This information is for legal representatives to help them assist their clients in applying to the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), and how to receive payment for legal costs.
If you are looking for legal advice to help you with your application please go to legal assistance.
Authorised representative
A legal representative may act as an authorised representative on behalf of the applicant.
An applicant may nominate you as their authorised representative by completing the client authorisation form:
As an authorised representative, you can act on behalf of the applicant to:
- view an application
- edit a draft application
- withdraw an application
- make decisions regarding an application
- provide documents or information in support of an application
- change details about an application
- correspond with the FAS on matters related to the applicant.
Learn more about being an authorised representative.
Access the online portal to make and edit an application.
The authorised representative has the same level of access to an application as an applicant.
An authorised representative cannot:
- make changes on an application regarding the authorised representative arrangements, unless it relates to contact information about themselves or carriage of the application within the authorised law firm
- receive the applicant’s payment on their behalf (all payments must be made to the bank account in the name of the applicant).
Authorised representatives must agree to:
- act in the best interests of the applicant
- respect any cultural considerations that apply to the applicant
- communicate with the FAS on matters necessary to progress an application
- understand that completing the application requires time and effort on their part
- notify the FAS of any changes to the applicant’s circumstances that may impact the application
- cease acting as an authorised representative and disclose to the FAS if they are, or are likely to be, subject to criminal and/or civil family violence matter(s), including allegations, where the applicant is the affected person.
How to make someone an authorised representative
An applicant may only have one authorised representative.
To nominate or change an authorised representative who is a lawyer, applicants can complete the client authorisation form below:
To nominate a person such as a family member or friend as an authorised representative, applicants can complete the relevant nomination form available on the nominate someone to help with your FAS application page.
Assisting clients transitioning from VOCAT to the FAS
Information about withdrawing VOCAT applications and reapplying to the FAS, varying VOCAT awards and applying for payment of authorised future expenses that VOCAT awarded is available on the VOCAT applications and the FAS page.
Further information about FAS eligibility for previous VOCAT applications, assistance amounts and varying VOCAT awards through the FAS is available in the FAS Guidelines.
Receiving payment for legal services
A legal practitioner (or any other person) is not entitled to charge an applicant any legal or other costs for representing or assisting the applicant.
The FAS can however pay reasonable legal costs (or other assistance costs) to a legal practitioner or other person for assisting a victim with their application. These reasonable legal costs are in addition to the financial assistance available to victims.
Lawyers can apply for legal costs through the FAS portal in a separate application to the victim’s application for assistance.
Lawyers can apply for legal costs up to 6 months after submitting a victim’s application.
For the FAS to pay legal costs, a lawyer must:
- have been listed as the victim’s authorised representative
- have a practising certificate at the time of assisting the victim with their application, and
- provide reasons in their legal costs application explaining why the application should be considered complex.
The amount of legal costs that the FAS will pay is reflective of the key changes to the new scheme, the differences from VOCAT and the move from a judicial-based model to an administrative one.
For more information on receiving legal costs, including the amount of legal costs the FAS will pay and what factors may be considered complex, see the FAS guidelines.
Identity verification of authorised representatives and clients
As part of the FAS online application process, the authorised representative and the applicant (if aged 18 or over) will be required to verify their identities.
See Nominate someone to help with your FAS application for more information on the identity verification process.
Forms for legal professionals
Client authorisation form
Victims and their lawyers must complete this client authorisation form to nominate the lawyer as an authorised representative:
Statutory declaration templates
Authorised representatives may complete this statutory declaration template to explain the reasons why the victim has not reported the incident(s) to the police. Authorised representatives will also have the option of downloading a FAS generated statutory declaration which will include inputs based on the answers they provide in their application.
This statutory declaration template may be completed by an authorised representative in relation to any issue on which you would like to provide evidence to the FAS to support your application:
Examples of miscellaneous issues can be found on the FAS templates and forms page.
Providing reports and supporting documents to the FAS
Evidence and documents needed to support an application will vary based on an applicant’s situation and what assistance they are asking for.
Applicants may submit documents or records they already have which are relevant to their application.
This could include:
- hospital or medical records
- reports or letters from medical or health professionals
- receipts, quotes and invoices from service providers.
For more information on the evidence and documents needed to support an application, see the the FAS Guidelines and information for primary victims, secondary victims and related victims.
Differences between VOCAT and the FAS
Unlike the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT), the FAS does not require a counselling report to support a victim’s initial application unless they need more than 20 counselling sessions.
During the transition period from VOCAT to FAS, if an applicant has obtained a report for a VOCAT application, the FAS may pay for these reports in some circumstances. Further information about this is available in the FAS Guidelines.
FAS requested reports
The FAS will only pay for medical, psychological or counselling reports where it has pre-authorised and requested the report.
The FAS may request and pre-authorise reports where:
- the evidence previously provided in the application does not meet the required criteria
- the information cannot be established from other sources
- the report is required to link the injury suffered to the recommended treatment
- the victim is seeking more than 20 counselling sessions
- the FAS requests that the victim arrange to have a mental health report completed.
The FAS will notify the applicant or their authorised representative via the FAS portal that a report has been pre-authorised.
If the FAS has pre-authorised and requested a medical or mental health report, the service provider must use the relevant FAS template.
Service providers must provide documents such as letters or reports to the applicant, their lawyer or authorised representative who will then upload them to the FAS portal. This ensures applicants see and understand the information in their application.
What happens after an application is submitted
For more information on the FAS decision-making process, how long it will take, payments, variations and reviews, please see what happens after you apply to the FAS(opens in a new window).
Who can provide services covered by FAS assistance?
If counselling or medical expenses are granted, victims can choose their service provider, provided the service provider fits any requirements set out in the FAS Guidelines.
Victims may also change service providers for authorised future expenses in some circumstances. More information on this is available on the resources for service providers page.
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