From 1 July 2019, Victoria Legal Aid and Legal Aid NSW are trialling a more flexible application of the forum test for Commonwealth family law matters for applicants that reside along the NSW and Victorian border.
The forum test is a test that legal aid commissions across Australia use to determine which commission is responsible for providing a grant of legal assistance where a person lives in a State or Territory that differs to the State or Territory in which their legal matter is being heard.
The flexible forum test pilot arose from the Cross-border Justice Report which identified the need for VLA and Legal Aid NSW to work together more effectively to support the legal needs of people living along our shared border. The Report recommended trialling a more flexible approach to applying the existing forum test for border communities.
The flexible forum test will apply to all new grants of legal assistance made on or after 1 July 2019.
The pilot will run for a period of 12 months, at which point it will be evaluated.
More information
Read more about the Flexible Forum Test pilot
For queries about the flexible forum test pilot, please email Assignments Family Law
Reviewed 04 April 2022