Almost half the original 1171 criminal charges against former Framlingham Aboriginal Trust administrator Geoff Clark and three of his family members have been discharged.

The 18-month long committal hearing into a $2.5 million fraud case continued in Melbourne Magistrate Court on Friday.

The charges related to 16 alleged events and schemes which were conducted by members of the Clark family - Geoff Clark, his wife Trudy and two of their sons, Jeremy and Aaron - between 1998 and 2016 involving $2.48 million.

The Clark have always maintained their innocence.

On Thursday nine charges relating to parts of an alleged $550,000 in legal fees obtained by Geoff Clark were discharged.

The case has split into separate events so each bracket of charges can be separately addressed.

Magistrate Charlie Rosencwajg on Friday morning decided there was not enough evidence to support 12 charges - four each for Trudy, Jeremy and Aaron Clark - relating to eel fishing licences.

Then in sensational developments another 536 charges relating to maintenance at properties were discharged.

There were 268 axed for Trudy Clark, 264 for Geoff Clark and four for Jeremy Clark.

That's a total 557 charges that have now been discharged.

Geoff and Trudy, in particular, were charged in relation to both maintenance fees and income from properties.

The question being asked by the prosecution was if the Clarks owned the properties, why were they allegedly having maintenance - rates, water and tradesmen's bills - paid for by the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust.

And if the properties were community owned, why did income from those properties go into the Clarks' bank accounts.

On Thursday, the magistrate dismissed four of 25 charges against Trudy Clark, relating to $52,000. Three of 25 charges against Geoff were dismissed ($41,400) and two of 20 charges against Jeremy ($40,000).

But, the magistrate believed there was sufficient evidence for the remaining 61 charges, relating to the bulk of legal fees to go to trial, with the prosecution alleging a joint criminal enterprise.

The charges were laid after a seven-year police fraud squad investigation, Operation Omega.

The committal hearing will continue on Monday.

At 11.30am:

The long-running committal hearing into former Framlingham trust administrator Geoff Clark and some of his family members' criminal fraud charges is today focusing on issues relating to eel fishing licences.

The majority of charges in relation to $550,000 in legal fees were referred to the County Court by magistrate Charlie Rosencwajg on Thursday.

The more than 1100 charges have been split into categories - such as legal fees, eel licences and Framlingham Aboriginal Trust shares.

On Friday morning it was submitted that more of Trudy Clark's legal fee charges should be struck out due to a lack of evidence.

That submission was rejected and the magistrate said it would be a matter for a jury to decide.

Barrister Tim Smurthwaite, acting for Geoff Clark, then submitted that four charges relating to his client and eel fishing licences should be discharged due to insufficient evidence.

Some fraud charges relating to eel fishing licences involving Trudy Clark, Jeremy Clark and Aaron Clark were this morning dismissed by magistrate Rosencwajg.

He said there was a lack of evidence in relation to the alleged involvement of Trudy, Jeremy and Aaron Clark about the eel licences.

The hearing is continuing, involving in depth legal submissions relating to individual and blocks of charges by barristers for the Clarks.

Thursday: A magistrate has dismissed some charges against former Aboriginal leader Geoff Clark and his family after an 18-month committal hearing unexpectedly resumed on Thursday.

Lawyers made final submissions in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on whether there was enough evidence for a jury to consider 70 charges relating to almost $550,000 of unauthorised legal fees allegedly obtained over nine years in a joint criminal enterprise by Mr Clark, his wife Trudy and son Jeremy.

Those charges were among 1171 laid against the Clarks and another of Mr Clark's sons Aaron after a seven-year investigation. The Clarks have strongly denied all charges.

But on Thursday, magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg dismissed four of 25 charges against Trudy Clark, relating to $52,000. Three of 25 charges against Geoff were dismissed relating to $41,400 and two of 20 charges against Jeremy relating to $40,000.

The magistrate believed there was sufficient evidence for the remaining 61 charges to go to trial.

The fate of hundreds of other charges is yet to be decided with the hearing scheduled to continue on Friday.

Barristers for Geoff, Trudy and Jeremy had earlier told the court it was impossible to prove alleged fraudulent payments made in respect of legal fees were not authorised by committees of management.

But crown prosecutor Justin Lewis said assessments about authorisation did not exist in a vacuum.

"One has to remember that we're talking about a fairly small close-knit community and the idea that payments of this magnitude have been authorised, even in the absence of either Violet Clark or Lionel Harradine and that they don't get to hear about it at any point in time over a period of years, is extraordinary and plays a part then in the way you would assess the likelihood of whether authorisation occurred," he said.

Mr Lewis said the court must consider the likelihood of entities such as KWC, FAT, Marr Land Council and Gariwerd paying nearly $550,000 of expenses to extinguish an individual's legal debt.

"Notwithstanding that the individual is Geoff Clark," he said.

"That is particularly pertinent to the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust which as its name suggests is a trust for the benefits of its members. Every dollar spent for personal legal fees is a dollar that can not be spent on other members of that trust.

"The extraordinary amount extended on legal fees sits very ill with the nature of the trust. The same is true for the Maar Land Council, it's very difficult to understand what business the council has in paying the personal legal fees of Geoffrey Clark."

The committal hearing will continue on Friday.

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