Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO3069

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has been established to inquire and make recommendations on all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability.

The Australian Government is funding legal financial assistance to individuals and entities to assist with meeting the costs of legal representation and disbursements associated with engaging with the Royal Commission.

Legal financial assistance will be provided for an individual and may be provided to an entity, for their reasonable legal representation and disbursement costs resulting from:
•being called, or granted leave to appear, as a witness at a hearing of the Royal Commission, or
•being requested to attend, or attending an interview of the Royal Commission, or
•complying with a notice to give information or a statement in writing that will be used as evidence in the Royal Commission, and/or
•complying with a notice to produce issued by the Royal Commission, and
•where the entity, excluding an individual, would not able to meet these costs without incurring serious financial hardship.

An 'entity' can be a person who is an employee or former employee of any 'disability service ' who is not representing their employer.

If you have been called by the Royal Commission, in your personal capacity, you will be eligible for legal financial assistance.

If your organisation has been called, you may be eligible for legal financial assistance. The organisation will be subject to an assessment of whether it can meet the cost of its legal representation without incurring serious financial difficulty.

Assessment timeframes
Completed applications will be assessed within 21 days. Incomplete applications will not be assessed. You will be notified if your application is incomplete, and requested to provide missing information.

If you receive less than 21 days' notice of appearing or attending an interview at the Royal Commission, the department will try to assess your application before the date of your appearance.

How are payments made
If a grant is approved, the department will only pay after the work has been performed, and a claim has been made to the department. The Commonwealth Legal Financial Assistance Schemes Assessment of Costs (2012) sets the maximum amount that the department can pay under grants.

$13,521,000.00

Apply by downloading the application form (in GO Documents), and email it to finass@ag.gov.au with any attachments.

If you cannot email the application, or need further information, telephone the Financial Assistance Section on 02 6141 4770 or 1800 117 995 between 8.30am–5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment contact the National Relay Service and give 02 614 4770 as the number to call.

Financial Information - Organisation
The organisation must provide financial details, including annual income from all sources and total value of all assets. Supporting documentation should be attached to the application. All information provided to the department is treated in confidence.

Costs covered
Reasonable legal representation and disbursement costs incurred as a witness for the Royal Commission. These could include your solicitor's costs and disbursements. The Assessment of Costs provides detailed information of what is payable and at what rate.

Legal framework
The Commonwealth Guidelines for Legal Financial Assistance 2012 (the Guidelines) establish the Royal Commission and Inquiries scheme.

The operation of the Guidelines are modified by the Commonwealth Guidelines for Legal Financial Assistance 2012: Addendum for the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.

The Commonwealth Legal Financial Assistance Schemes Assessment of Costs (July 2012) provides detailed information of what is payable and at what rate.

All documents can be found in GO Documents.