Table of contents
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Table of contents
- 1 – Introduction
- 2 – Types of matters that may be assisted
- 3 – Criminal law guidelines
- 4 – Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
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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
- 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 – appeals
- 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
5 – Commonwealth civil law guidelines
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance where a person meets the relevant guideline in relation to the following Commonwealth civil law matters being heard or determined in Victoria:
- social security matters and disputes and cases involving other Commonwealth pensions, benefits or allowances:
- mediation or investigation and report by counsel on the merits of a case (Commonwealth civil law guideline 1.1)
- representation in an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Commonwealth civil law guideline 2.1)
- appeals from decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Commonwealth civil law guideline 6)
- war veterans' matters:
- an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from certain decisions of the Veterans’ Review Board (Commonwealth civil law guideline 5)
- appeals from decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Commonwealth civil law guideline 6)
- action for damages under Commonwealth law:
- mediation or investigation and report by counsel on the merits of a case (Commonwealth civil law guideline 1.1)
- in some circumstances, initiating proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court, the Federal Court or in the High Court (Commonwealth civil law guideline 6)
- appeals from a court decision involving an action for damages (Commonwealth civil law guideline 9)
- see Commonwealth civil law guideline 1.3 for limitations on funding for damages actions
- migration:
- mediation or investigation and report by counsel on the merits of a case (Commonwealth civil law guideline 1.1)
- in some circumstances initiating proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court, the Federal Court or in the High Court (Commonwealth civil law guideline 6)
- in some circumstances, appeals from a court decision in a migration matter (Commonwealth civil law guideline 9)
- see Commonwealth civil law guideline 3 for limitations on funding for migration cases
- discrimination or equal opportunity matters and consumer protection matters:
- mediation or investigation and report by counsel on the merits of a case (Commonwealth civil law guideline 1.1)
- initiating proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court, the Federal Court or in the High Court (Commonwealth civil law guideline 6)
- appeal from a court decision in a discrimination or equal opportunity matter, or a consumer protection matter (Commonwealth civil law guideline 9)
- see Commonwealth civil law guideline 4 for limitations on funding for equal opportunity and discrimination cases
- extradition proceedings:
- extradition proceedings under section 19 of the Extradition Act 1988 (Cth) (Commonwealth civil law guideline 8)
- an appeal under section 21 of the Extradition Act (Cth) (Commonwealth civil law guideline 8)
- proceeds of crime: proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) (Commonwealth civil law guideline 7)
- appeal of a court decision in a Commonwealth civil law matter (Commonwealth civil law guideline 9).