In most cases, the person seeking a grant of assistance must give enough information to their lawyer (if they have one) and to Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) to satisfy their lawyer and us that the costs involved in granting assistance are justified by:
- the likely benefit to the person seeking the grant of assistance
or if appropriate - the likely benefit to the community.
The person making the assessment (the person’s lawyer or our Grants and Quality Assurance Unit) must weigh the cost of the desired legal services against the likely benefits to the person or to the community. Sometimes, even if a court might make the orders the person seeks, the cost might be much greater than any benefit.
Civil proceedings
If a person is seeking a grant of assistance for a civil proceeding under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth), we must disregard this ‘appropriateness of spending’ test when assessing the person’s eligibility under the Commonwealth merits test.
Family law proceedings
For commentary and examples on how this test applies in Commonwealth family law matter, see Notes on the 'appropriateness of spending limited legal aid funds' test.
Reviewed 21 February 2022
In this section
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- Handbook
-
- 3 – Criminal law guidelines
- 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 guidelines
- 4.4 – Family Law Property Program professional costs
- Introduction to Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
- Notes on the introduction to the guidelines
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- Guideline 1 − parenting disputes
- Guideline 1.1 – advice and negotiation for adults in parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.1
- Guideline 1.2 – FDRS for adults in parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.2
- Guideline 1.3 – litigation for adults in parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.3
- Guideline 1.4 – appointment of an ICL in litigation relating to parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.4
- Guideline 1.5 – appointment of an ICL for litigation intervention FDRS in parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.5
- Guideline 1.6 – advice and negotiation for child litigants in parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.6
- Guideline 1.7 – FDRS for child litigants in parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.7
- Guideline 1.8 – litigation for child litigants in parenting disputes
- Notes on guideline 1.8
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- Guideline 2 – recovery, location and information orders
- Notes on Guideline 2
- Guideline 2.1 – assistance for a recovery order
- Notes on Guideline 2.1 – assistance for a recovery order
- Guideline 2.2 – assistance for a location or information order
- Notes on Guideline 2.2 – assistance for a location or information order
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- Guideline 3 – international child abduction
- Notes on Guideline 3
- Guideline 3.1 – litigation in matters involving international child abduction
- Notes on Guideline 3.1
- Guideline 3.2 – FDRS in matters involving international child abduction
- Notes on Guideline 3.2
- Guideline 3.3 – appointment of an ICL for litigation relating to international child abduction
- Notes on Guideline 3.3
- Guideline 3.4 – appointment of an ICL for FDRS in matters involving international child abduction
- Notes on Guideline 3.4
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- Guideline 5 − child support and child maintenance
- Guideline 5.1 – advice and negotiation for adults in child support matters
- Notes on Guideline 5.1
- Guideline 5.2 – litigation and administrative review for adults in child support matters
- Notes on Guideline 5.2
- Guideline 5.3 – advice and negotiation for adults in child maintenance and adult child maintenance matters
- Notes on Guideline 5.3
- Guideline 5.4 – FDRS in adult child maintenance matters
- Notes on Guideline 5.4
- Guideline 5.5 – litigation for adults in child and adult child maintenance matters
- Notes on Guideline 5.5
- Legal assistance for children in child support and child maintenance matters
- Guideline 5.6 – advice and negotiation for children in child support and child maintenance matters
- Notes on Guideline 5.6
- Guideline 5.7 – litigation for children in child support and child maintenance matters
- Notes on Guideline 5.7
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- Guideline 7 − special medical procedures involving children
- Guideline 7.1 – litigation for adults for special medical procedures involving a child
- Notes on Guideline 7.1
- Guideline 7.2 – appointment of an ICL in litigation relating to special medical procedures involving a child
- Notes on Guideline 7.2
- Guideline 7.3 – litigation for child litigants for special medical procedures involving them
- Notes on Guideline 7.3
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- Guideline 9 – property disputes
- Notes on Guideline 9
- Guideline 9.1 – Family Dispute Resolution Services in family law property disputes
- Notes on Guideline 9.1
- Guideline 9.2 – litigation in family law property disputes
- Notes on Guideline 9.2
- Guideline 9.3 – urgent ligation in family law property disputes
- Notes on Guideline 9.3
- 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 3 – supervised treatment orders
- Guideline 4 – guardianship and/or administration cases in the Guardianship List
- Guideline 5 – coronial inquests
- Guideline 6 – equal opportunity or discrimination cases
- Guideline 7 – Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal cases
- Guideline 8 – family violence protection order cases
- Guideline 10 – adoption
- Guideline 11 – evictions at VCAT
- Guideline 12 – Supreme Court
- Guideline 13 – infringements cases
- Guideline 14 – 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
- 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
- Minimum evidence to be retained on file for claims for disbursements and counsel fees
- 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