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
Guideline 5 – war veterans' matters
VLA may make a grant of legal assistance to a war veteran or to a dependant of a war veteran for an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) from:
- a decision of the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB) about war-caused disability pension entitlements or assessment claims under Part II of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth)
and - a decision of the VRB about claims under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth) relating to warlike or non-warlike service, if those decisions are about:
- acceptance of liability under Chapter 2 of the Act
- rehabilitation programs under Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the Act
- permanent impairment under Part 2 of Chapter 4 of the Act
- incapacity payments for former members of the Australian Defence Force under Part 4 of Chapter 4 of the Act
- the special rate disability pension under Part 6 of Chapter 4 of the Act and/or
- dependants’ benefits under Chapter 5 of the Act.
An application for a grant of legal assistance under this guideline is not subject to the means test or requirement of a contribution towards the cost of legal assistance, other than to the extent of any costs recovered in the matter.
Liability for costs in appeals
It is important to note that if veterans decide to appeal against a decision of the AAT, they may be exposed to a liability for the Repatriation Commission’s costs of defending the appeal. The practitioners for veterans are specifically required to point this out to the legally-assisted veteran.
Staged funding
VLA’s funding at each stage must comply with the:
- administration of war veterans' matters checklist
- General Practice Direction of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
See also: Commonwealth civil law guideline 6 and Commonwealth civil law guideline 9 in relation to grants of legal assistance for an appeal from a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Documentary requirements
Applications under this guideline can only be submitted via the standard grants assessment process.
A member of the section 29A practitioner panel or section 30 referral panel seeking a grant of legal assistance should submit an application via ATLAS for assessment, including all of the following documents:
- details of any disability or impairment claimed, decision of the Veteran’s Review Board and report is released or required
- reference to how the matter meets the Commonwealth merits test