Guidance Note 18 – Compliance with the Legal Services Directions 2025

The key topics in this note are:

• the role of the Office of Legal Services Coordination (OLSC) in administering and monitoring compliance with the Directions
• the responsibilities of entities in monitoring and reporting on compliance, and
• the responsibilities of legal services providers in ensuring compliance.

Role of OLSC

1. OLSC in the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) administers the Legal Services Directions 2025 (Directions) on behalf of the Attorney-General. The Directions establish various obligations that apply to Commonwealth entities and to legal service providers engaged on behalf of the Commonwealth, including an obligation to act as a model litigant in conducting Commonwealth legal work.

2. OLSC provides guidance to entities about compliance with the Directions. The Compliance Framework sets out OLSC's approach to supporting Commonwealth entities to achieve compliance with the Directions.

3. Entities remain responsible for ensuring compliance with the Directions, including reporting to OLSC as soon as practicable about any possible or apparent breaches of the Directions by the entity, or allegations of breaches by the entity which the entity is aware of, and about any corrective steps that have been taken or are proposed to be taken, by the entity under Part 10. This obligation extends to ensuring legal services providers engaged by the entity comply with this requirement of the Directions.

4. OLSC does not conduct reviews or investigations into allegations of possible or actual non-compliance.

5. OLSC’s monitoring of entities’ compliance with the Directions assists with identifying and addressing emerging, systemic, or significant issues.

6. The mandatory reporting requirements outlined in the Directions are one way that OLSC monitors compliance. Reporting requirements include:

• entity compliance notifications (subparagraph 109(1)(g)), and
• annual compliance certificates (subsections 109(2)-(3)).

7. The accountable authority of an entity is responsible for ensuring that the entity reports allegations of non-compliance to OLSC promptly, comprehensively and accurately via an entity compliance notification form. See paragraphs 14-18 below for further information.

8. OLSC will review the compliance notification form. Where we consider there are inadequacies in the information provided by an entity, or the process the entity undertook to assess compliance, OLSC may require the entity to provide additional information or take further steps.

9. OLSC publishes aggregated annual compliance statistics on the Attorney-General’s Department website.

Responsibilities of entities

10. Commonwealth entities are responsible for managing and handling their own legal issues, claims and disputes. This includes a requirement that entities develop and maintain arrangements to ensure awareness of their obligations under the Directions and ensure that the entity complies with the obligations. OLSC expects entities to have arrangements in place to:

• consider and appropriately respond to allegations of non‑compliance, including reporting to OLSC
• take any necessary remedial action, including improving compliance processes where required, and
• report the outcomes of these activities to OLSC.

11. Each entity is responsible for determining:

• whether appropriate steps have been taken to satisfy themselves that they have fairly and honestly considered the subject of any non-compliance allegation, and
• whether appropriate remedial action has been taken, if necessary.

12. Accountable authorities of entities are required to certify that their entity has appropriate systems and procedures in place to ensure compliance with the Directions as part of completing the annual compliance certificate.

13. If an entity becomes aware of possible or actual non-compliance with the Directions (including allegations of non-compliance) involving their legal services provider, it is the entity’s responsibility to consider the circumstances, including the level of contribution by the legal services provider, and advise OLSC of their conclusions via an entity compliance notification.

Reporting obligations under the Directions

Notifications

14. Paragraph 109(1)(g) of the Directions requires the accountable authority of an entity to give reports to OLSC, or the Attorney‑General, as soon as practicable, about any known, possible or apparent breaches of the Directions by the entity, or allegations of breaches of the Directions by the entity. This includes allegations of non-compliance made directly to the entity, as well as circumstances of possible non-compliance of which the entity becomes aware through, for example, judicial criticism, media attention or internal reviews.

15. For each instance of possible non-compliance, or allegation of non-compliance, an entity must complete the entity compliance notification form and email it to OLSC at olsc@ag.gov.au as soon as practicable.

