For legal aid to be granted for an expert report from a general medical practitioner the following tests must be satisfied:
- the applicant has been provided aid for the substantive matter, and
- the request meets the merits test (excluding war veteran matters), and
- for war veteran matters only:
- the funding for disbursements does not exceed $2,500 unless the matter has been deemed complex.
If more than four hours is requested or the quote exceeds the four hour grant, the request will be referred to a senior grants officer for consideration.
Requests for an interstate report writer are determined by a Grants Manager.
Documentary requirements
Extension of aid requests received from preferred suppliers or in-house practitioners
When applying for an extension of aid for an expert report in a civil law matter the practitioner lodge an extension of aid request through the Grants Online system and advise how the matter meets the merits test (except for war veterans matters).
Grant(s) of aid
There is a set scale of fee for a general medical practitioners. Practitioners should provide a quote for the general medical practitioner to prepare the report.
The grant of aid for a general medical practitioner to prepare a report for all civil law matters excluding veterans matters is MD4.
The grant of aid for a medical practitioner to prepare a report on a veterans matter is VM4.
If the medical practitioners quote is at less than the scale of fees the GOT grant of aid is issued with the relevant amount.
Review of decisions
A decision to refuse legal aid for this type of matter may be appealed to the external review officer (refer to review of decisions).