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
- 5 – Commonwealth civil law guidelines
- 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
Statutory charge
There is one important difference between a statutory charge and an equitable charge: a person does not need to sign a statutory charge. VLA has statutory power to impose the charge. If VLA decides to put a statutory charge on the assisted person’s property, then the person cannot choose to refuse.
When may VLA impose a statutory charge?
VLA has power under sections 27 and 47A of the Legal Aid Act 1978 to impose a statutory charge if:
- VLA has written to tell the person seeking the grant of legal assistance that the grant will be made on condition that the costs are secured by a charge
- the assisted person has not paid the amount
- the assisted person has refused to give an equitable charge to VLA to secure the payment of money they already owe VLA.