List what a Victorian external review to VCAT needs after a scheme decision
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the internal review notice and the documents already lodged, list the decision, the date notice was received, whether the scheme's CEO made the decision, and the documents the lawyer marks. Do not write the grounds and do not write anything that is lodged.
- What the lawyer must review
- You write the grounds. The list is not the VCAT application
- Check the 28 days against the internal review notice, not against a guessed date
- Take a CEO decision to VCAT without an internal review.
- Use a firm-controlled tool for health records. ASCR r 9, APP 11 and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) apply.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal review of a Financial Assistance Scheme decision
Produce. A list of the decision, the notice date and the documents. The lawyer writes the grounds.
Have ready. Internal review notice, or the CEO decision; Documents already lodged; PNVCAT11.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The internal review notice is dated 1 March. The list records that date and that the 28 days run from receipt of the notice. It does not draft the grounds.
Stop and hand it back when
- The date the notice was received is not on the file.
- The lawyer has not said whether the CEO made the decision.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the internal review notice and the documents already lodged, list the decision, the date notice was received, whether the scheme's CEO made the decision, and the documents the lawyer marks. Do not write the grounds and do not write anything that is lodged. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- External review is to VCAT after internal review, or directly if the FAS CEO made the decision. The page says the VCAT application must be made within 28 days of receiving the internal review notice of decision.
- VCAT may affirm the decision, amend it, set it aside and make a new decision, set it aside and send it back with directions or recommendations, or invite the scheme to reconsider.
- Lodge the application with VCAT. Serve statutory notices by mail and by email on Department of Justice and Community Safety – Financial Assistance, GPO Box 4356, Melbourne VIC 3001, financialassistancescheme@justice.vic.gov.au.
- Internal review, the usual prior step, is itself within 28 days of the notice of decision. Late internal review can be accepted. It can be sought only once. Interim assistance alone, legal costs, and a victim recognition meeting cannot be internally reviewed. A CEO decision cannot be internally reviewed.
Sources
- Victims of Crime Victoria: Request a review of an outcome decision · 2026-10-23
- VCAT Practice Note PNVCAT11: Use of generative artificial intelligence · 2026-10-23
The scheme stopped accepting the internal review PDF by email on 9 September 2025. External review is lodged with VCAT, not by that PDF.
An appeal from VCAT is limited to a question of law and does not reconsider the merits. The page does not name the appeal court.
PNVCAT11, effective 22 December 2025, applies in all divisions. Do not upload health or confidential information to a generative tool. If such a tool is used in written submissions, the author verifies the citations and the facts, and that verification must not itself be done with a generative tool. The list from this task is not the submission.