Actions 10 to 16 will work towards improving the quality of family law legal aid services to support and incentivise lawyers to better prepare and conduct or litigate matters, and to better equip lawyers to provide services to disadvantaged clients with complex needs.
Victoria Legal Aid proposes to develop and promote tools that further guide and assist family lawyers to provide high quality services.
We are also proposing clarification of the practice standard requirements for preparation and changes to the preparation fee for court hearing grants.
We will work with barristers and solicitors to strengthen briefing practices and advocacy.
Victoria Legal Aid’s priority clients are particularly vulnerable to experiencing multiple legal problems, and face the most significant barriers to accessing legal services and the family law system. The quality of legal services can be improved by equipping lawyers undertaking legally-aided work to provide services in ways that are responsive to the needs of disadvantaged members of the community.
It is essential that legally-aided lawyers (including independent children’s lawyers) provide services in a culturally appropriate way to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and clients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and have an understanding of the particular needs of clients with a disability.
We propose to deliver cultural awareness training, develop and implement a culturally responsive framework for Victoria Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Service, and work with the Federation of Community Legal Centres to pilot a service model that enhances continuity of service delivery for clients with needs across the family law and family violence jurisdictions.
These initiatives will be considered alongside our Reconciliation Action Plan.
Read the full report
See the Family Law Legal Aid Services Review: final report (docx, 299.61 KB)(opens in a new window) for more information about these actions.
Or read a summary of other themes:
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