Civil news: update to court-assessed online claim changes
Court-assessed claims submitted in the Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) must include a breakdown of advocacy fees from 30 October 2017.
Changes to CCMS processes mean a breakdown of individual hearings under the Family Advocacy Scheme (FAS) are required for court assessed submissions from 30 October.
These changes were originally meant to apply from 14 August 2017. But after feedback from legal aid providers, we agreed to allow additional time before introducing these changes.
Starting on 30 October any FAS advocacy, including ‘bolt-ons’, should be broken down individually and no longer submitted at summary level only.
How will the process work?
Guidance on how to enter a breakdown of individual hearings is provided on the CCMS training website – see link below.
Claims submitted from 30 October 2017 onwards that do not have this breakdown will be rejected so that they can be amended and resubmitted.
Benefits
Breaking down the fees in your online claim will:
- allow CCMS to cross-check rates and dates claimed
- reduce the need for us to ask you for further information
- simplify the process by making paper-based and online-based claims the same
This only applies to claims assessed by the court and including any advocacy under the FAS. There are no changes to submissions under other online billing schemes.
Further information
CCMS Quick Guide – detailed guidance on entering court-assessed bills on CCMS
CIV Claim 1A – to download checklist with evidential requirements for court assessed claims