Table of contents
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Table of contents
- 1 – Introduction
- 2 – Types of matters that may be assisted
- 3 – Criminal law guidelines
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4 – Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
- Guideline 1 – early intervention and dispute resolution
- Guideline 2 – litigation
- Guideline 3 – parties who are not parents
- Guideline 4 – assistance for applications to discharge or vary parenting arrangements
- Guideline 5 – independent representation of children
- Guideline 6 – child support and child maintenance
- Guideline 7 – spousal maintenance
- Guideline 8 – arrears of spousal or child maintenance or child support
- Guideline 9 – parentage
- Guideline 10 – special medical procedures involving children
- Guideline 11 – recovery, location and information orders
- Guideline 12 – nullity of marriage
- Guideline 13 – assistance after final court orders are made
- Guideline 14 – appeals
- Guideline 15 – contravention and enforcement of court orders and contempt of court
- Guideline 16 – international child abduction matters
- Guideline 17 – family law costs management
- Guideline 18 – Family law trials and final hearings
- Jurisdiction of family law proceedings
- 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
- 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 18 – Family law trials and final hearings
VLA may provide assistance for representation at trial (by counsel or lawyer) where:
- the matter is listed in the Magellan Program; or
- the applicant is a person with an intellectual disability or an acquired brain injury who is an eligible person receiving services from the Department of Human Services or a registered disability service provider under the Disability Act 2006; or
- the applicant is a person with a diagnosed mental illness who is receiving services from an approved mental health service under the Mental Health Act 1986; or
- the other party is represented either privately, through pro bono assistance, or pursuant to (ii) or (iii) above.
This does not apply to Independent Children’s Lawyers for whom Family Law Guideline 5 will continue to apply.
Part heard matters
This rule applies to all applications for assistance received on or after 1 November 2013 for trials listed on or after 1 November 2013. Where a trial is scheduled partly before 1 November and recommences on or after 1 November 2013 assistance may be available for that portion of the trial conducted on or after 1 November 2013.
More information
For more information and guidance on interpreting and applying this guideline see these resources:
Notes to family law trials and final hearings guideline
Costs payable in Commonwealth family law matters
Commonwealth merits test
Cost ceilings