For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law students and graduates, the path to legal profession is not always clear or easy to navigate.
At the same time, First Nations people remain significantly overrepresented at every stage of the justice system, from criminal justice (36 per cent of all prisoners) to child protection while representation within the legal profession remains disproportionately low.1
The ninth Biennial Pro Bono Survey by the Australian Pro Bono Centre (APBC) highlights both the profession’s progress and its challenges. While 53 per cent of firms provided pro bono support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients, only 15 per cent had First Nations lawyers in their pro bono teams.2
While this is a significant imbalance, it also reveals a critical opportunity to increase First Nations representation in the legal profession.
At the heart of addressing this imbalance and someone who has given generously in this space is Ron Behlau, a criminal lawyer at BMG Legal and a member of the QLS First Nations Consulting Committee, playing a vital role in bridging this gap.
Ron has supported many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and graduates through their journey in the law, the path to admission and beyond. Ron helped me understand and navigate what can be an overwhelming process. In December 2025, I asked Ron to move my admission and he agreed without hesitation.
Ron’s work is deeply valued, so I asked him to share more about what he has done to support First Nations students and graduates on their journey.
What inspired you to support First Nations students and graduates?
My parents both immigrated to Australia during the “White Australia Policy”, worked hard to assimilate and produce a better life for their children. I was a beneficiary of that hard work. However, although they ran businesses and worked hard to provide for their family, I did observe some of the difficulties they experienced being “new Australians” during that time.
From observing my parents’ experience, I learnt many things but particularly I learnt the importance of work ethic and a sense of fairness. I used these important lessons to become school captain in my final year of high school before going on to study law at Griffith University.
During my law degree I completed the Innocence Project. Taught then by Lynne Weathered and my now business partner Jason Murakami. This experience consolidated my direction in the law to seek a career protecting individual’s rights.
Jason offered articles of clerkship with his firm at that time and during that time he had created work experience and scholarship programs for First Nations students. I asked to be involved and eventually took over the operation of the program. That was the start of more than 20 years assisting First Nations law students and graduates.
What challenges do you see First Nations law students face on the path to admission?
Access to a place in law schools was a once a big impediment for First Nations persons. Tertiary institutions such as Griffith University and Bond University in Queensland have done a lot of work in this area to rectify this.
In 2018, there were just 36 First Nations solicitors in Queensland. As of 2024, that number has grown to 197. This means we have more than quadrupled the number of First Nations solicitors in Queensland.
In my view the biggest challenge facing First Nations law graduates today is the lack of professional mentorship.
I can tell you from my own experience as a half Filipino/half German with non-tertiary educated parents, I would not have completed my articles or remained in the law if I had not been fortunate enough to have the mentorship that I had at the beginning of my career.
It’s because of this lived experience and the success of mentoring I received and offered myself that I say mentoring is a critical issue facing First Nation young lawyers today.
How can mentorship make a difference in shaping First Nations legal careers?
The law can be a difficult space to navigate at the best of times. I have often heard stories from great legal minds, that if it wasn’t for being mentored by another practitioner or barrister, they would not be where they are today.
I’ve also acted for many lawyers who in my view did not have appropriate mentoring and unfortunately found themselves in trouble in their careers.
First Nations young lawyers need mentors just like every other early career lawyer.
Can you share a moment that affirmed the importance of your mentorship work?
I can share a couple. When I took over operation of the Jason’s First Nations scholarship program the first recipient went on to be admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and then be called to the bar. His name is Mr Josh Creamer of Counsel who later in his career was brought into the Palm Island class action by Jason, who was one of the lead lawyers on the matter, and which the then Labor Government were ordered by the Federal Court to pay over $30 million in compensation to the Palm Island residents for the actions of the QPS during the so-called Palm Island riots.
After Josh, the next recipient that was brought through the scholarship program was a young First Nations lad named Matt Jackson, who also graduated and was school captain of Coombabah State High School, was taught by me at the Innocence Project and was called to the bar in 2018 and is now one of the leading junior criminal barristers in the state. Another great example is Josh Apanui, who performed work experience with my firm prior to his admission into the profession in 2023.
What can firms do to support first nations students and graduates?
in 2020, LawLink celebrated its 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, the LawLink program has been dedicated to providing support, engagement and resources to increase the number of First Nations legal students and solicitors in Queensland.
In addition to this, senior experienced practitioners need to put their hands up to offer to mentor young First Nations practitioners.
Without appropriate mentorship the quantity of numbers will look good but the quality will more than likely not be the same.
Footnotes
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics > https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/prisoners-australia/latest-release
2 Report on the 9th Biennial Pro Bono Survey < chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.probonocentre.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Report-on-9th-Biennial-Pro-Bono-Survey.pdf>
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