Practitioner panels

Practitioner panels

We are responsible for providing grants of legal assistance to clients who meet the required criteria. We assign clients' matters to both Victoria Legal Aid lawyers and private practitioners.

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Review of Section 29A Panels application process for new applicants

We are reviewing the Section 29A Panels application process. 

To accommodate this review, any applications received and assessed after 1 August 2017 will be approved for 12 months only. Practitioners approved during this time will be contacted after the review has been completed to identify if further information is required to extend the period of approval.

About Section 29A panels

We have established six specialist panels pursuant to section 29A of the Legal Aid Act 1978. Membership is by firm for a specialist panel and by individual practitioner to the Independent Children’s Lawyer Panel.

Members of the section 29A panels can be found in our directory of firms doing legal aid work.

Child Protection Panel

The Child Protection Panel covers matters undertaken in the Family Division of the Children’s Court.

Family Law Panel

The Family Law Panel covers family dispute resolution matters, family law litigation matters (including financial support and maintenance), appeals in family law or child support matters and international child abduction matters.

Family Violence Panel

The Family Violence Panel covers family violence (and personal safety) intervention order matters that are heard and determined in the Magistrates’ Court or Children’s Court (Family Division), and County Court appeals.

Independent Children's Lawyer Panel

The Independent Children’s Lawyer Panel covers legally aided independent children’s lawyer matters.

Indictable Crime Panel and its Youth Crime Subset

The Indictable Crime Panel covers committal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court, trials and pleas in the County and Supreme courts, and appeals of criminal matters to the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and the High Court. This panel includes an optional Youth Crime Subset.

Summary Crime Panel and its Youth Crime Subset

The Summary Crime Panel covers Magistrates’ Court matters including summary criminal offences and indictable offences that can be heard summarily, bail applications in the Magistrates’ Court, County Court, Supreme Court, and County Court appeals. This panel includes an optional Youth Crime Subset.

Panels conditions

The terms and conditions and for approved panel members and individual panel certifiers assist practitioners meet the standards expected by Victoria Legal Aid in undertaking legally aided matters.

Read more about our Section 29A panels conditions.

Section 30 general referral panel and registering to use ATLAS

The section 30 general referral panel is Victoria Legal Aid’s panel established under section 30 of the Legal Aid Act 1978.

To apply to be included on the section 30 referral panel please complete the Application for section 30 general referral panel and ATLAS (pdf, 364.98 KB) and email it to panels@vla.vic.gov.au

Quality service initiatives

We provide a range practice resources to assist lawyers in meeting their obligations under the practice standards.

More information

For more information about our panels, please contact:

Panels Co-ordinator
Email: panels@vla.vic.gov.au
Phone: (03) 9606 5264

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