16. Entities must update OLSC on the progress and outcome of investigations using the same notification form. For example, if an allegation is made against an entity, the entity must notify OLSC via an entity compliance notification form that they are reviewing the complaint. Once the review has been finalised, an entity must submit an updated notification form providing a summary of the outcome of the review, and details of any remedial action taken by the entity, if required.

17. Where a party repeatedly alleges non-compliance by an entity in a matter, for example, where there are ongoing and separate allegations that the entity has breached the model litigant obligation, entities should engage with OLSC to discuss appropriate reporting requirements.

18. OLSC records all entity notifications and may seek updates or information relevant to a particular notification.

When to notify OLSC of an allegation of non-compliance

19. Entities are required to notify OLSC of all allegations in which the complainant has alleged that specific entity conduct has resulted in non-compliance with the Directions (or where it is apparent from their complaint).

• For example, Mr A alleges that an entity failed to provide discovery by a particular date in accordance with a court-imposed deadline and this has caused unnecessary delay in the litigation, thereby failing to comply with subsection 41(a) of the Directions.

20. All judicial criticism of an entity’s compliance with the Directions must also be notified to OLSC.

21. In circumstances where entities receive an allegation of non-compliance that is spurious, entities do not need to report this to OLSC. Spurious allegations may include repeated allegations of non-compliance already reported to OLSC, predictions of future non‑compliance, or where an allegation does not enable the purported non-compliance to be reasonably identified. Entities should engage with OLSC where there is any doubt about whether a matter is spurious.

Annual compliance certificates

22. Subsection 109(2) of the Directions requires the accountable authority of an entity to provide a compliance certificate to OLSC within 60 days of the end of each financial year. Entities must:

• demonstrate their compliance with the Directions – this includes reporting any actual or alleged non-compliance that has not already been reported during the previous financial year
• show that they have appropriate systems in place for monitoring compliance, and
• include details of the entity’s use of persons appointed by the Attorney-General under section 63 of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Judiciary Act) to receive service in proceedings to which the Commonwealth is a party.

23. There is no prescribed format for the certificate, but OLSC recommends that entities use the Compliance Certificate template.

24. OLSC has prepared a Compliance Checklist to assist entities complete the compliance certificate. The checklist is for entities’ internal purposes and does not need to be provided to OLSC. The checklist can be found as an attachment to the Compliance Certificate template.

25. Entities must email completed certificates, signed by the accountable authority, to OLSC at olsc@ag.gov.au.

Responsibilities of legal services providers

26. Legal services providers have obligations in relation to complying with the Directions.

27. Section 55ZG of the Judiciary Act provides that ‘a legal practitioner or firm of legal practitioners’ that is acting in a matter, for a person or body described in subsection 55N(1) of the Judiciary Act, must comply with the Directions. Subsection 55N(1) includes the Commonwealth, companies in which the Commonwealth has a controlling interest, and Ministers.

28. If a legal services provider becomes aware of possible or actual non-compliance (including allegations of non-compliance), it is their responsibility to:

• report it to the relevant Commonwealth entity
• work with the entity to resolve the issue.

29. The entity is responsible for notifying OLSC using the entity compliance notification form.

If you have a concern that a Commonwealth entity is not complying with the Directions

30. If you are a party to a claim and/or litigation involving the Commonwealth and you want to make an allegation of non-compliance, you should contact the entity directly and clearly set out your concerns relating to their compliance with the Directions.

31. OLSC does not investigate or resolve complaints from members of the public about entity compliance. If you contact OLSC, you will be advised to forward your complaint to the relevant entity in the first instance.

32. The issue of non-compliance with the Directions cannot be raised in any proceedings (whether they are proceedings before courts, tribunals, inquiries, in arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution processes) except by, or on behalf of, the Commonwealth (see subsection 55ZG(3) of the Judiciary Act).

Where can I get further help?

33. If you have any questions about compliance with the Directions, please contact OLSC at olsc@ag.gov.au.

Office of Legal Services Coordination
Phone: 02 6141 3642
E-mail: olsc@ag.gov.au
Issued: March 2026

This guidance material is of a general nature only and does not convey or contain legal advice.