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Financial bonuses could attract lawyers to the bush
Financial incentives, such as debt reduction and indexation reliefs, could increase the number of lawyers in Australia’s regional, rural and remote locations, the Law Council has argued.
Naomi Neilson
In an effort to improve access to justice, the Law Council of Australia (LCA) has pleaded with the Commonwealth to provide financial incentives to lawyers willing to move outside of the capital cities.
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LCA president Luke Murphy said that although a third of Australia’s population lives in regional, rural and remote (RRR) locations, only 10 per cent of Australian solicitors have set up a practice in these areas.
“This workforce shortfall adversely impacts access to justice for people who live in these underserviced regions,” Mr Murphy said.
“It can be very difficult for them to access timely legal assistance on issues ranging from criminal law matters, family law, child protection, tenancy matters, social security, credit and debt, and wills and estates.”
There are also limits to legal aid and pro bono assistance.
According to the Regional Australia Institute, two in five urban workers would be willing to move to an RRR area if financial incentives were involved, including Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), debt reduction, and indexation relief initiatives.
Mr Murphy said that under the scheme, qualified lawyers should be allowed to apply for a reduction or a waive indexation of their outstanding HELP debt after working in the RRR area for a certain period, “which we suggest should be at least two years”.
With law students likely to accumulate $70,000 in HELP debt, Mr Murphy said an offer of debt forgiveness could be “extremely attractive” and will encourage them to consider an RRR move.
“Financial incentives are not the only factor which will affect the recruitment and retention of legal practitioners in RRR areas, but we believe this is a good starting point and could be provided at minimal expense to the Commonwealth,” Mr Murphy said.
