Today, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has agreed on a plan to achieve national regulation of the Australian legal profession.
COAG has agreed that:
* Draft legislation providing uniform laws regulating the legal profession across Australia be prepared for consideration by COAG within 12 months;
* A specialist Taskforce be appointed by the Attorney-General to make recommendations and prepare the draft legislation; and
* A Consultative Group be appointed by the Attorney-General to advise and assist the Taskforce.
The specialist taskforce will begin work immediately and will be supported by a dedicated Secretariat within the Attorney-General's Department.
The Taskforce will comprise the following members:
* Roger Wilkins AO - Secretary, Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department;
* Bill Grant - Secretary-General, Law Council of Australia;
* Laurie Glanfield AM - Director-General, NSW Attorney-General's Department; and
* Louise Glanville - Executive Director, Victorian Department of Justice.
The Commonwealth will also seek a further nomination to ensure that small jurisdictions are appropriately represented.
The Consultative Group will be chaired by the Hon Michael Lavarch, Professor of Law at Queensland University of Technology, and will include members from each State and Territory representing peak legal, business and consumer groups.
The Attorney-General will today write to the States and Territories as well as other interest groups inviting nominations for the Consultative Group.
This Consultative Group will play an important role in identifying issues, providing advice and developing recommendations on this important reform agenda.
The regulation of the legal profession in Australia remains overly complex and inconsistent, with up to 55 different regulators across the country.
As a result, different practices apply in different jurisdictions, including for example costs disclosure and billing, admissions and practicing certificates and complaints handling and professional discipline.
Australian lawyers and consumers no longer operate in just one State or Territory.
To deliver a seamless national economy we can no longer justify such disparate regulation for just one profession.
National regulation of the legal profession will benefit consumers, lawyers and firms alike:
* Consumers of legal services will benefit through increased competition, reduced compliance costs and billing arrangements that are simplified and more transparent;
* Lawyers will benefit by being able to easily operate across jurisdictions; and
* Legal firms will benefit by being more competitive in both the national and international arena.
The Commonwealth looks forward to working cooperatively with the States and Territories, and the legal profession on this important reform agenda.