9 – Standard grants assessment process

Victoria Legal Aid's (VLA’s) standard grants assessment process is also known as the full assessment process. It is used to assess applications for grants of legal assistance and to decide whether VLA will provide a grant of legal assistance to a person in the following matters:

Submitting an application through the standard grants assessment process

Applications for a grant of legal assistance in any of the circumstances listed above must be made using the standard grants assessment process via ATLAS.

Significance of the standard grants assessment process

The main significance of the standard grants assessment process is that applications for grants of legal assistance are assessed to decide:

  • whether the legal matter is one for which VLA may make a grant of legal assistance
  • whether the person qualifies for a grant of legal assistance under the means test
  • the merits of the legal matter
  • what, if any, initial contribution VLA will require the person to pay if VLA makes a grant of legal assistance
  • the conditions which VLA may place on the grant of legal assistance.

Note: the assisted person’s lawyer, if any, has no role in the decision-making process, other than to provide VLA with all relevant information relating to the application for the grant of legal assistance.

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