PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Open dialogue with government, parliamentary bodies, the courts, tribunals and key stakeholders in the justice system is essential if we, as a peak professional association, want to initiate, inform and shape debate about law reform and the administration of justice in this state.

For this reason, at the start of the new law term, we embark on a full program of meetings with the Chief Justice, heads of jurisdictions, the Attorney General and other senior officials within the executive arm of government. We are now well engaged in these discussions which allow us to raise major items on our policy agenda, as informed by our 18 expert policy committees.

This past week, the Law Society was also represented at the Sydney launch of the 2019 Children’s Rights Report,  one of the most comprehensive assessments of children’s rights ever produced in Australia. It is the final report by Australia’s first National Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell, who will conclude her seven-year term in March 2020. Among its many recommendations, the report calls for Australian Governments to commit to targets to overcome the health disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and expand the availability and range of diversionary programs for young offenders, including community-controlled and ‘culturally-safe’ programs.

On another note, the Law Society’s Continuing Professional Development Program (CPD) year concludes on 31 March 2020. Our CPD program is now one of the largest in Australia, offering expert education across all four mandatory knowledge areas and multiple practice areas. Over the past 12 months, the Law Society has delivered hundreds of online and face-to-face CPD offerings via our LawInform portal, which is unique in providing free CPD points tracking for members. The February and March program which is available online offers more than 50 courses for members to choose from.

Richard Harvey, Law Society President

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