Under the criminal law guidelines Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) may make a grant of legal assistance in relation to:
- criminal charges heard in the Magistrates’ Court (Criminal law guideline 1.1, Criminal law guideline 1.2 and Criminal law guideline 2)
- criminal charges being heard in the Assessment and Referral Court List (Criminal law guideline 1.3)
- social security prosecutions (Criminal law guidelines 1.4 and 1.5)
- bail applications in the Magistrates’ Court, the County Court and in the Supreme Court (Criminal law guideline 6)
- proceedings in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court (Criminal law guideline 5.1)
- criminal appeals to the County Court (Criminal law guideline 7.1)
- committal proceedings (Criminal law guideline 3.1 and Criminal law guideline 3.2)
- criminal trials in the County Court and in the Supreme Court (Criminal law guideline 4)
- County Court and Supreme Court pleas (Criminal law guideline 4.1)
- criminal appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the High Court (Criminal law guideline 7.2, Criminal law guideline 7.3, Criminal law guideline 7.4, Criminal law guideline 7.5, Criminal law guideline 7.6, Criminal law guideline 7.7 and Criminal law guideline 7.8)
- hearings under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 (Criminal law guideline 9)
- applications under the Serious Offenders Act 2018 (Criminal law guideline 10)
- proceedings in the County Court or the Supreme Court for breach of certain orders (Criminal law guideline 11)
VLA will not make a grant of legal assistance to people charged with state or Commonwealth criminal offences for court applications for stays or funding orders (Criminal law guideline 8). But see other criminal matters: special circumstances and assistance in Commonwealth criminal law matters for further discussion.
Other criminal matters: special circumstances
If a person seeks a grant of legal assistance from VLA for a state or Commonwealth criminal law matter in circumstances which are outside VLA’s state criminal law guidelines, then VLA may make a grant of legal assistance only if the person:
- meets the means test (if relevant)
- meets either the State reasonableness test or the State interests of justice test (whichever is relevant)
- meets any of the State’s special circumstances.
Assistance in Commonwealth criminal law matters
The guidelines applied in relation to any Commonwealth criminal law matters are the same for applications for assistance in state or territory criminal law matters.
Schedule A of the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services lists the Commonwealth criminal law priorities.
Updated