L10 - VLA + roles

Question 1

VLA - definition

Answer 1

• An independent and government funded agency that provides free legal information to the community and legal advice and representation to people who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer to assist with their case

Question 2

VLA - four roles for the accused

Answer 2

• Provide free legal information
• Provide free legal advice
• Provide duty lawyer services
• Provide grants of legal assistance

Question 3

VLA - eligibility for assistance as an accused

Answer 3

• Legal information is free and accessible to everyone
• Legal advice tailored to a particular matter is only provided to eligible accused persons, generally based on their income/vulnerability
• Duty lawyer services are free for: child protection, youth crime, adult summary crime, intervention orders, family matters and mental health tribunal hearings. For adult criminal offences, accused individuals not in custody must also satisfy the income test
• In order to be eligible for grants of legal assistance, the accused must satisfy the means test

Question 4

VLA - four roles for the victim

Answer 4

• Provide free legal information
• Provide a Victim’s Legal Service
• Provide duty lawyer services
• Provide grants of legal assistance

Question 5

VLA - eligibility for assistance as a victim

Answer 5

• Legal information can be accessed by any victim
• All individuals affected by a crime can contact the Victim’s Legal Service
• All victims are entitled to information from duty lawyers, but advice and in-court advocacy are prioritised based on certain criteria, whereby children and adults with disability have a higher priority
• Grants of legal assistance have highly strict criteria and consider many factors, and are usually used in relation to intervention orders

Question 6

Duty lawyer

Answer 6

• A VLA lawyer who is at court on a particular day to help people who come to court for a hearing
• There is generally no prior communication with the accused
• They appear in the Magistrate’s and Children’s Courts

Question 7

Income test

Answer 7

• A financial threshold applied by VLA to determine whether a duty lawyer can represent an accused. The threshold is met when the accused can show they have limited income

Question 8

Means test

Answer 8

• A financial threshold that VLA applies when individuals are seeking grants of legal assistance. It considers a person’s income and assets, and if a person receives more than $360 a week in income after living expenses are deducted, then they are not eligible under the means test

Question 9

Merits test

Answer 9

• This test applies to receiving grants of legal assistance. It is a test based upon the legal matter and seriousness of the offence
• VLA must consider if it is in the interests of justice to fund the case

Question 10

VLA - fairness strengths

Answer 10

Providing duty lawyers in the courts allows for advice and assistance to various accused persons, improving their ability to participate
- The VLA is guided by the Victim’s Charter to uplift victims and ensure their rights set out in the Charter are protected, making it both impartial and open

Question 11

VLA - fairness limitations

Answer 11

• VLA has a highly restrictive budget, which means it is only able to provide advice and representation to a small number of accused persons, limiting participation

Question 12

VLA - equality strengths

Answer 12

• The VLA provides free information on its website to all accused people and victims, making it formally equal
• VLA has strict eligibility criteria which makes it highly substantive as only those in the most need are provided with legal support

Question 13

VLA - equality weaknesses

Answer 13

• The eligibility requirements for a duty lawyer or grants of legal assistance from VLA are strict, meaning very few individuals can gain access to free legal representation, preventing formal equality

Question 14

VLA - access strengths

Answer 14

• The free information accessible on VLA’s website ensures that everyone can engage on an informed basis
• Duty lawyers and grants of legal assistance improve the ability of the accused and victim to engage

Question 15

VLA - access weaknesses

Answer 15

• The means and income tests prevent many people from accessing services of VLA, which limits engagement
• VLA’s information is sometimes limited on certain matters and those who are severely disadvantaged may not be able to access any information at all