Recent efforts to reform the regulation of the legal profession still fall short of producing a truly national legal profession, critics have told ALB. Attorney General Robert McClelland late last week released the draft legislation, however only four jurisdictions - New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Northern Territory – have committed to the new scheme. These jurisdictions account for approximately 85 percent of Australia’s legal practitioners.
Tasmania Law Society president Bill Griffiths and South Australian Law Society president Ralph Bönig are unconvinced changes made to the scheme in the new legislation go far enough to address their members’ concerns. “How the changes might affect the views of those many people who don’t like it – I don’t know,” said Griffiths. “Tasmania does not see a benefit; only more expenses and bureaucracy, which we do not need.”
Bönig says he can see some positive amendments to the scheme in the latest legislation but that the changes may not go far enough to change South Australia’s position at this stage. “We look forward to further discussions about the overall structure of the scheme,” he told ALB. “What has not been addressed is the cost of the scheme, both per practitioner and for the firms.”
McClelland said he was committed to resolving outstanding matters, including transitional costs and selection of a host jurisdiction, before October 1 so legislation can then be presented in the host jurisdiction’s parliament soon. “We are hopeful that other states and territories will sign on once they can see the benefits of the reforms in practice,” said McClelland. “I still believe very strongly that we can no longer justify the disparate regulation that exists for such an important profession that generates around A$13 billion in economic activity each year.”
The issue will be discussed further at the next Law Council of Australia meeting on Friday and Saturday (September 16 and 17).
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