In July this year, the Law Society submitted a report to the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia detailing a range of concerns raised by practitioners in response to its profession-wide survey.
The Law Society called on the Board to acknowledge that these issues exist, and to commit to taking meaningful, practical action to address them urgently.
On 13 August 2025, the Standing Committee on Public Administration resolved to establish an inquiry into the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia.
The Committee will inquire into and report on the operation and effectiveness of the Board in its role of regulating the Western Australian legal profession.
The Terms of Reference: Inquiry into the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia were tabled in Parliament today.
The Law Society will be submitting evidence to the Committee, and will also request an opportunity to present evidence on behalf of the profession, to ensure your concerns are communicated clearly and effectively.
The Committee is accepting public and organisational submissions until midnight on Friday, 12 September 2025. Practitioners can lodge submissions directly to the inquiry and there is an option to request that your submission be kept confidential. Additionally, please send any feedback or information to the Law Society as soon as possible to inform the Law Society’s submissions. Your feedback can be anonymised if necessary.
If you have already submitted feedback to the Law Society via the recent member survey, your views will be included and communicated to the inquiry.
If you have any further information you would like to share, please email advocacy@lawsocietywa.asn.au.
In relation to the report provided to the Board, after careful consideration, the Law Society decided not to make it publicly available. The report includes over 100 anonymous, verbatim comments from survey participants. While anything that could potentially render a respondent identifiable by the Board was redacted, out of an abundance of caution to ensure participants are protected, it has not been made public.
