The Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2011 were updated in March and April 2015. With the exception of the deletion of former rule 29.12.5, the minor amendments did not change the content of the Rules of Procedure. In New South Wales, the practice and regulation of the legal profession is governed by the Uniform Act, which includes: Laws: Legal profession Uniform Act (NSW) Legal profession Uniform Application of Law Act 2014 Regs: Uniform Regulations of the Legal Profession, 2015 Uniform Regulations for the Application of the Laws of the Legal Profession 2015 Rules: Uniform General Rules of the Legal Profession General Rules 2015 Admission Rules Law Australian Rules of Conduct for Lawyers 2015 Rules of Legal Practice (Lawyers) 2015 Ongoing Professional Development (Lawyers) Rules 2015 The ASCR is a statement of lawyers` professional and ethical obligations under legislation, common law and equity. However, they also express the profession`s collective vision of the standards of behaviour expected of professionals. The Law Council has produced a fact sheet outlining the regulations that apply to intergovernmental practitioners practising in New South Wales and Victoria from 1 July 2015. The Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules (ASCR) have been developed jointly by all state and territory bar associations and other constituent professional bodies of the Law Council, as agreed professional rules for all lawyers in Australia. Rule 11 of the Legal Profession Uniform Legal Practice (Solicitors) Rules 2015 (formerly NSW Rule 58) requires the following forms to be used in New South Wales: The ASCRs were established as the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors` Conduct Rules 2015 under the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Uniform Law), which was established on 1 May 2015. It came into force in Victoria and New South Wales in July 2015. The introduction of a uniform system of regulation of the legal professions was an objective of the Law Council of Australia. Victoria and New South Wales passed the Uniform Act on 1 July 2015.
This was seen as an important step towards a truly national profession and a positive example of the profession`s leading role in setting its own standards. In the legal systems of the Uniform Law, Article 427, paragraph 2, of the Uniform Law empowers the Legal Council to draw up proposals for uniform rules on the exercise of rights, continuing professional development and the conduct of the legal professions, insofar as they apply to or concern lawyers. The following rules are out of date. See the rules relating to lawyers in the Uniform Law on the Legal Profession. ASCRs were approved by the Directors of the Law Council in June 2011 and adopted as professional rules for lawyers in South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria (and soon Western Australia), Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. ASCRs have been adopted in accordance with the procedures of each jurisdiction, which vary considerably. The Northern Territory currently has its own Code of Conduct. These factsheets contain general introductory information on various aspects of the uniform law.
The fact sheets will be completed and updated as the uniform law progresses in Western Australia: In response to the letter to the Attorney General, the Law Society was informed of the following on November 25, 2021: On December 7, 2020, prior to the 2021 Western Australian election, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly were prorogued. Following the release, all bills before both Houses “lapse” and are withdrawn from parliamentary proceedings. As a result, the Uniform Law Application in the Legal Profession Bill, 2020 and the Uniform Law Application in the Legal Profession (Levie) Bill, 2020 are obsolete. The Law Society has informed its members and the profession as a whole that on June 23, 2021, the Uniform Laws in the Legal Profession Bill was reintroduced in the Legislative Assembly after it expired prior to the 2021 election, and that the expected coming into force date of the Uniform Act remains January 1, 2022. Law Uniform in the Legal Profession Bill 2021 – Coming into force. On 5 February 2009, the Council of Australian Governments agreed that further work was needed to nationalise the regulation of the legal profession in Australia, and the National Legal Profession Reform Project was launched. Information documents on the project are available under ag.gov.au. In 2018, the Legal Board began the first comprehensive review of the ASCR since its first promulgation in June 2011. A copy of the consultation working document on the Legal Board review of 1 February 2018 is available here. For more information on the uniform law, see these resources. Following the ASCR review, further amendments to Rule 42 (Anti-discrimination and harassment) were proposed.
This new revision of Rule 42 is the result of the Law Council`s National Anti-Sexual Harassment Roundtable in July 2020 and subsequent consultations that fed into the Law Council`s National Action Plan to Reduce Sexual Harassment in the Australian Bar Association (NAP). The LPUL bill has been passed by the Legislative Assembly and it is hoped that it will be passed by the Legislative Council before Christmas. However, given the uncertainty as to when Parliament will be able to pass the legislation, the Attorney General agreed to delay the proposed January 1, 2022. The Attorney General will consult with stakeholders when deciding on the new launch date. Each new launch date is subject to the LPUL bill, which is first passed by Parliament. The commentary is not intended to be the only source of information on the rules – detailed information is available from the constituent bodies of the Legal Council to understand the application of the ASCR to the variety of situations arising in legal practice. Unfortunately, the Harmonization of Laws in the Legal Profession Bill 2021 (the Bill) and the Uniform Application of the Legal Profession Bill (levy) (Bills), 2021 have not yet been passed by Parliament, and all indications are that the two bills will not be passed by Parliament until November 2021 at best and, at worst, will not begin until or around the last day of the Legislative Council session, December 9, 2021. It is highly unlikely that both bills will enter into force in their entirety before the end of the year, as a number of transitional provisions are being prepared that are currently unknown. As a result of the above-mentioned reviews, the Legal Board is currently working with the jurisdictions of the States and Territories in the application of the Uniform Laws in order to apply the revised rules in accordance with the procedures of those jurisdictions.
The current commentary responds to the ASCR, which is currently in effect. The Directors of the Legal Board decided that, following the implementation of the above-mentioned reviews, an expanded commentary would be developed for the revised ASCR. The Legal Board regularly reviews the ASCR in consultation with its constituent bodies, regulators and other relevant stakeholders. The Professional Ethics Committee of the Legal Council supervises these examinations with the assistance of the Secretariat of the Legal Council. In March 2020, the Directors of the Legal Board approved the recommendations of the Professional Ethics Committee regarding the examination. The Legal Board is currently working with Uniform Law and other state and territorial jurisdictions to implement the revised ASCR in accordance with the processes of those jurisdictions. For more information on how the legal profession is regulated in Australia, click here. A copy of the ASCR as currently in effect is available here. The bills were reintroduced in the Legislative Assembly on June 23, 2021.