Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Background to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Legal Profession Reform

About the Reform:

On 5 February 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed that further work needs to be done to nationalise regulation of the legal profession in Australia. Although improvements have been made in recent years, regulation of the legal profession remains overly complex and inconsistent with each State and Territory applying different sets of rules.

COAG decision

At the request of COAG, the Australian Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, established a Taskforce to prepare draft legislation to uniformly regulate the legal profession across Australia. This work is part of COAG’s efforts to deliver a seamless national economy, which is particularly important in light of the Global Financial Crisis.

The Attorney-General has also established a Consultative Group chaired by the Hon Michael Lavarch, Executive Dean at Queensland University of Technology and former Australian Attorney-General, to advise and assist the Taskforce in its work. The Consultative Group contains members from every State and Territory and represents expertise from regulators, the courts, consumers, the legal profession and legal educators. The Consultative Group is engaging with interested parties on an ongoing basis.

The Taskforce sought public input about the proposals during the consultation period, which ran from 14 May to 13 August 2010.

Taskforce papers

The Taskforce will provide COAG with a draft National Legal Services Bill. During the drafting of the Bill, the Taskforce has issued the following papers for comment:

To see submissions received on the Taskforce papers please visit National Legal Profession Reform – Taskforce Papers – Public Submissions or National Legal Profession Reform – Taskforce Papers – Consultative Group Submissions.

History of legal profession reform

In July 1994, the Law Council of Australia produced a paper entitled Blueprint for the Structure of the Legal Profession: A National Market for Legal Services, in which the Council set out a reform agenda for the legal profession across Australia. This blueprint contained the following general principles and objectives for the profession:

  1. National competition policy principles apply to the legal profession
  2. Lawyers admitted in any State or Territory of Australia are able to practise law throughout Australia
  3. Existing constraints which prevent a lawyer's right to practise without restriction throughout Australia are removed in order to facilitate the development of a national market in legal services
  4. Recognition that the independence of the legal profession is dependent upon the profession's right to self regulation
  5. The system of regulation of the legal profession is implemented by uniform State and Territory legislation
  6. The self regulation of the legal profession is subject to an external and transparent process of accountability to ensure that the rules of the professional bodies are not inconsistent with national competition policy principles
  7. The protection of consumers of legal services through comprehensive education and training of the legal profession and the development of a uniform standard of client care
  8. Proper information is available for consumers of legal services as to quality and cost of legal services

The National Competition Policy reforms of the 1990s and the advent of mutual recognition of entitlement to practise interstate have greatly improved legal profession regulation in Australia. Further, in March 2002, the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, which comprises officials from the Australian and the State and Territory Attorney-General’s and Justice Departments, commenced the National Practice Model Laws Project.

In 2004, a draft Model Bill was released. The Model Bill was aimed at harmonising the laws across jurisdictions. In August 2006, a revised version of the Model Bill was released (with minor corrections released 2 February 2007). All jurisdictions except for South Australia have incorporated the Model Bill into their Legal Profession Acts.

On 5 February 2009, COAG agreed that legal profession regulation would be added to its microeconomic and regulatory reform agenda. Subsequent to this agreement, on 30 April 2009, COAG undertook to consider proposals for reform of this area of regulation. COAG decided to set up a Taskforce on reform of the regulation of the legal profession, with the objective of uniform laws across Australian jurisdictions.

At its meeting on 19 April 2010, COAG agreed to the National Legal Profession Taskforce releasing a package for consultation (the draft Legal Profession National Law, draft Legal Profession National Rules, consultation Regulation Impact Statement and Consultation Report). The package is available from the Attorney-General's Department website.

Who’s who?

Taskforce

Chair: Mr Roger Wilkins AO, Secretary, Australian Attorney-General’s Department
Mr Bill Grant, Secretary-General, Australian Law Council
Mr Laurie Glanfield AM, Director General, NSW Attorney General’s Department
Mr Stephen Goggs, Deputy Chief Executive, ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety
Ms Louise Glanville, Executive Director, Victorian Department of Justice.

Consultative group

Chair: Professor the Hon Michael Lavarch, Executive Dean, Queensland University of Technology, former Australian Attorney-General and former Secretary-General of the Law Council of Australia.

Mr Tony Abbott, Chairman at Piper Alderman and past President of the Law Council of Australia.

Ms Carolyn Bond, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Consumer Action Law Centre Victoria, and member of the Board of the Legal Service Board of Victoria.

