Collect information and conduct initial party checks

Why?

You must collect information about a party before you can record the party’s details in RMS. It also ensures that the party’s details in RMS are correct.

Initial discussions with the party will help you gain an understanding of their likely eligibility for the service.

Then you can search for the party in RMS, and create a record for them if they are not already loaded in RMS.

Collect information – how?

Collect the party’s details at their first contact with you. You need to:

explain to the party why you need to collect their correct details (see the Privacy Act 1993 principles in the Key Points section below)
explain that you will store the information in RMS
obtain the party’s legal first and last name
obtain the party’s date of birth
obtain the party’s contact phone number
obtain any additional contact information such as the party’s address and email
obtain the name(s) of the other party/parties in the dispute.

Key points!

The Privacy Act 1993 principles state that when you collect personal information from a party you must explain why it is being collected. There is a Privacy Statement in RMS (generated from the party record) that you need to read or provide to the party before collecting their information.
The other party in the dispute has a right to privacy of their information. Therefore the only information you should collect about them from the initiating party is their name.

Initial party checks – how?

Ask the following questions to give you an indication about the party’s eligibility for Family Legal Advice Service (FLAS).

Has another FLAS provider or FDR provider already completed the funding eligibility assessment for them?
Do they have a current grant of Civil Legal Aid or have they received legal services covered by a grant of Civil Legal Aid in the last 12 months? If they have, then they may be able to use this as evidence of eligibility if their financial circumstances have not changed since they were granted Civil Legal Aid.
Have they already accessed Family Legal Advice Service activities (initial advice or assistance with court entry forms) in the last year?
Have they already accessed any out of court services (for example, PTS or FDR)?
Have they checked their eligibility using the funding eligibility table on the Family Justice website?

Confirm the appropriate next step for the party.

If the party is likely to be funded for FLAS then you can arrange a meeting as per your usual business process.
If the party is not likely to be funded or has already accessed FLAS activities for this dispute in the last 12 months, you can discuss whether or not they want to continue seeking legal advice, which they will need to pay for.

Key point!