ONLINE APPLICATION SERVICE
USER MANUAL
Contents
1.Introduction
2.Purpose of this document
3.Process flow chart
4.Applicant Portal
4.1How to register an account
4.1.1Legal Entity
4.1.2Individual applicant/member of the public
4.2Login
4.3Forgotten password or reset your password
4.4Applicant Home Page
4.5Applicant FAQ and Search
4.6Creating a new application
4.7Further information required and resubmitting your application
4.8Tracking the status of your application
- Introduction
The Appeal Costs Board (ACB) operates within the auspices of the Appeal Costs Act 1998 (Vic) and sits within the Department of Justice and Regulation, Civil Justice Division.
The ACB serves a function similar to that of a compensation tribunal. In certain circumstances it may partially compensate litigating parties who suffer loss through incurring legal costs arising from judicial error, or other special circumstances for which the litigating party is not responsible.
The Civil Justice Division has procured a secure, online, platform as a service (PaaS) solution to better support the functions of the ACB, replacing the former, paper-based process. The solution has been developedto significantly reduce the administrative burden on the ACB whilst also improving security and workflow processes.
The new online serviceincludes many features to support applicants throughout the application process such as:
- easy online submission of applications;
- monitoring the progress of applications at any time; and
- management of your user profile.
- Purpose of this document
The purpose of this document is to provide you with a step-by-step guide about how to use the ACB online application service.
- Process flow chart
Application Submission / An applicant submits an application in accordance with the requirements of the section of the Act under which the application is made
Received / Initial stage of the application process where ACB Secretary will review that the application contains all the necessary information for the Board to review
Further Information Required / If the ACB Secretary identifies information is missing from an application, the ACB Secretary will contact the applicant requesting they submit further information to meet application requirements. An application will remain in a state of “Further Information Required” until the applicant provides the necessary information
In Progress / Once verified, applications are moved to “In Progress” which includes the period an application is assigned to the Board for review
Pending Payment / Following the Board’s decision and internal departmental approval of payment, applications will be progressed to “Pending Payment” where the DJR finance team will process the payment
Completed / This denotes the end stage of the application process, after which an application cannot be moved to any other state
- Applicant Portal
- How to register an account
- Legal Entity
To register a new account linked to a Law Firm / Legal Entity please follow the below steps:
- Navigate to
- Click on Register in the top right corner or as part of the Login inbox.
- Please enter the following details:
/ Law Firm / Pick the Law Firm Option
/ First Name / Your First Name
/ Last Name / Your Last Name
/ Business Email Address / This is where you will receive your account details once your account request been approved
/ Registration Code / Your unique business registration code can be procured from an existing colleague from your organisation or by contacting the Appeal Costs Board
/ Tick to Agree / Tick the Box to agree to the conditions as per the link
/ Tick I’m not a robot / Tick the box and complete the reCAPTCHA process.
/ Submit / Click to submit your Registration Request
- Once your account has been approved you will receive your login details via the email address specified during the registration process.
4.1.2 Individual applicant/member of the public
Item / Explanation/ Individual Applicant / Pick the Individual Applicant Option
/ First Name / Your First Name
/ Last Name / Your Last Name
/ Email / Enter your email address. This is where you will receive your account details once your account request been approved
/ Street / Enter the name of your street
/ City / Town / Enter the name of city/town for your postal address
/ State / Enter the name of state for your postal address
/ Postal code / Enter your postal code
/ Country / Enter your country name
/ Account Name / Name of the bank account
/ BSB / Bank Account BSB Number – must be 6 digits
/ Account Number / Bank account Number
/ Tick to Agree / Tick the Box to agree to the conditions as per the link
/ Tick I’m not a robot / Tick the box and complete the reCAPTCHA process.
/ Submit / Click to submit your Registration Request
4.2Login
Once you have your Account details, (that have been sent to the email address provided during the registration process) you can log into the ACB’s website.
- Navigate to
- Enter your Login details at the main screen.
/ User Name / Your email address
/ Password / As sent to your registered email address
/ Remember Me / Ticking this box will log you in again automatically next time you visit the ACB website.
Important: Do not tick this box if you are using a shared or public Computer
/ Login / Logs you into the site
- Once you have successfully logged into the site you will see your personalised Applicant Home Page (see section 4.4).
Forgotten password or reset your password
If you have forgotten your password or you wish to reset your password, please follow the steps below:
- Navigate to
- If you have logged onto the website previously or ticked the Remember Me tick box the last time you logged in, click on your Profile in the top right corner and click Logout.
- Once you are back at the log on screen Click Forgotten Password?
- Enter your Username (User ID) (Note: Your Username is your email address that you used when you first Registered).
- Complete the I’m not a robot, CAPTCHA verification.
- Click Next.
- Enter the email address associated with this account.
- Click Next.
- At this screen:
- Click Reset Password and your new password will be sent to your email address.
- Click Done to return you to the ACB Portal Page.
- If you receive an error:
- Verify your account details and re try the steps above.
