family Court
Stage 3(a) Preparation for and first day of trial – Family Court
Stage 3(c) Preparation and trial – Family Court
Stage 3 tax invoices – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 3(d) Preparation for trial – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 4 tax invoice – Family and Federal Magistrates courts
Stage 5 tax invoice – Family Court
Section 29A panel family law tax invoices
Stage 1 tax invoice – Roundtable Dispute Management
Stage 2 tax invoices – Family Court
Stage 2(e) Initiating application – Family Court
Stage 2 tax invoices – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 2(e) Initiating application – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 2(i) – Roundtable Dispute Management
Stage 2 tax invoices – State Magistrates' Court
Stage 2(a) Application in State Magistrates' Court (finding of paternity)
Stage 2(c) Inititating court proceedings – State Magistrates' Court
Stage 3 tax invoices – Family Court
Stage 3(a) Preparation for and first day of trial – Family Court
Stage 3(c) Preparation for and continuation of trial – Family Court
Stage 3 tax invoices – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 3(d) Preparation for trial – Federal Magistrates Court
Stage 4 tax invoice – Family and Federal Magistrates courts
Stage 5 tax invoice – Family Court
Stage 2(b) Application for recovery or information order – all courts
Stage 2(f) Subsequent hearing – Family or Federal Magistrates courts
Stage 2(g) Interim contest hearing – Family or Federal Magistrates courts
Stage 3(e) Additional preparation
Child support tax invoices
Advice and negotiation – child support
Application in State Magistrates' Court (finding of paternity) – child support
Initiating or responding to an application in State Magistrates' Court – child support
Transfer from State Magistrates' Court to Federal Magistrates Court – child support
Initiating or responding to an application in the Federal Magistrates Court – child support
Enforcement of court orders – child support
Appeal to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal – child support
Appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal – child support
Stay application in any court – child support
Dissolution tax invoice
Family law worksheets and checklists
Family law merits worksheet
Family law overcap worksheet
Paternity testing worksheet
Proof of means worksheet – family law
Child support checklist
Family law checklist
Children's Court (Family Division) proceedings – tax invoice
Children's Court (Family Division) worksheets and checklists
Children's Court (Family Division) worksheets
Children's Court (Family Division) checklist
Criminal law tax invoices
Bail applications – tables B, C and D tax invoice
Magistrates' Court stage of indictable matter – Table E tax invoice
County and Supreme court stage of an indictable crime matter – Table F tax invoice
Children’s Court serious indictable criminal cases – Table F(i) tax invoice
Appeals – tables G, H, K, K(i), K(ii) and L tax invoice
Miscellaneous crime – tables J, T, Y and Z tax invoice
Superceded criminal law tax invoices
Summary crime proceedings in the Magistrates' and Children's courts and Crime (Family Violence) proceedings – Table A1 tax invoice
Consolidation of charges in summary crime proceedings in the Magistrates' or Children's courts – Table A1(i) tax invoice
Children's Court: serious indictable criminal cases – Table A3 tax invoice
Committal proceedings where filing hearing is held on or after 1 July 2007 – Table B1 tax invoice
Criminal proceedings – miscellaneous – tables CC, D1 and FF tax invoice
County Court plea – tables D2 and D3 tax invoice
County Court criminal trial – tables D2 and GG tax invoice
Supreme Court plea – tables HH and JJ tax invoice
Supreme Court criminal trial – tables HH and KK tax invoice
Court of Appeal – Table LL tax invoice
Crown appeal against sentence – Table L(i) tax invoice
High Court special leave and appeal – Table MM tax invoice
Summary criminal Magistrates' and Children's court proceedings – Table AA2 tax invoice
Bail applications – tables B2, C2 and D tax invoice
Summary criminal Magistrates' and Children's court proceedings – Table A tax invoice
Criminal law worksheets and checklists
Appeals checklist
Bail traffic consolidation worksheet
Contested committals – exceeding two days worksheet
Committals worksheet – State and Commonwealth
County Court appeal worksheet
Criminal cases – final report
Criminal trials and pleas worksheet
Indictable crime checklist
Medical report worksheet
Post-committal negotiation checklist
Preparation fees worksheet
Proof of means worksheet – criminal law
Psychologist/psychiatrist report worksheet
Summary crime checklist
Summary crime worksheet
Civil law tax invoices
Family Violence Protection Act proceedings – Table A4 tax invoice
Stalking Intervention Orders Act proceedings – Table A5 tax invoice
Coronial inquest (Table N), and Mental Health Review Board, Social Security Appeals Tribunal and Guardianship & Administration Board hearing (Table O) tax invoice
War veterans' cases at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal – Table U3 tax invoice
Social security reviews and appeals – Table V tax invoice
Equal opportunity – Table W tax invoice
Infringements cases – Table X tax invoice
Civil law worksheets and checklists
Administration of war veterans' matters checklist
Equal opportunity checklist
Family Violence Protection Act checklist
Family Violence Protection Act worksheet
Family Violence Protection Act and Stalking Intervention Orders Act matters – final report
Infringements checklist
Infringement matters worksheet
Social security checklist
Stalking intervention orders checklist
Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal checklist
Forms A-Z
Contact us
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