Ms Barbara Bradshaw, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Territory Law Society.

Mr John Briton, Legal Services Commissioner of Queensland and former Queensland Anti Discrimination Commissioner and State Director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Mr Joseph Catanzariti, President, Law Society of New South Wales, and partner at Clayton Utz.

Mr Robert Cornall AO, former Secretary of the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, has been a Managing Director of Victoria Legal Aid, Executive Director and Secretary of the Law Institute of Victoria, and a partner and managing partner in a private legal firm.

Ms Ro Coroneos, President of the NSW Division and a Director of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association.

Mr Harold Cottee, General Manager, Professional Standards, Law Institute of Victoria

Mr Andrew Grech, Managing Director, Slater & Gordon, Melbourne.

Mr Martyn Hagan, Executive Director, Law Society of Tasmania.

Ms Noela L’Estrange, Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Law Society and former Director of Legal Practice Support, Australian Government Solicitor.

Mr Robert Milliner, Chief Executive Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Chairman of the Large Law Firm Group Limited and member of the Board of the Business Council of Australia.

Mr Steven Penglis, member of the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia.

Mr Andrew Phelan, Chief Executive and Principal Registrar, High Court of Australia, and Secretary, Chief Justices Council.

Mr Philip Selth OAM, Executive Director, New South Wales Bar Association.

Professor Peta Spender, Presidential Member ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and Professor of Law, Australian National University.

Mr Dudley Stow, President, The Law Society of Western Australia.

The Hon Justice Murray Tobias AM RFD, Supreme Court of New South Wales and presiding member of the New South Wales Legal Profession Admission Board.

Frequently asked questions:

Why do we need to have uniform regulation of the legal profession in Australia?

The regulation of the legal profession in Australia is governed by State and Territory law. Although all States and Territories apart from South Australia have introduced harmonised legislation, differences between jurisdictions remain, including in areas such as admission and practising certificates, costs assessment and disclosure and complaints handling and discipline. There are also 55 bodies or groups charged with regulating various aspects of the legal profession across the States and Territories.

A nationally uniform system of regulation would reduce the regulatory burden and minimise compliance costs for firms and lawyers by creating uniform rules of practice across all jurisdictions in Australia. The disparate regulation of the current system demands the attention of microeconomic reform to assist in the delivery of a seamless national economy.

By clarifying the rules under which lawyers practice, consumers of legal services will also enjoy more transparent billing and complaints handling procedures. The sense of disempowerment resulting from a lack of transparency in these areas is one of the most prevalent complaints from clients under the present system.

What is the scope of the reform project?

As requested by COAG, the Taskforce has produced draft legislation to uniformly regulate the legal profession across Australia. The Taskforce has considered a number of ways to achieve this and will make final recommendations to COAG following the consultation period. The Taskforce has considered all aspects of the existing system of regulation of the legal profession, including education, admission and practice with the goal of harmonising a single national regulatory framework.

I am currently studying. How will this process affect me?

In order to ensure current students are not disadvantaged in the process of admission, any new or altered requirements will be phased in on a transitional basis.

How can I make my views known?

A consultation period ran from 14 May to 13 August 2010. Public consultation has now closed.

What is the timeframe for this project?

COAG has asked the Taskforce to report back to COAG, following the end of consultation period but before the end of 2010.

What is the role of the Consultative Group?

The Consultative Group’s role is to advise and assist the Taskforce in its work.

Members participate in the Group in their individual capacities on a voluntary basis. The Group represents a wealth of experience across a range of key areas including regulators, the courts, consumers, the legal profession and legal educators. Members of the Group also come from each State and Territory in Australia.

Who makes the final decisions?

COAG will make a decision about whether to proceed with the draft uniform legislation prepared by the Taskforce. It will then be up to parliaments in each jurisdiction to consider legislative amendments.

Are the law societies and bar associations involved in the process?

The Law Societies and Bar Associations will be heavily involved throughout the process. Mr Bill Grant, Secretary-General of the Law Council of Australia, is a member of the Taskforce and a number of members of the Consultative Group come from Law Societies or Bar Associations.

I am a consumer and am unhappy with my lawyer; how do I make a complaint?

Under the current system, how you complain about a lawyer will depend on where you are in Australia. The Law Society/Institute in your State or Territory will be able to provide details on how to complain about a solicitor, and the Bar Association in your State or Territory will be able to provide details on how to complain about a barrister. Contact details for these bodies can be found through the Law Council of Australia website.

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