Private billing and panel practitioner obligations

We value the extensive amount of work that private practitioners undertake to support our legally aided clients.

Our quality assurance and compliance checks have recently revealed that we need to remind panel practitioners of their obligations under the Legal Aid Act 1978 (Vic) and our Practice Standards (that form part of the VLA panel deed) in regard to restrictions on a practitioner’s ability to demand, take or accept payment from a client they are representing under the Legal Aid Act.

What does the Legal Aid Act say?

Under s 32 of the Act, if a private legal practitioner performs legal services on behalf of an assisted person, they must not demand, take or accept any payment for performing those services other than the payment to which they are entitled to under the Act, which is:

• the standard Victoria Legal Aid fees pursuant to the VLA Fee Tables; or
• if there is no standard fee, an amount determined by Victoria Legal Aid.

Contravening this provision is an offence under s 32 and can attract a penalty of 50 penalty units or imprisonment for six months.

Accordingly, practitioners cannot ask for or accept any ‘top-up’ payments in addition to the fees included in a standard grant approved by us. This includes fees payable to counsel, which are also to be taken from the standard grant.

Please contact grants@vla.vic.gov.au or call (03) 9269 0600 if you are unsure of your s32 obligations.

Practitioner obligations with existing clients

We also want to remind panel practitioners that under the conditions of their panel deed, practitioners should not perform legal services on behalf of an assisted person (or take payment for such services) in an area of law which falls outside their panel membership, where the client may otherwise be eligible for a grant of legal assistance. In these instances, practitioners should advise their client about their eligibility for legal assistance, refer them to an appropriate panel firm and have that firm apply for a grant of aid on the client's behalf.

Private billing and client eligibility

Panel practitioners are also reminded that they must continually assess clients’ entitlement to legal assistance or their obligation to pay a contribution, and notify us immediately of anything which may affect a client’s entitlement to legal assistance. For example, a client’s ability to pay privately for legal assistance or to pay ‘top up’ fees may be an indicator that the client is no longer eligible for assistance under the means test, or is required to pay a contribution towards their legal fees.

Additionally, s 44 of the Act makes it an offence for a person in connection with the application for a grant of legal assistance to:

• knowingly provide false information
• supply information that person knows to be false
• fail to disclose other information relevant to the application for legal assistance.

Contravening this provision is an offence under s 44 and can attract a penalty of 25 penalty units or imprisonment for six months.

More information

Contact the Grants and Quality Assurance team on (03) 9269 0600 or via email at grants@vla.vic.gov.au for any queries relating to the private billing of clients in receipt of a grant of legal aid.