The Law Council’s Civil Justice Division (CJD) provides legal policy advice and engages in advocacy across a broad range of
government portfolios and legal practice areas.
Recently, the Division has prepared submissions in response to the review of the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services (NPA Review), the proposed creation of the Military Court of Australia, a discussion paper on managing confl icts of interest in litigation schemes and proof of debt arrangements, exposure draft legislation to exempt native benefi ts from income tax, and the inclusion of legal studies in the national school curriculum. The CJD has also continued its work on the development of an attrition study of women lawyers, responding to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, seeking additional funding for the legal assistance sector, preparations for the 2013 Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference, proposed reforms to Australia’s contract law and amendments to privacy legislation.
The Civil Justice Division is currently engaged in the following major projects.
National Disability Insurance Scheme
The Division has been coordinating the Law Council’s response to the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS).
The Law Council and several Constituent Bodies have raised signifi cant concerns about various aspects of these proposed schemes, primarily with respect to:
• preservation of common law compensation rights;
• whether a separate NIIS is necessary or appropriate;
• ongoing rights to access legal advice and representation for those within the proposed schemes;
• full rights of appeal, including full merits review and judicial review of decisions made; and
• the need to ensure any such scheme is adequately funded.
The Law Council recently attended a Roundtable convened by the Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, to discuss how injuries arising from medical misadventure will be dealt with under the NDIS.
The Law Council was subsequently invited to participate on a ‘Medical Misadventure Working Group’, which includes representation from government, the insurance industry, the medical profession, disability advocacy groups and other stakeholders. The Working Group will develop recommendations for government as to the best way of caring for those who have catastrophic injuries arising from medical negligence or misadventure.
Over the coming weeks, the Law Council will be arranging a series of meetings with Government Ministers and their advisers, as well as Federal Opposition Shadow Ministers, the Greens and Independent MPs to discuss the NDIS/NIIS.
Consultation regarding the review of legal assistance services
The National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services (NPA) sets out the direction of Commonwealth funding for legal assistance sector services as well as the objectives, outcomes and responsibilities of respective governments. Under the NPA, the Australian Government is required to conduct a review, to examine the progress that has been made toward achieving the outcomes, objectives and outputs, as stated in the NPA.
On 21 August 2012, the Law Council lodged a submission on the Draft Evaluation Framework Discussion Paper to the Allen Consulting Group. The Law Council’s submission to the NPA Review raises issues such as the chronic underfunding of the legal assistance sector, demands upon legal assistance providers, needs of legal assistance providers and suggested changes to the draft evaluation framework.
The fi nal report is expected in June 2013 and the Division will work with the Access to Justice Committee to participate in ongoing consultations, as the NPA Review progresses.
National study of the attrition of women lawyers
The Law Council is conducting scoping research into a national study of the attrition of women
CIVIL JUSTICE division
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