Twelve months after the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Bill was passed, the government has failed to appoint an independent monitor to undertake a comprehensive review of Australian terrorism laws.

Highlighting the inaction, the Law Council of Australia (LCA) has urged the government to move more swiftly to appoint a monitor.

"The government's failure to make the appointment is perplexing. Serious laws have been passed that have the potential to affect the rights of citizens in significant ways and to leave them without comprehensive independent review is very concerning," said LCA president Alex Ward.

"It has been 12 months since the bill was passed with bipartisan support and yet the government has not appointed the monitor despite the allocation of four year funding for the position in the June 2009 budget."

Following the establishment of Australia's terrorism laws in the wake of the attacks of 11 September 11 2001, the LCA called for an independent and comprehensive review of those laws to ensure they represent a proportionate response to terrorism threats.

According to the LCA, at a Senate Estimates hearing in February this year the government claimed it had approached a preferred candidate but there were still a number of issues to be settled.