Preferred supplier newsletter — August 2023
This month:
Amendments to the Evidence Act
Amendments have been made to the Evidence Act (Qld) which make victims of domestic violence or domestic violence order related offences protected witnesses. These changes came into effect on 1 August 2023.
These changes mean a protected witness cannot be cross-examined by an unrepresented defendant for domestic violence related offences at a summary trial.
In the 2023-24 State Budget, Legal Aid Queensland (LAQ) received additional funding to support representation of unrepresented defendants in summary trial matters related to domestic violence or domestic violence order related offences to ensure that protected witnesses are cross-examined by a trained lawyer rather than the defendant.
LAQ has worked closely with Queensland Courts to refine the process in relation to these orders as funding has not previously been available under this scheme for summary trials.
Where a magistrate makes an order under s21O of the Evidence Act (Qld) for LAQ to provide free legal assistance for a summary trial in the Magistrates Court for a domestic violence or domestic violence order related offences, court registry staff will notify LAQ that an order has been made.
LAQ and the courts have agreed on a process where the relevant information and court order is to be uploaded by registry staff via an online form on LAQ’s website. This process has been confirmed and communicated out to all registry staff.
Once registry staff complete the online form, Grants will receive the form for processing. Grants will allocate a grant of legal assistance for representation to an in-house solicitor or preferred supplier firm on the relevant criminal law panels.
For further information about the grants of aid that will be available for this scheme, please see the Grants Handbook.
Grants Team 9 will be responsible for allocating the initial grant of aid and any ongoing file management. If you have any questions, please email your Grants team.
Changes to fee structure for domestic and family violence matters
As part of LAQ’s current program for reviewing grants processes, the grants response for domestic and family violence matters have been reviewed and amended to better respond to the current environment, court processes and client needs.
The previous structure provided for a single grant of aid for the entire proceedings including day one of a contested hearing. The only additional grant available was for additional days of a contested hearing. The new structure provides:
- A revised initial grant of aid for a solicitor to represent a client in a domestic and family violence matter for an application, response or variation. This grant of aid covers all work up to the matter being listed for a hearing. If the parties resolve the matter by consent, an additional claim for the consent orders can be made under this grant.
- A new extension of aid for a solicitor to prepare for and attend day one of a contested hearing.
- An extension for additional hearing days.
- A new extension of aid for counsel to prepare and attend day one of a complex contested hearing. Requests for counsel are subject to LAQ’s merits test.
- A new extension of aid for counsel to attend on additional days of a contested hearing.
The guidelines for domestic and family violence matters remain the same, however LAQ has expanded the interpretation of guidelines for respondents to include particularly vulnerable clients. LAQ will consider funding respondents in domestic and family violence proceedings where the respondent:
- is under 18 years of age
- has a substituted decision maker
- has information to support that they do not have the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings or the effect of orders.
The Grants Handbook has been updated with the revised grants of aid. View the new structure here.
New applications for grants of aid for domestic and family violence matters determined on or after 14 August 2023 will be assessed in line with the revised structure.
If you have an existing grant of aid for a domestic and family violence matter, the new extension for a solicitor to prepare and attend day one of contested hearing will not be available as this work is covered in the existing grant.
If you have any queries about the new structure, please contact your Grants Team.
New LAQ process for the appointment of court ordered Independent Children’s Lawyers
LAQ has updated its process for the appointment of court ordered independent children’s lawyers (ICL) following recent Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCoA) changes, including earlier appointments of ICLs.
The updated process aims to ensure the safety and privacy of all parties is protected when LAQ is arranging a practitioner to act as an ICL and sending correspondence to parties.
When LAQ receives an order from the court about an ICL being appointed in a matter, we write to both parties to assess whether they have capacity to make a financial contribution towards the ICL’s legal costs. This is a requirement of the organisation’s funding arrangements with the federal government.
Under the updated process, LAQ will email the practitioner confirming they have been appointed ICL in the matter and ask them to respond within 14 days with any concerns about sending contribution letters to the parties. If no response is received, or the ICL confirms there are no concerns, LAQ will send contribution letters to the parties after 14 days.
This allows practitioners in a matter to take the necessary precautions if they do not want a party informed of proceedings at the time a court appoints an ICL.
For any inquiries about this process, please contact our Allocations Team on iclsr@legalaid.qld.gov.au
Upcoming training
- Child protection webinars.
- Separate representative training is being offered to practitioners with a minimum of five years’ experience to undertake work as a separate representative (subject to an application to be placed on the panel). Training will be held in Brisbane on 23 and 24 November 2023.
- Independent children’s lawyer training - Phase 2 National Child Representation Training and Nuts and Bolts training is being held in Brisbane and Far North Queensland in February 2024. Phase 1 is undertaken online through the National Legal Aid website following registration.
Current vacancies
Lawyer (Violence Prevention Women’s Advocacy Team)
Publications and resources
LAQ produces more than 100 publications and resources from factsheets to posters, brochures, wallet cards and comprehensive legal information guides on a range of topics. You can check out the publications on the LAQ website and they can be ordered online at no cost.
For more information about our publications or to order copies of the duty lawyer session report form, email publications@legalaid.qld.gov.au .
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Looking for professional development opportunities to boost your CPD points? Our CPD seminars are recorded and available on Grants Online under the Information Resources tab.
Feedback
We welcome feedback and comments from clients, the community and our suppliers. As preferred suppliers you play an important role in helping us to provide quality legal services to disadvantaged Queenslanders. If you would like to provide comments or suggestions about our services, policies, processes or staff members, you can complete a contact form or email us at complaints@legalaid.qld.gov.au at any time. We ensure a senior staff member investigates all issues thoroughly and we also analyse all feedback regularly to improve our policies, processes and services. View our Feedback and Complaints Policy.