- If you continue to get an error please contact the Appeal Costs Board -
4.4Applicant Home Page
Item / Explanation / ACB Logo / This will return you to the Applicant Home Page
/ FAQ / This will take you to the Applicant FAQ
/ Create New Application / This will take you to the Create Application Screen
/ My Open Applications / View a full list of your Open Applications
/ Logged on Applicant / Clicking this will give you the Options to:
- View Profile - View your Account details and update contact information
- Logout – Logout the ACB Website
/ Search / Searches using the text entered across FAQ articles and all your Applications (if logged in)
/ Open Applications / Your latest 5 open Applications – Click the ACB Number to view the Application in Full. Click View All for a full list of your Open Applications
/ My Profile / Manage your personal details like name, phone number, etc.
/ Manage Banking Details / Manage your personal banking details where the payments would be reimbursed
/ Closed Applications / Your latest 5 Closed Applications – Click the ACB Number to view the Application in full
Click View All for a full list of your Closed Applications
4.5Applicant FAQ and Search
As mentioned above, clicking on the FAQ Link () at the top of the page or by using the Search box () you will enter the FAQ Section of the portal. The FAQ section provides you with guidance through the different stages of the application process.
Item / Explanation / FAQ / This will take you to the Applicant FAQ
/ Search / Searches using the text entered across FAQ articles and all your Applications (if logged in)
/ Categories / Filter the results based on Category
-FAQ
-Applications (if logged in)
/ Results List / This is the list of results returned based on your search
Or
The Top Viewed FAQ Articles
4.6Creating a new application
- Navigate to
- Enter your Login details at the main screen.
- Click on Create New Application or Create Application.
- Fill in the details as per below.
/ Section of the Act / Please select the Section of the Act you are making the application under
/ Applicant’s Name / Name of the Applicant
/ Is the Applicant Individual or Company / If Individual go to step
/ Paid up Capital / Section 35A(1)(a) of the Appeal Costs Act 1998 prohibits payment by the Board to a corporation (or subsidiary) having a paid up share capital of $200,000.00 or more. Please contact the corporation if you are unclear about their paid up share capital
/ Court Type / The type of court the matter was heard in
/ Court Reference Number / Number supplied by the court found on the indemnity certificate
/ Date of Certificate Order / Date the court certificate/order was issued
/ Has the matter been presented to the board previously / If No skip step
/ ACB Reference Number / The ACB reference number from the previous ACB Application
Item / Explanation
/ Has the matter been fully determined by the court / If Yes please enter the Date of Final Determination
If No skip to step
/ Date of final determination / Date of the final determination
/ VLA / Have you engaged Victorian Legal Aid (VLA)
If Yes please enter the VLA Reference Number
No skip to step
/ VLA Reference Number / If Yes - Victorian Legal Aid Reference number
/ Application Cost / Breakdown of the Application Costs
-Person
-Claimant Name
-Fee Type
-Fee Date
-Amount Sought
/ Add Row / Click this to add a new row to the Application costs
/ Net amount being sought / This is the sum of the Application costs entered above
- Depending on the section of the Act you have selected, you need to upload certain files as attachments to your Application.
/ Attachments / Attachment section
/ Required Attachment / Explanation of the attachment required
/ Attachment Icon / Paper clip / Use the paperclip Icon to open the attachments interface and select the file as per its explanation.
Once you have added an attachment, the line will turn green.
- Once you are happy your Application is complete, click Submit.
Note: you will not be able to submit an application unless all mandatory fields have been completed.
- You will be prompted to verify that your Indemnity Certificate is current.
- If you answer Yes to this question, your Application will be submitted and you will receive confirmation details via email.
- If you answer No, you will be asked if you think your application should still be accepted in the “interest of justice”.
a)If you answer Yes to this question, your Application will be submitted and you will receive details via email.
b)If you answer No,your application will not been submitted and you will be returned to the Application screen to update details as required.
4.7Further information required and resubmitting your application
- If the Application requires more information before it can be processed by the ACB Secretary, it will be moved to the state Further Information Required. The ACB system will send you an email with the comments added by the Secretary seeking the information required for the Application to progress.
- When your Application is in the status of Further Information Required this will allow you to upload attachments and add comments to the Application.
- Important: If your Application is in the state of Further Information Required, it must be updated and Resubmitted for it to progress through the Application life cycle.
/ Comment / Add a Comment to your Application
/ Search / Searches using the text entered across FAQ articles and all your Applications
/ Application History / This is a time line of the Attachments and Comments related to this Application
/ Application Details / High-level details of your Application
-Application ID - State
-Application Contact - Last updated time
/ Resubmit Button / Once you have uploaded the required information, you can add a comment (if desired) and Resubmit
Important: If your Application is in the State of Further Information Required, it must be updated and Resubmitted for it to progress through the Application life cycle
/ Attachments / A list of the documents you have uploaded to support your Application as well as the official documents (as .pdf files) related to that Application
4.8Tracking the status of your application
You can log onto the ACB Portal at any time to see the status of your Application and access any official documents (as .pdf files) related to that Application.
- Navigate to
- Enter your Login details at the main screen.
- Click on the ACB application number you wish to view from the Open Applications or Closed Applications list.
Note: Please also refer to diagram in the section above (4.7) along with the descriptions.
Trim Ref: CD/18/240989 / Commercial in Confidence / Page 1 of 20