The person seeking a grant of assistance must give enough information to their lawyer (if they have one) or to Victoria Legal Aid to satisfy us that, legally and factually, the proposed action, application, defence or response for which the person seeks a grant of assistance is more likely than not to succeed.
This requires much more than just having an arguable case.
Relevant issues to consider
As an example, in family law proceedings about a child spending time with a parent or other person, the following issues will be relevant to ‘reasonable prospects of success’:
- how much time with the child is being sought
- whether that time will be supervised (and if so, by whom, and for how long it should continue)
- whether the time will be only during the day, or includes overnight stays
- how practical the proposed travel arrangements are (times of travel, length of time and distance)
- whether there will need to be any restrictions on contact with third parties
- whether other conditions will be needed (for example, drug or alcohol screening or attending an anger management course)
- any other available information, evidence and material, including:
- related criminal proceedings or proceedings in the Family Division of the Children’s Court
- the opinion of the independent children’s lawyer.
For commentary and examples on how this test applies in family law matters, see Notes on the 'reasonable prospects of success' test.
Updated