Although the FAS is designed to be accessible for all victims, some victims may benefit from assistance from a lawyer. The FAS will pay reasonable legal costs incurred in representing a victim with a complex application, including complex FAS variation applications or complex VOCAT variation applications. Whilst complexity must be demonstrated, the factors that will be considered by the FAS in determining complexity are broad and recognise issues raised by both an applicant and the application itself, recognising the pressures and time commitments on lawyers assisting clients with applications.
Further details regarding the factors that will be considered are set out below. For the avoidance of doubt, the FAS will not pay legal costs associated with internal review applications or requests to transition a VOCAT award to the FAS[1].
A lawyer must not:
- charge or recover from an applicant any legal costs incurred for representing or assisting the applicant to apply for the FAS, unless otherwise allowed by the FAS[2]
- claim a lien over any amount of assistance granted to the applicant,[3] or
- withhold any legal or other costs or amounts from any amount of assistance granted to an applicant.[4]
The FAS will not pay legal costs if an application:
- is frivolous or vexatious
- is an abuse of process, or
- does not, on the factual and legal material available to the lawyer at the time of filing the application, have any reasonable prospects of success.
Separate to seeking legal costs, lawyers can also request reimbursement for other (non-legal) costs incurred in representing or assisting an applicant in relation to an application.[5] To claim these other costs, lawyers should complete an ‘other costs payment request’ form available on the FAS website.
Footnotes
[1] A request to transition to the FAS is not an ‘application’ within the meaning of section 39 of the Act.
[2] Section 25(2)(a) of the Act.
[3] Section 25(2)(b) of the Act.
[4] Section 25(2)(c) of the Act.
[5] Section 39 of the Act.
Updated