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FACT SHEET
Legal Profession Amendment (Validation Bill) 2019
The Legal Profession Amendment (Validation) Bill 2019 (“the Bill”) amends section 361 of the
Legal Profession Act 2007 (“the Act”).
Section 361 of the Act allows the Minister for Justice to approve grants of money from the SGF
where the SGF exceeds the prescribed minimum threshold, which is currently $8.7 million (Legal
Profession Regulations 2018, regulation 69) taking into account ascertained and contingent
liabilities.
This Bill amends the Act to clarify the range and type of persons or organisations that the Minister
for Justice can invite to make application for grants of money from the excess funds in the
Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund.
In particular, it clarifies that the persons or organisation who can make application for grants are
those that provide legal or legal-related services, and includes instrumentalities of the Crown.
Specifically, the Bill amends section 361 to provide that the Minister for Justice may invite
applications from and/or approve grants to relevant persons.
The phrase relevant person is defined to include:
a Government Agency;
a court, tribunal or similar person or body acting judicially;
a person or body, however constituted, that provides legal services or other law related
assistance or services and/or advice, or opinions, recommendations or reviews, on legal or
law related matters affecting the State; and
such other persons or bodies as may be prescribed.
Relevant person also includes the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania and the Law Foundation
of Tasmania.
The Bill also contains an amendment that validates certain past decisions to invite and/or approve
grants from the excess funds in the Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund so long as they would have been
valid if made under the new amended version of section 361.
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