Guideline 6.1 – advice and negotiation in spousal maintenance disputes

Guideline

Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) may make a grant of assistance for advice and negotiation in a dispute relating to spousal maintenance under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) or the Family Law Act 1997 (WA) where:

1. the person does not have an existing grant of assistance relating to the current dispute
   and
2. the lawyer considers that the dispute may be resolved through advice, negotiation and exchange of letters
   and
3. the following threshold tests are met:

• forum test
• Commonwealth merits test
• means test
• contravention test.

Other mandatory requirements

As well as the requirements set out in Guideline 6.1, additional criteria apply in the following circumstances:

Discharge or vary

Where the person is applying for assistance to discharge or vary existing orders, in addition to the criteria, there must have been a significant change in circumstances since the order was made.

If the significant change in circumstances has been caused by the person seeking assistance, VLA will consider the circumstances surrounding that change in deciding whether it is appropriate to make a grant of legal assistance.

Where assistance is sought to discharge or vary a spousal maintenance order, unless the matter is urgent, the lawyer should first consider whether a grant for family dispute resolution should be made.