The Legal Practice Act 1996 is too complex and much too long. While the Act set out to be simple, it added hundreds of pages to the earlier legislation and became more confusing. The Institute believes that the Issues Paper succeeds in finding the key issues in need of reform. We now submit a preferred model for regulation. There is a role for professional associations in the regulation of the legal profession.
Many jurisdictions acknowledge there is a necessity for the independence of the profession.
The Institute agrees. Utility and cost justify this role. A regulatory system must be cost effective and efficient. There was no doubt that the changes introduced by the 1996 Act would produce considerable additional expense. The Institute warned of this in its submissions to the previous government, both before and after the report of the Working Party referred to later in this submission.