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SA Law Society launches $1.8m COVID-19 relief package
Practitioners in the Festival State are set to receive discounts and rebates on membership fees, CPD events and admin fees in the wake of coronavirus.
Jerome Doraisamy
The Law Society of South Australia has announced a one-off rebate support package to help members combat the economic impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic.
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The package includes membership discounts of 23 per cent to 24 per cent for most members and up to 85 per cent off for low-fee earners, a 15 per cent rebate on all CPD events for the coming financial year and a $500 administration fee rebate for every insured practitioner.
There will also be an expansion on the eligibility criteria for the non-practising admitted member category to include society members who have been stood down or made redundant as a result of the pandemic.
The society has an arrangement with Westpac, it continued, through which renewals (professional indemnity insurance, practising certificates and membership) can be paid by instalments over 10 months at staggered interest rates.
An option for members to pay their membership fees by monthly instalments, interest-free, will remain in place.
Members are not required to do anything to claim the rebates – they will be automatically applied.
The SA Law Society has taken these extreme measures, it said in a statement, given the financial hardship many practitioners in the state are facing due to the unprecedented pandemic.
“The society has had to substantially dip into its reserves to provide this relief package, with the measures as approved by executive-based on a detailed financial analysis to determine the maximum amount that the society can release,” it said.
“The society has worked hard to provide the highest possible subsidies while maintaining financial viability. Importantly, the package will not impact the level and range of services provided by the society. We are committed to serving our members as best we can, especially in these trying times.”
The news follows the launching of similar relief packages in other jurisdictions around Australia.
The Law Institute of Victoria has dropped its membership fees by 80 per cent, the Queensland Law Society initiated a $9 million relief package, the Law Society of NSW has reduced its membership fees for the coming year by over 90 per cent and the Bar Association of Queensland has cut fees by 30 per cent.
