A “diminishing pool of private lawyers prepared to undertake legal aid work at the very substantially reduced rates” is still an ongoing issue for Legal Aid Queensland, according to the 2024-25 Annual Report.
LAQ Board Chairperson, the Honourable Paul de Jersey, identified this issue and the “adequacy of our technology, which I was disturbed to learn has not been substantially upgraded for decades” in his report, which was tabled in August.
Mr de Jersey, who was appointed in February 2025, thanked LAQ’s legal service delivery partners.
“We simply could not meet the diverse needs of our clients without the help of preferred suppliers, barristers and other professionals across the state,” he said.
“The board continues to work with executive leadership to identify funding opportunities to address the above issues.”
He said it was a “transformational year” with not only board changes but an organisational restructure in July 2024.
“The board is confident the changes will significantly improve the way Legal Aid Queensland delivers services throughout the state for many years to come,” Mr de Jersey said.
“With about 40 per cent of our services provided to regional and remote Queenslanders, it is vital our strategies and policies support the unique needs of our clients and staff across the state.
“The Workplace Strategy 2025–30 was approved in November 2024 and the board has been working closely with the Accommodation Committee to improve offices in Rockhampton, Mackay and Cairns to enable greater service to our clients.”
The Queensland Law Society supports increased rates paid for grants of legal aid to private practitioners in its Call to Parties statement.
LAQ Chief Executive Officer Nicky Davies said the organisation could not operate without the private law firms that performed about 80 per cent of its legal representation work.
“In August 2024, we increased fees for these partner firms – the second increase within 12 months. We also launched a Preferred Supplier Pilot Program, which acknowledges the value of the work done by our partners and reaffirms our commitment to supporting them,” she said.
“The program includes new resources, targeted training, and improved communication channels to strengthen collaboration and enhance the quality of our services. We hope this program highlights the intrinsic and extrinsic value available to firms who do legal aid work.”
“In August 2024, we increased fees for these partner firms – the second increase within 12 months.”
From 1 August 2024, fees paid to preferred suppliers and counsel undertaking state law matters increased by 4.9 per cent and Commonwealth law matters by 6.8 per cent.
There were also increased disbursements for items such as reports, giving evidence, service, travel and accommodation across state and some Commonwealth matters.
The CEO’s report said demand for services again grew in the 2024–25 financial year.
“Over the last 12 months, we provided legal services to 495,644 people – a 2.9 per cent increase compared with the previous year,” she said.
“We have spent much of the year working to future-proof our systems, and improve our service delivery, efficiency, and accessibility.
“In July 2024, we restructured our organisation. We created a new Client and Partner Services division, a separate Civil Justice Services division, and established a Business Transformation unit.
“These changes have positioned us to be a more agile and responsive organisation, ready to tackle current and future challenges. We also began a major project to upgrade the systems we use to manage our legal services.”
Share this article