“The provision of external legal services to the Commonwealth is worth about $230 million per year based on spending in 2017-18,” he said.

“This panel brings together a range of providers to meet the diverse needs of Commonwealth clients and will help ensure agencies can access the services they need, when they need them.”

The panel was recommended by the Attorney-General's Department's Secretary's Review of Commonwealth Legal Services to “harness the purchasing power of the Commonwealth and achieve efficiencies for both providers and for agencies requiring legal services”.

It comprises 22 “small” firms (i.e. less than 50 practitioners), 21 “mid-tier” firms (between 50-250 practitioners) and 19 “large” firms (over 250 professional staff).

“The panel consists of a broad spectrum of firms, specifically selected to cater for the range of the Commonwealth’s needs, ranging from specialist litigation to construction and infrastructure and workers’ compensation advice,” Mr Porter said.

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“Commonwealth agencies are now required to use the panel for the bulk of their external legal services. However, there remains important flexibility to engage off-panel providers for up to 10 per cent of an agency’s external expenditure and where specific exemptions have been granted by my department.

“This will allow smaller or new providers to access Commonwealth legal work and provide important flexibility for agencies.”