Law Council supporting RRR communities

Caption: Michael Tidball, Dr Jacoba Brasch QC, Joanne van der Plaat, and Tarryn Gaffney.

On 9 March 2021, the Law Council of Australia launched its Rural, Regional and Remote (RRR) National Strategic Plan 2021-2023 at the Cooma Court House, as part of the Law Council's reinvigorated commitment to RRR lawyers. 

The RRR National Strategic Plan focuses on five key areas for action, they include:

1. Building awareness;
2. Recruitment, retention and succession of lawyers;
3. Technology,
4. Promotion of RRR legal practice in education; and 
5. Advocacy.

Speaking at the event, Law Council President, Dr Jacoba Brasch QC, highlighted that: 

“RRR communities are diverse and dynamic, and the kinds of legal needs experienced within vary substantially, from water rights allocation, to environment and planning restrictions, to farm succession planning, and laws which have special relevance to First Nations people.” 

“Access to justice is undermined when there is a critical shortage of suitable legal representation in particular regions.”

The launch also included the Law Council's new RRR Law webpages - a central hub for lawyers and students wanting to learn more about working in the rural, regional and remote areas of Australia. Further tools and resources will be developed over the course of the National Strategic Plan, and will be published online. 

You can read the LCA's media release here. 

LCA Submissions

Recently published Law Council Submissions. 

• Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021, Senate Economics Legislation Committee. 
• Intelligence Oversight and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity Measures) Bill 2020, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. 
• Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Section Submissions

Recently published Section Submissions. 

• Inquiry into Australia’s skilled migration program, Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section.
• Increasing the Statutory Demand Threshold, The Treasury, Business Law Section. 
• Externally administered companies: Extending financial reporting and AGM relief, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Business Law Section. 

Inquiries and consultations

As of 16 March 2021.

• Breach Reporting Regulations, The Treasury.
• Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Future, Your Super) Bill 2021 [Provisions], Parliamentary Senate Standing Committees on Economics.
• Unlawful activity - changes to the governance standards for registered charities, The Treasury.
• Increasing harmonised financial reporting thresholds for ACNC registered charities, The Treasury.
• National Emergency Declaration Act 2020, Parliamentary Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.
• Review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority - Terms of Reference, The Treasury.
• Indigenous Voice Co-Design Process, National Indigenous Australians Agency.
• Australia's skilled migration program, Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Migration.
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021, Parliamentary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications.
• The operation of section 22 of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) ACT 2004 (Cth) as it applies in the 'Alan Johns' matter (a pseudonym), Independent National Security Legislation Monitor.
• The efficacy, fairness, timeliness and costs of the processing and granting of visa classes which provide for or allow for family and partner reunions, Parliamentary Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.
• Enhance and Enable - Indigenous Knowledge Consultations 2021, IP Australia.
• Review of Judicial Impartiality, Australian Law Reform Commission.
• Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, Royal Commission.
• Review into the Framework of Religious Exemptions in Anti-discrimination Legislation, Australian Law Reform Commission.
• Review of the Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation, Australian Law Reform Commission.
• Australian Heritage Strategy, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
• Draft Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2021/D2 Allocation of procession firm profits - ATO compliance approach, Australian Taxation Office.

News and Media 

Media releases and statements: 

• Government must act on Royal Commission recommendations, 1 March 2021.
• Law Council supporting RRR communities, 9 March 2021. 
• Law Council questions need for broad surveillance powers, 11 March 2021. 
• Law Council comments on Family Law Second Interim Report, 16 March 2021. 

​Key coverage:

• Inquiry into national security legislation to continue, Lawyers Weekly, 4 March 2021.
• AFP pushes for sweeping powers lashed as 'dangerous overreach', The Australian, 10 March 2021
• LCA rolls out support to rural communities, Lawyers Weekly, 11 March 2021. 
• Law Council supporting RRR communities, QLS Proctor, 11 March 2021. 
• Why human rights groups are concerned about Australia's online surveillance bill, SBS, 11 March 2021. 
• Lawyers' silence on Porter deafening, AFR, 12 March 2021.
• Surveillance bill to wreak havoc on ‘innocent bystanders' if passed: LCA, Lawyers Weekly, 16 March 2021. 
• Fees targeted in sweeping family law reform, The Australian, 16 March 202.

Events

The Law Council of Australia is pleased host an online webinar titled ‘Courting innovation: Australia’s judicial system in the context of COVID-19’.

In many ways, a greater reliance on technology by courts and tribunals during the pandemic has assisted with access to justice issues, however, this shift may also exacerbate accessibility concerns due to a digital divide in Australia and with varying levels of technological literacy and infrastructure.

This webinar will explore the practical implications for the legal profession and their clients arising from procedural changes introduced by courts and tribunals as they move away from face-to-face interactions in response to pandemic-related lockdowns and social distancing.

In particular, this webinar will focus on which of the pandemic-related measures should be retained in the long-term in the interests of promoting access to justice, and which initiatives should be wound back as a priority.

This forum is intended to promote a discussion between panellists on the benefits and drawbacks from a greater reliance on technology by courts and tribunals, and will present an opportunity for the legal profession and the judiciary to reflect on what has (and has not) worked well in the past 12 months as the sector has grappled with how the judicial system operates in times of crisis.

To register, or for more information about the webinar, click here.

Event Details

Date: 24 March 2021

Time: 5.00pm - 6.00pm AEDT

Format: Online via Zoom