Dear Member,

Shortly, you will receive an email from John Karkar QC, Chairman of BCL, about the further rent relief measures that BCL will be offering to members following the publication last week of the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) (Commercial Leases and Licences) Regulations 2020.

This new Rent Relief Response is the next step in BCL’s financial assistance to members to help individuals weather the COVID-19 crisis and for the Bar to collectively emerge with our chambers environment intact.

You will know that BCL has already offered 100% waiver of rent in April to those who needed it – and BCL offered this well before any legislative requirement to do so.

While the Omnibus legislation actually omitted sole traders who are not employers from the rent relief packages, we think this was a drafting error.  In any event, the BCL Board has taken the decision to extend the relief available to all barristers who qualify for JobKeeper, regardless of whether they are employers, in order to provide a lifeline to members in financial difficulties. This should work in tandem with the government assistance packages to ease the effects of this crisis on individuals.

BCL is offering rent relief to those barristers who have applied, are eligible for and participating in the Commonwealth Government JobKeeper scheme. The rent relief offered will be in proportion to the reduction in the barrister’s monthly turnover from May to September up to a maximum of 50% of the reduction in each month. Half of the relief offered will be by way of waiver of rent and half by deferral. The communication from John Karkar QC will explain the details and the application process.

I hope that many of you will remember back to my first communication to you, in the podcast on 24 March, about the importance of BCL, the legacy assets it owns, and the unique environment it provides the Bar. I have reiterated these messages before – and I will take the liberty of doing so again. BCL is a company formed by barristers, for the benefit of barristers, both present and future. In providing us with chambers in the heart of the court precinct on a month-by-month basis it underpins the Bar’s collegiality and accessibility. It provides us with services and technological infrastructure that are fundamental to our practices, and not just at these difficult times. We will need it when life returns to normal.

Moreover, as I have said before, BCL’s financial viability depends entirely on its tenants paying rent.  For this reason, while BCL is offering rent relief, I am asking you not to apply for relief unless you actually need to.  By thinking carefully about whether and, if so, how much relief you seek, you can help ensure that BCL survives this crisis.

I commend the BCL Board for the Rent Relief Response that BCL has put in place. It has the aim of supporting barristers through this crisis and out the other side – to preserve the practices of those of you in financial difficulties now, and to preserve the community of the Bar into the future.

Regards,

Wendy Harris QC
President
Victorian Bar