Legal fees
Lawyers are prohibited from charging applicants for legal fees, which includes claiming a lien over any assistance awarded or withholding costs from assistance awarded to the applicant (FAS Act s 25). The FAS will, however, pay reasonable legal fees for representing or assisting applicants (s 39).
Part 20 of the FAS Guidelines sets out the legal fees the FAS will pay, which is $1100 for ‘complex’ applications only.
Lawyers will be required to justify how the application ought be considered complex. Factors that can amount to a complex matter are set out in a Table in Part 20.1 of the FAS Guidelines. This is an extensive and comprehensive list and includes:
where there are character considerations;
special circumstances for not reporting to, or assisting, police;
findings of not guilty for the act of violence;
out of time applications;
applicants suffering from trauma or with complex injuries;
multiple related acts and multiple injuries;
where documentary evidence needs to be sourced from third parties;
the FAS has provided a notice of intention to refuse the application; and
applicants facing barriers, structural inequalities or disadvantages in accessing the FAS without lawyers, including an extensive list of such applicants.
Legal fees for other applications connected to the lead application are paid up to $330. Variations that are complex have fees of $330.
The FAS may pay legal costs above the stated amounts; or in applications which are not complex, only if there are exceptional circumstances.
The FAS will not pay legal costs for frivolous or vexatious claims, for claims that are an abuse of process, or if there is no reasonable prospect of success. Legal fees will not be paid for internal review applications
Legal fees
Chapter: 10.6: Assistance for victims of crime
Contributor: Marita Ham, Barrister
Current as of: 18 November 2024
Law Handbook Page: 886
Next Section: Compensation from the offender
