Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) will make a grant of legal assistance for an infringements matter, if you meet all of the following tests:
- Financial eligibility – you must meet the VLA means test. The test is explained here.
- About your case – you must:
- be liable to pay multiple infringements exceeding $5000, and
- want to apply to revoke an infringement warrant or an enforcement order or seek enforcement review, or
- have a matter listed in the Magistrates’ Court in relation to an infringement warrant, or
- have a matter listed in the Special Circumstances List of the Magistrates’ Court.
- About you – you must:
- be experiencing family violence within the meaning of section 5 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 either now or when the offence occurred, or
- have a mental or intellectual disability, disorder or illness, either now or when the offence occurred, or
- have a serious addiction to drugs, alcohol or a volatile substance either now or when the offence occurred, or
- have been homeless at the time of the offence.
- How will your case turn out (merit) – there must be a strong likelihood that getting a grant of legal assistance will result in:
- the enforcement order being revoked, or
- the infringement penalty being substantially discharged.
A person who does not meet this guideline is not eligible for assistance under the State’s special circumstances.
Costs payable
Please see Fee Schedule 2, Table X.
Reviewed 21 February 2022
In this section
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- Handbook
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- 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 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 Children's, 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 7.8 – election to renew leave to appeal against conviction and/or 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 Offenders Act 2018
- Guideline 11 – Supreme and County Court breach proceedings
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- 4 – Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
- Notes on the Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
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- Guideline 3 – international child abduction
- Notes on Guideline 3
- Guideline 3.1 – litigation in matters involving international child abduction
- Guideline 3.2 – FDRS in matters involving international child abduction
- Guideline 3.3 – appointment of an ICL for litigation relating to international child abduction
- Guideline 3.4 – appointment of an ICL for FDRS in matters involving international child abduction
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- Guideline 5 − child support and child maintenance
- Guideline 5.1 – advice and negotiation for adults in child support matters
- Guideline 5.2 – litigation and administrative review for adults in child support matters
- Guideline 5.3 – advice and negotiation for adults in child maintenance and adult child maintenance matters
- Guideline 5.4 – FDRS in adult child maintenance matters
- Guideline 5.5 – litigation for adults in child maintenance and adult child maintenance matters
- Legal assistance for children in child support and child maintenance matters
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- Guideline 7 − special medical procedures involving children
- Guideline 7.1 – litigation for adults for special medical procedures involving a child
- Guideline 7.2 – appointment of an ICL in litigation relating to special medical procedures involving a child
- Guideline 7.3 – litigation for child litigants for special medical procedures involving them
- Family law costs management
- Important information about FDRS
- Jurisdiction of family law proceedings
- 4.1 – Family Violence and Cross-Examination of Parties Scheme
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- 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 cases
- 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 – NDIS administrative appeals
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- 6 – Child protection guidelines
- Introduction to child protection guidelines
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- Guideline 7 – judicial review of the Family Division of the Children's Court, County Court or Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision
- Notes on Guideline 7 – judicial review of the Family Division of the Children’s Court, County Court or Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision
- Notes on fees and other costs payable in child protection matters
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- 7 – State civil law guidelines
- Guideline 1 – general civil claims of $5000 or more
- Guideline 2 – Mental Health Tribunal cases
- Guideline 2a – supervised treatment orders
- 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 7 – adoption
- Guideline 8 – evictions at VCAT
- Guideline 9 – Supreme Court
- Guideline 10 – infringements cases
- Guideline 11 – witnesses appearing before the chief examiner or examiner
- 8 – Public interest and strategic litigation
- 9 – Standard grants assessment process
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- 16 – Applying for a grant of legal assistance
- How to apply
- 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
- 19 – Standard terms and conditions
- 20 – Abandoning legal assistance
- 21 – Finalising grants of legal assistance
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- 23 – 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
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- Costs payable in criminal law matters
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- Fee Schedule 1 – Lump sum and other fees payable in criminal law matters
- Conditions for paying lump sum fees in criminal law matters
- Principles applying to payment of preparation fees to solicitors
- Summary criminal proceedings
- Table A
- Table B
- Table C
- Table D – Lump sum fees for bail applications in the Supreme Court
- Principles applying to payment of fees for Magistrates' Court stage of indictable matters
- Table E – Lump sum fees for the Children's Court and Magistrates’ Court stage of an indictable crime matter
- Principles applying to payment of fees for the County or Supreme 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 Supreme Court and 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
- Table NN
- Fee Schedule 1A – Fees payable in criminal matters if an Appeal Costs Certificate has been granted
- 24 – Quality Assurance
- 26 – Complaints and feedback
- Invoice, forms and worksheets
- Interim fees
- Handbook archive
- Contact us