Victoria Legal Aid Handbook for Lawyers

Grants pathways

A common incremental fee pathway in a matter is as follows:

  • Advice and negotiation grant (stage 1A fee), then
  • Family Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) (stage 1B fee), then
  • Litigation (stage 1C) fee.

Where a matter commences with an advice and negotiation grant, the first subsequent grant will be reduced by the amount already paid under the advice and negotiation grant. This is because the work done under the advice and negotiations grant (where claimed) is deemed to constitute preparation for the subsequent grant.

In this scenario, this means that no preparation fee will be available in parenting disputes in the FDRS grant. If the matter then proceeds to litigation, the full preparation fee will be available for litigation.

Funding may also be recommended in the following two ways:

  • FDRS (stage 1B fee) to litigation (stage 2C or 2E, broadband fee). In this scenario, the full preparation fee is available on the subsequent grant (litigation)
    or
  • advice and negotiation (stage 1A fee) directly to litigation (stage 2C or 2E, broadband fee). In this scenario, a reduced preparation fee is available on the litigation grant.

Note: The pathways are not exhaustive. They are described here to provide clarity on which fee stages apply at the initial stages of a matter and how the preparation fee is affected, depending on how the grant commenced.

Reviewed 21 February 2022

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