The raft of proposed legislative changes and issues with existing legislation means that lawyers are increasingly finding themselves involved in submissions and recommendations.

Just last week, Norton Rose client Juniper Group announced that they had successfully lobbied the Queensland Government to close a potential loophole that would have jeopardised the enforcement of sales contracts following a buyer’s default in the state.

Norton Rose Australia real estate partner Matthew Derrick and his client  Graeme Juniper met with the Queensland Government to put forward industry concerns over the lack of clarity for developers, contractors and financiers.“Assisting a client to change bad government policy, which is having an adverse affect on that client or industry, shows that the legal fraternity does have a role to play in enhancing government understanding of how policy impacts on industry on a broad scale and for particular projects,” said Derrick. “It’s important that when you have something extra to offer the client, such as helping them change their situation, you show them that.”

The changes to the Land Sales Act 1984 (Qld) (LSA) through the Sustainable Planning & Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011 will be of critical importance to developers of product sold off-the-plan in Queensland and have come about because of Juniper’s and Derrick's hard work. “This is a good example of how the legal industry can work with the government and clients to help bring about change to the legislation which brings it into line with what is happening in the market,” added Derrick.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth partner Sandy Mak says she is increasingly devoting her time to preparing submissions for upcoming legislative changes on behalf of clients, the firm and industry groups. “Anecdotally, we are seeing more coming through; we are seeing the government and regulators issue more consultation papers and seek submissions,” said Mak.

Mak has recently participated in the submission of a discussion paper on behalf of Corrs’ clients on the proposed amendments by Treasury Department to the dividend rules in section 245T of the Corporations Act. While completing such submissions can often be time consuming and labour intensive, Mak says it is not always at the forefront of clients' priorities. “The work on a submission does not always have a tangible work product which is immediately relevant to the client’s day-to-day business,” she said.

However, while clients might not see the immediate advantage of such work, Mak and the firm do: “You have to prioritise these things as being as important as other client work. Being part of the debate and thought leadership is as important as the billable work,” she said.