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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 838 asked in the Legislative Council on 11 August 2022 by Hon Nick Goiran

Question Directed to the: Parliamentary Secretary representing the Attorney General
Parliament: 41 Session: 1


Question

I refer to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Amendment Rules 2022, and I ask:
(a) what was the catalyst for bringing about these amendments to the rules;
(b) who was consulted prior to these amendment rules being finalised;
(c) did any person consulted raise any concerns;
(d) if yes to (c), what were these concerns;
(e) have the finalised amendment rules addressed these concerns; and
(f) if no to (e), why not?

Answered on 21 September 2022

(a) The Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Amendment Rules 2022 amend the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015. The catalyst was the Consultation Discussion Paper for a Review of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules, released by the Law Council of Australia on 1 February 2018 in which a number of issues and suggestions for amendment were raised. A further two discussion papers on more limited aspects of the rules also raised issues and suggestions for amendment.

(b) The Consultation Papers were publicly released on the Law Council of Australia's website, and key stakeholder consultation was also undertaken by the Law Council of Australia including with State and Territory independent legal profession regulatory authorities, State and Territory Law Societies, State and Territory Bar Associations, Law Firms Australia, Legal Aid Commissions, National and State Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and National and State Community Legal Centre Associations.

(c) - (d) A broad range of views were expressed in 45 submissions responding to the 2018 Consultation Paper, and a further 55 submissions were received in total responding to one or other of the more limited discussion papers. Given the volume of submissions received, it would not be possible to succinctly summarise the contents of the submissions. Further, it is understood that the submissions provided have not been released publicly, nor have the resulting reports, and therefore it is not appropriate to disclose their contents.

(e) The finalised amendment rules reflect the draft Rules proposed by the Law Council pursuant to section 427(5)(d) of the Uniform Law, following the Law Council’s consideration of the submissions received.

(f) Not applicable.