Lawyers That Do Legal Aid
Victoria Legal Aid is a government-funded service that provides funding to legal aid lawyers, to represent clients that cannot afford to pay for a criminal law services for themselves.
Dribbin & Brown are legal aid lawyer representatives, it means we can represent clients both privately and, in some circumstances, on Legal Aid funding. We have criminal law offices that can offer legal aid funding at Frankston, Dandenong, Geelong, Ballarat, Werribee, Ringwood, Moorabbin, Broadmeadows and the Melbourne CBD.
Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers are on the following Legal Aid panels:
- Summary Criminal Panel
- Indictable Crime Panel
- Youth Crime Subset Panel
This means that Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers are authorised to take on Legal Aid work in the Children’s Court, the Magistrates’ Court, the County Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
Subject to satisfying the State reasonableness test and the means test, under the criminal law guidelines, VLA may grant legal assistance in relation to a range of criminal law matters, see below for an understanding of the legal Aid funding guidelines.
Legal aid for criminal matters
- Criminal charges heard in the Magistrates’ Court.
- Criminal charges being heard in the Assessment and Referral Court List. The Assessment and Referral Court (ARC) is designed to assist people to address factors that contributed to their offending conduct. The ARC is considered a therapeutic court, and aims to improve the wellbeing of people in the criminal justice system.
- Bail applications in the Magistrates’ Court, the County Court and in the Supreme Court.
- Proceedings in the Criminal Division of the Children’s Court.
- Criminal appeals to the County Court.
- Committal proceedings.
- Criminal trials in the County Court and in the Supreme Court.
- County Court and Supreme Court pleas.
- Criminal appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the High Court.
- Hearings under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997.
- Applications under the Serious Offenders Act 2018.
- Proceedings in the County Court or the Supreme Court for breach of certain orders.
Criminal appeals to the County Court.
VLA may grant legal assistance to a person seeking to appeal a decision of the Magistrates’ Court to the County Court where the person received a term of immediate imprisonment (Criminal law guideline 7.1). This requires that a criminal law matter is sufficiently serious to warrant a custodial sentence. VLA will not make a grant of legal assistance for an appeal concerning a fine, community correction order, driver’s licence suspension or suspended sentence.
Under the State reasonableness test, the following factors are considered by VLA in respect of appeals:
- Whether there are reasonable grounds for the appeal.
- The seriousness of the penalty against which the person seeks to appeal.
- The cost of the appeal weighed against the benefit of the appeal having regard to other demands on the legal aid fund.
Grants for legal assistance may be made for appeals against sentence, conviction or both.
Eligibility re driving offences?
Please note that legal aid only provides legal aid funding for driving matters in very limited circumstances.
How to get Legal Aid Funding in the Superior Courts?
Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers have represented clients on Legal Aid funding in relation to murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, assault, sex offences, criminal damage, bail applications, drug offences, firearms offences, Centrelink fraud and white collar crime.
As certified indictable crime panel members of legal aid, we are entitled to assist clients with the most serious offending in Victoria. Not all lawyers are permitted to conduct this work on behalf of legal aid.
Unfortunately, many people do not qualify for Legal Aid funding.
The guidelines for who meets the test to obtain Legal Aid funding has become tougher in recent times. There are different tests that apply to the various court hearings.
How to get Legal Aid Funding in the Magistrates Court?
When someone is applying for Legal Aid in the Magistrates’ Court, regarding offending that is in the summary stream, there is a two-step test. The first part of the test is whether the case meets the “merits test”.
The merits test, in relation to a plea of guilty, is as follows. The lawyer with conduct of the matter must be satisfied that “a conviction is likely to result in a term of immediate imprisonment”. If the lawyer is not satisfied in relation to this, then the lawyer cannot submit a Legal Aid grant application on behalf of the client.
The merits test in relation to a plea of not guilty, is as follows. The lawyer with conduct of the matter must be satisfied that “the person has a reasonable prospect of acquittal on the most serious charge or charges and that a conviction is likely to result in a term of imprisonment”. For all the VLA criminal law guidelines.
Again if the lawyer is not satisfied in respect of the above test, then the lawyer cannot recommend a grant for a plea of not guilty on behalf of the client.
The second part of the test is the “means test”. The means test is far more complicated and further information in relation to when is the means test satisfied can be seen here on Legal Aid’s website.
Juvenile Legal Aid and Funding in the Children’s Court
In the Children’s Court, there is no “means test” and the merits test is far easier to satisfy, so Legal Aid funding is often far more accessible in this jurisdiction.
In relation the County Court and Supreme Courts, different tests apply, and you should contact Dribbin & Brown directly for more information.
As a general rule, legal aid funding is much easier to obtain regarding youth crime involving juveniles, that is defendants under the age of 18.
If you have a court case coming up and would like to enquire whether you might be eligible for Legal Aid funding, then feel free to call our office to set up a time to speak to a lawyer to assess your case.
