Legal Aid Act 1978

On the commencement of section 13 of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 1997, the directors of Victoria Legal Aid appointed under section 11(c) of this Act, as in force immediately before that commencement, go out of office.

Victoria Legal Aid is to be taken to be the same body despite the changes made to the composition of its board of directors by section 13 of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 1997 and, except as otherwise provided by subsection (1), no act, proceeding, matter or thing is to be affected because of those changes.

On the commencement of section 14 of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 1997, any legal aid review committee established under this Act that is in existence immediately before that commencement is abolished and its members go out of office.

On the commencement of section 17(17) of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 1997, any legal aid appeal committee established under this Act that is in existence immediately before that commencement is abolished and its members go out of office.

A matter before a legal aid review committee or a legal aid appeal committee that had not been determined by that committee as at the commencement of section 14 or 17(17) (as the case requires) of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 1997 must, until it is determined or until 1 August 1997 (whichever is the earlier), continue to be dealt with by that committee in accordance with this Act as if the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 1997 had not been enacted.

For the purpose of subsection (5) and despite anything to the contrary in this Act, a legal aid review committee or a legal aid appeal committee continues to exist until all matters referred to in that subsection have been determined by it or until 1 August 1997, whichever is the earlier.

A matter referred to in subsection (5) that has not been determined by the legal aid review committee or the legal aid appeal committee (as the case requires) as at 1 August 1997 is to be dealt with by an independent reviewer in accordance with this Act and for that purpose—

anything done in relation to the matter by the committee before that date is deemed to have been done by the independent reviewer; and

the independent reviewer may have regard to any record of the committee relating to the matter.

An application, request or complaint made, or other matter arising, before the commencement of section 14 or 17(17) of the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 1997 (including a request under section 34(1) for reconsideration of a decision of a legal aid review committee) that under this Act as in force before that commencement would have been dealt with by a legal aid review committee or a legal aid appeal committee but was not before such a committee as at that commencement is to be dealt with by an independent reviewer in accordance with this Act.