Report of a review of the impact of the Judiciary Amendment Act
This review found a reported steady increase in legal spending by Commonwealth agencies in the four financial years up to and including 01-02 when the total expenditure on internal and external legal services was $242.97 million.
This result is based on a survey of 170 agencies which is described in the report and included as Attachment C. The survey results have some limitations. Key factors in limiting their reliability are:
- Not all agencies attempted to complete the survey in full
- Some agencies were unable to break down the results into subject areas
- Some agencies were only able to estimate costs
- The basis used for calculating internal costs varied among agencies, and
- There was an inconsistent approach among agencies to the inclusion of GST expenses after 2000.
Nevertheless the data produced provides a useful snapshot of Commonwealth legal expenditure.
The report finds that agencies are having very few difficulties in meeting their legal service needs. Among survey respondents there was a general level of satisfaction with the quality, timeliness and cost effectiveness of legal services.
The report concludes that the Office of Legal Services Co-ordination (OLSC) is performing well although there are some further tasks it could undertake, as set out in the recommendations below. These mainly relate to facilitating best practice guides to assist agencies.
