The person seeking a grant of assistance must give enough information to their lawyer (if they have one) and to Victoria Legal Aid to satisfy us that a prudent, self-funding litigant with limited financial resources would use their own finances to pay for the proposed action, application, defense or response for which they seek assistance.
This part of the test aims to put assisted people into a position equal to, but not better than, people ‘without deep pockets’ (that is, with limited financial resources) who risk their own money in litigation. In a family law matter, this is someone who cannot access funding of more than the cost ceiling of $17,464 (including GST).
For commentary and examples on how this test applies in family law matters, see Notes on the 'prudent self-funding litigant' test.
Updated