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creates a circuit breaker for this problem by empowering the court to order Victoria Legal Aid to provide legal assistance to an accused if it is satisfied that—
it will be unable to ensure that the accused will receive a fair trial without legal representation; and
the accused is unable to afford the full cost of that representation (with the onus of proving the second matter being on the accused). The court is not obliged to make an order if the accused has engaged in vexatious or unreasonable conduct that has contributed to the lack of ability to afford representation.
For the purposes of proving that the accused is unable to afford the full costs of obtaining legal representation, regard must be had to property that is subject to the effective control of the accused and in which the accused has an interest as determined in accordance with section 9 or 10 of the Confiscation Act 1997. Victoria Legal Aid must provide legal representation to the accused if an order is made under subclause (3). Victoria Legal Aid must be given the opportunity to appear on an application under this clause and has a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal.