Annual report 2014 - parliament.qld.gov.au · to provide leadership, practical solutions and reliable support. We represent and promote Queensland’s legal professionals, increase

Annual report 2014.15

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i

About us Queensland Law Society is the peak representative body for solicitors in Queensland, providing leadership in law to more than 1 2,600 members.

Our vision

To lead the legal profession by advocating for good law and supporting good lawyers.

We provide a dynamic hub for the state’s legal community by actively engaging with our members and with the public to provide leadership, practical solutions and reliable support.

We represent and promote Queensland’s legal professionals, increase community understanding of the law, help protect the rights of individuals, and advise the community about the many benefits solicitors can provide.

We assist legal practitioners to continually improve their services by offering high-quality products and services to help them maintain and build their professional skills, legal practice, wellbeing and careers.

We represent members’ and the community’s interests by advising the Government on improvements to laws affecting Queenslanders, and working to improve their access to justice.

We help members to resolve ethical dilemmas, and provide practical tools for assessing problems and guiding ethical decision-making through our Ethics Centre.

We support members with information and advice for trust account compliance and Guidance Statements to set a high standard of professionalism and trust in Queensland solicitors and help them manage potential issues in legal practice.

We have obligations under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (LPA) in respect to the profession’s compliance with the trust account provisions of the LPA, external intervention of law practices and managing the Fidelity Guarantee Fund. We are also responsible for the provision of practising certificates to lawyers in Queensland under s52 of the LPA.

The world has changed since the Society’s inception but our purpose remains steadfast: to serve good law and support good lawyers in Queensland.

Lexon Insurance is a wholly-owned subsidiary company of the Society and is a captive insurer providing professional indemnity insurance to members of the Queensland legal profession.

Our History

1873 The first initiative to found Queensland Law Society begins.

1883 The remnants of the first Queensland Law Society form into Queensland Law Association.

1927 Legislation incorporating Queensland Law Society is passed in 1927 and comes into force in 1928.

1931 The Society introduces the Fidelity Guarantee Fund to protect clients from defaulting solicitors.

1938-39 Solicitors prepare soldier’s wills and powers of attorney without charge as a Society initiative.

1940-41 The Society implements wartime legal aid schemes for servicemen and their dependents. Beryl Donkin becomes the Society’s first full-time employee.

1952 Queensland Law Society Act 1952 consolidates the 1927 Act and the 1930 Amendment Act.

1981 The first Law Society House is established at 96 Albert Street, Brisbane.

1982 The Society’s Proctor magazine is launched.

1987 The Society moves into its current home, Law Society House at 179 Ann Street, Brisbane.

1993 Membership records are entered into a computerised database.

2005 Continuing professional development becomes mandatory.

2008 LawCare introduced as a member assistance program providing free, confidential and voluntary counselling services.

2015 Queensland Law Society introduces Guidance Statements to the profession.

Our mission

To be the profession’s trusted advisor through providing quality advice, advocacy, and learning and professional development for our members.

Our values

Our values frame our service delivery, legal profession leadership and internal and external relationships.

Respect We value people and acknowledge their contributions.

Integrity We are honest and fair in our actions.

Service We work together to anticipate needs, exceed expectations and honour commitments.

Queensland Law Society | Annual report 2014.15

1 Annual report 2014.15 | Queensland Law Society

About this reportQueensland Law Society’s 2014-15 annual report presents our corporate performance information for the period 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015.

This report records our activities, achievements and challenges for the 2014-15 financial year and evaluates them against strategic and operational planning objectives. It also provides a summary of our strategic plan and future priorities.

Queensland Law Society is incorporated under the Legal Profession Act 2007 and defined as a statutory body under the Financial Accountability Act 2009. Our member-elected Council includes an Attorney-General’s nominee and maintains our independence in governance. Our annual report corresponds with Queensland Government reporting requirements.

This report aligns with the Society’s 2013-18 strategic plan and measures our performance against four strategic objectives.

Good law, good lawyers is the theme of our 2014-15 annual report, reflecting our vision to lead the profession by advocating for good law and supporting good lawyers. The report demonstrates how we are:

• the voice of the legal profession in Queensland and represent the interests of Queensland lawyers

• our members’ trusted advisor in the areas of ethics, advocacy, practice management and professional development, and

• a membership society keeping the bar high when it comes to professional and regulatory standards.

Our commitment to accessibility

This annual report can be accessed at qls.com.au/annual-reports, via the Queensland Parliament website or in print form by contacting us (see below). You can access recent annual reports via our website.

Please contact us if you require assistance in understanding the annual report or for referral to interpreter services.

Our open data reports can be accessed via data.qld.gov.au.

Feedback

If you have feedback or questions about content in this annual report, please contact:

Law Society House, 179 Ann Street, Brisbane Qld 4000

1300 367 757

[email protected]

qls.com.au/annual-reports

8 September 2015

The Honourable Yvette D’Ath MP Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Level 18, State Law Building 50 Ann Street Brisbane Qld 4000

Dear Ms D’Ath,

I am pleased to present the Annual Report 2014-2015 and financial statements for Queensland Law Society.

I certify that this Annual Report complies with:

• the prescribed requirements of the Financial Accountability Act 2009 and the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009, and

• the detailed requirements set out in the Annual report requirements for Queensland Government agencies.

A checklist outlining the annual reporting requirements can be found on page 142 of this document.

Yours sincerely

Michael Fitzgerald President Queensland Law Society

Contents About us i

Year in review 2

Highlights 2014-15 4

Performance overview 6

President’s review 8

CEO’s review 10

Membership snapshot 12

Serving our members 13

Leading our profession 29

Developing our culture 41

Ensuring our sustainability 51

Financial statements 61

Glossary 140

Index 141

Appendix 1: Compliance checklist 142

© Queensland Law Society Incorporated 2015 | ISSN: 2205-4820



http://data.qld.gov.au


http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/tabled-papers/online-tabled-papers

2 Queensland Law Society | Annual report 2014.15

July

18 Early Career Lawyers Conference 2014

25 Best Lawyers Breakfast to celebrate 100 of Queensland’s top lawyers

25 Event with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) to mark the 100-year anniversary of the introduction of family provision legislation in Queensland

August

7-9 29th Annual Family Law Residential 2014

11 Release of the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012 in Practice: A Commentary for Australian Legal Practitioners

15 8th Annual Government Lawyers’ Conference 2014

22 Annual District Law Association Presidents’ Workshop, featuring a conversation with the Chief Justice

September

5 Criminal Law Conference 2014

10 We welcome changes to land sales laws which include a number of the Society’s recommendations

11-12 15th Annual Property Law Conference 2014

18 Mental Health Breakfast for early career lawyers to hear personal stories and learn best practice strategies for coping with the challenges of legal practice

29 Society concerns about the proposed Major Events Bill allowing event volunteers to search people, their possessions and vehicles were outlined at the parliamentary committee public hearing into the Bill. Subsequent amendments to the Bill took into consideration some of the Society’s concerns

October

16 The Society welcomes Judge Kerry O’Brien’s appointment as Chief Judge of the District Court

17 14th Annual Personal Injuries Conference 2014

23 We sponsor the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation Annual Lecture

24 2013 Society president Annette Bradfi eld wins the fi rst Women Lawyers Association of Queensland Award for Excellence in Leadership

31 We congratulate Queensland’s new Legal Services Commissioner, Paul Clauson, on his appointment

31-1 Annual Succession and Elder Law Residential 2014

November

7 The Society hosts the Annual National Ethics Offi cer Discussion Forum, bringing together ethics lawyers from all states and territories to exchange ideas and discuss issues for the profession

14-16 Brisbane hosts the G20, with Society members volunteering as independent legal observers

21 Annual Conveyancing Conference 2014

24 White Ribbon Day breakfast to raise awareness of domestic violence against women and children

Year in review The 2014-15 financial year was a productive and full period for Queensland Law Society across all areas of the organisation and the broader profession. Below are highlights from our year.


December

4 Society Annual General Meeting

5 Specialist Accreditation Christmas breakfast with the Chief Justice

January

1 Michael Fitzgerald commences as 2015 Queensland Law Society president, succeeding 2014 president Ian Brown

15 Release of our Call to Parties document, highlighting nine priority issues important for legal professionals. Responses from the major political parties were received prior to the Queensland election

26 Leaders in the legal profession recognised in the Australia Day Honours List

29 New year profession drinks

May

5 Guidance Statement No.2: Ongoing Costs Disclosures released

9 Inaugural Queensland Law Society Touch Football Tournament for law fi rms

12 Law Week Queensland Legal Walk in support of QPILCH

13 Open Day at Law Society House

14 In Focus: Mental Health in the Legal Profession breakfast seminar, with guest speaker Federal Court Justice Shane Marshall

15 Society Annual Ball

19 Launch of Queensland Handbook for Practitioners on Legal Capacity, endorsed by the Society, with contributions from our Ethics Centre

June

2 MemberConnect breakfast celebrating Best Lawyers and discussing the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement

4 Appointment of our new CEO, Amelia Hodge announced

19 Gold Coast Symposium 2015

30 Noela L’Estrange concludes her six-year term as Society CEO

30 Guidance Statements No.3 and No.4 released

February

16 We welcome new Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath

20 Annual Legal Profession Dinner with the keynote address, ‘A True Profession’, by High Court Justice Patrick Keane

27 Guidance Statement No.1: Undertakings released

March

9 Annual Legal Careers Expo in Brisbane for students interested in joining the legal profession

20-21 QLS Symposium 2015

April

10 Inaugural Society Law Revue, spearheaded by early career lawyers

30 Annual Gold Coast Early Career Lawyers Networking Evening

http://www.qls.com.au


MEMBERSHIP PARTIC

IPAT

ION

TA

RG

ET

> 90

%

Highlights 2014-15

In 2014-15 we achieved the following outcomes against our key performance indicators set out in our Corporate Plan 2014-15.

Improvement in staff engagement results in relation to all QLS staff

Members’ satisfaction scores out of 5

Feeling well-informed about what is happening in QLS

FROM 56%TO 82%

L&PD events

4.4

Law Society House

4.7Ethics bespoke sessions

4.5

Confident that the Society can achieve its strategic goals

FROM 34%TO 65%

Satisfied with the Society’s reputation in the legal profession

FROM 43%TO 70%

Compliance reviews and trust account investigations

4.8

89%

OF PC HOLDERS ARE FULL MEMBERS


2015 Beaton Benchmarks Associations Report

Financial targets

For the year ended 30 June 2015 the Group made an operating surplus before tax of $19.7m. Increased memberships and insurance levies were offset by lower investment returns resulting in an overall reduction in revenue for the year. Whilst revenues were down, a significant drop in claim expenses more than offset the decline in revenue which led to an operating surplus before tax of $19.7m compared to $10.6m for last year.

Consolidated

2015 $m

2014 $m

Revenues from membership activities (parent) 16.0 16.0

Insurance scheme revenues 31.4 30.3

Investment income 8.3 12.0

Other income 1.3 1.4

57.0 59.8Expenses:

Membership related 3.3 3.1

Admin, employee costs and depreciation 18.7 18.1

Claims and insurance related costs 15.3 28.0

37.3 49.2

Operating surplus before tax 19.7 10.6

2010(n=734)

6.79

81%

2014(n=1103)

7.13

84%

2015(n=1182)

7.09

82%

67%

79% 77%

6.39

2010(n=701)

2014(n=1082)

2015(n=1164)

7.11 7.08

Member engagement Overall performance

% +ve Mean n=number of participants surveyed

2015

18.3m

2014

18.5m

Other Income

Investment Income

Grants and Funding

Services and Events

Membership and Practitioner Fees

Revenue (parent company)


Performance overview

Initiatives Actions 2014-15 Targets 2014-15 Achieved 2014-15 Aims 2015-16

Serving our members

Develop member value propositions for priority segments so that we understand where our members are in terms of experience, employment and location and grow membership and uptake of membership offerings through better and targeted offers to members

Develop member value proposition framework for segments of the profession

Commence use of member value propositions in marketing materials and product development

Participate in the 2015 Beaton Benchmarks Associations Report in order to gauge improvements from 2014

Membership participation > 90% of practising certificate holders

û Membership participation rate achieved 88.8% Grow membership and member engagement by implementing our marketing strategy and finalising our membership strategy

Improved QLS member satisfaction scores in response to the 2015 Beaton Benchmarks Associations Report

û No change in 2015 Beaton Benchmarks results – overall performance score down from 2014 score by .03 (0.2%); member engagement score down by .04 (0.3%)

Leading the profession

Develop the ethics offering so that we demonstrate leadership in applied legal ethics through education of the profession and our publications

Prepare and present applied legal ethics seminars for priority member segments and key QLS conferences and seminars/webinars

Prepare and present regular ethics guidance topics in QLS Update, HUB News, Proctor and the Ethics web page

Present a minimum of three bespoke presentations each quarter ü Target substantially exceeded, with presentations to 32 firms

delivered over the yearContinue to monitor as business as usual

Delegates’ evaluation target of 4.3 met ü Average presentation evaluation score at 4.47 exceeded target

Regular publications across a range of media maintained ü Significant publication commitment exceeded expectations

Set and uphold professional standards so that we establish and strengthen our position in setting standards for the profession

Settle and agree a process for the development and approval of Guidance Statements

Prepare and deliver Guidance Statements in accordance with a plan

List of issues and concerns prepared and agreed by Professional Standards and Ethics Centre by 9 September 2014

ü Guidance Statement Protocol approved by Ethics Committee on 19 August 2014, ahead of target

Continue to monitor as business as usual

Project plan agreed, project team identified, project milestones and targets set by 31 October 2014

ü All project milestones met, with four Guidance Statements published by 30 June 2015 and several more in progress

Project milestones and targets met at end of each month

Advocate for good law so that we maintain our leadership position for the profession and address issues critical to the profession and the community

Monitor policy committee composition to ensure it reflects membership demographics and segments and maintains churn rate below 18%

Monitor policy committee programs to ensure deliverables are achieved

Maintain ratio of 1:3 submissions to government departments and agencies as successful

Lift number of positive mentions of Queensland Law Society advocacy in Hansard

Representation levels met:

• Large 30%• Medium 10%• Small 20%• Micro 20%• Sole/associate 20%Churn rate maintained

û Churn rates on committees were low but representative targets were not met in respect to large firms (26.3%, target 30%) and micro (13.6%, target 20%). Sole/associate targets were exceeded

Deliver proactive and strategic advocacy which effectively applies the skills and knowledge of our volunteer members

Policy committee program deliverables achieved ü Policy committees delivered reactive submissions on time and to a

high standard. Committees broadly achieved the initiatives in their Annual Programs, although many initiatives are set to be pursued over several years

Success ratio of 1:3 achieved û QLS submissions made were of high quality, but success rates for the year were slightly below target at 1:3.31

Hansard mentions increased by 5% (FY14 = 200)

û QLS received significantly fewer mentions in Hansard, being 60 as opposed to the previous year’s figure of 262, reflecting the small legislative agenda and election break for Parliament

Developing our culture

Implement the first stage of Project Sapphire (a 3-4 year project) aimed at ensuring that our team comprises people focused on the “delivery of excellence”, the Society is a workplace with a culture of continuous improvement and we grow internal business capability

Develop comprehensive project plan Implement project as per project plan, focusing on:

• improving engagement and communication (keeping our people informed and having the opportunity to input into our strategic direction and decision making)

• creating a ‘service excellence’ ethos across the organisation (in terms of quality, timeliness, knowledge and value-add)

• enhancing our project management capability and capacity (in terms of quality, timeliness, efficiency and delivery)

• development of a targeted brand communication strategy and roll out of Good Law. Good Lawyers branding

Staff engagement results to show improvement on following measures:

• Feeling well informed about what is happening in QLS

• Confidence that QLS can achieve its strategic goal

• Satisfaction with QLS’s reputation with the profession.

ü Feeling well informed about what is happening in QLS, up by 26% to 82%; Confidence that QLS can deliver on its strategic plan up by 31% to 65%; Satisfaction with QLS’s reputation with the profession up by 27% to 70%

Embed our culture of service excellence to members at an individual and divisional level and pursue opportunities for process improvement (Project Sapphire Phase 2)

Delivery of project to schedule on time on budget ü All program deliverables were achieved

Improved feedback from staff on 360 leadership surveys to assess leadership impact

! Not yet measured. Leadership development program is ongoing in 2015-16

Improved knowledge, capability and service delivery (as measured through internal staff surveys)

! Benchmarks established by service excellence survey. 2015-16 Learning & Development plan in place with a clear alignment towards building greater knowledge, awareness and understanding of our members and core elements of our business

Queensland Law Society has identified four areas of focus to help us achieve our vision of leading the legal profession by advocating for good law and supporting good lawyers.

This report is structured to present our achievements against each of these areas of focus:

1. serving our members – aiming to grow membership (see pages 13-28);

2. leading our profession – through setting professional standards, providing ethical guidance and targeted advocacy (see pages 29-40);

3. developing our culture – creating a culture of excellence in member service (see pages 41-50); and

4. ensuring our sustainability – by strengthening our financial sustainability (see pages 51-60).

In line with our mantra to ‘do less better’, our corporate plan 2014-15 identified five priority projects for our focus this year. We set out our performance against these five corporate plan projects in the table on the right.


Performance overview

Initiatives Actions 2014-15 Targets 2014-15 Achieved 2014-15 Aims 2015-16

Serving our members

Develop member value propositions for priority segments so that we understand where our members are in terms of experience, employment and location and grow membership and uptake of membership offerings through better and targeted offers to members

Develop member value proposition framework for segments of the profession

Commence use of member value propositions in marketing materials and product development

Participate in the 2015 Beaton Benchmarks Associations Report in order to gauge improvements from 2014

Membership participation > 90% of practising certificate holders

û Membership participation rate achieved 88.8% Grow membership and member engagement by implementing our marketing strategy and finalising our membership strategy

Improved QLS member satisfaction scores in response to the 2015 Beaton Benchmarks Associations Report

û No change in 2015 Beaton Benchmarks results – overall performance score down from 2014 score by .03 (0.2%); member engagement score down by .04 (0.3%)

Leading the profession

Develop the ethics offering so that we demonstrate leadership in applied legal ethics through education of the profession and our publications

Prepare and present applied legal ethics seminars for priority member segments and key QLS conferences and seminars/webinars

Prepare and present regular ethics guidance topics in QLS Update, HUB News, Proctor and the Ethics web page

Present a minimum of three bespoke presentations each quarter ü Target substantially exceeded, with presentations to 32 firms

delivered over the yearContinue to monitor as business as usual

Delegates’ evaluation target of 4.3 met ü Average presentation evaluation score at 4.47 exceeded target

Regular publications across a range of media maintained ü Significant publication commitment exceeded expectations

Set and uphold professional standards so that we establish and strengthen our position in setting standards for the profession

Settle and agree a process for the development and approval of Guidance Statements

Prepare and deliver Guidance Statements in accordance with a plan

List of issues and concerns prepared and agreed by Professional Standards and Ethics Centre by 9 September 2014

ü Guidance Statement Protocol approved by Ethics Committee on 19 August 2014, ahead of target

Continue to monitor as business as usual

Project plan agreed, project team identified, project milestones and targets set by 31 October 2014

ü All project milestones met, with four Guidance Statements published by 30 June 2015 and several more in progress

Project milestones and targets met at end of each month

Advocate for good law so that we maintain our leadership position for the profession and address issues critical to the profession and the community

Monitor policy committee composition to ensure it reflects membership demographics and segments and maintains churn rate below 18%

Monitor policy committee programs to ensure deliverables are achieved

Maintain ratio of 1:3 submissions to government departments and agencies as successful

Lift number of positive mentions of Queensland Law Society advocacy in Hansard

Representation levels met:

• Large 30%• Medium 10%• Small 20%• Micro 20%• Sole/associate 20%Churn rate maintained

û Churn rates on committees were low but representative targets were not met in respect to large firms (26.3%, target 30%) and micro (13.6%, target 20%). Sole/associate targets were exceeded

Deliver proactive and strategic advocacy which effectively applies the skills and knowledge of our volunteer members

Policy committee program deliverables achieved ü Policy committees delivered reactive submissions on time and to a

high standard. Committees broadly achieved the initiatives in their Annual Programs, although many initiatives are set to be pursued over several years

Success ratio of 1:3 achieved û QLS submissions made were of high quality, but success rates for the year were slightly below target at 1:3.31

Hansard mentions increased by 5% (FY14 = 200)

û QLS received significantly fewer mentions in Hansard, being 60 as opposed to the previous year’s figure of 262, reflecting the small legislative agenda and election break for Parliament


Implement the first stage of Project Sapphire (a 3-4 year project) aimed at ensuring that our team comprises people focused on the “delivery of excellence”, the Society is a workplace with a culture of continuous improvement and we grow internal business capability

Develop comprehensive project plan Implement project as per project plan, focusing on:

• improving engagement and communication (keeping our people informed and having the opportunity to input into our strategic direction and decision making)

• creating a ‘service excellence’ ethos across the organisation (in terms of quality, timeliness, knowledge and value-add)

• enhancing our project management capability and capacity (in terms of quality, timeliness, efficiency and delivery)

• development of a targeted brand communication strategy and roll out of Good Law. Good Lawyers branding

Staff engagement results to show improvement on following measures:

• Feeling well informed about what is happening in QLS

• Confidence that QLS can achieve its strategic goal

• Satisfaction with QLS’s reputation with the profession.

ü Feeling well informed about what is happening in QLS, up by 26% to 82%; Confidence that QLS can deliver on its strategic plan up by 31% to 65%; Satisfaction with QLS’s reputation with the profession up by 27% to 70%

Embed our culture of service excellence to members at an individual and divisional level and pursue opportunities for process improvement (Project Sapphire Phase 2)

Delivery of project to schedule on time on budget ü All program deliverables were achieved

Improved feedback from staff on 360 leadership surveys to assess leadership impact

! Not yet measured. Leadership development program is ongoing in 2015-16

Improved knowledge, capability and service delivery (as measured through internal staff surveys)

! Benchmarks established by service excellence survey. 2015-16 Learning & Development plan in place with a clear alignment towards building greater knowledge, awareness and understanding of our members and core elements of our business


President’s review

My focus during 2015 is on the law as a profession and the challenges and opportunities we face. I am focused on how we, as a Society, can best meet our members’ needs and represent the profession right across Queensland.

The handbook is available electronically on our website, and I encourage practitioners to utilise this important new resource.

A Society for all of Queensland

I am always conscious that we are a Society for the whole of Queensland and, during my tenure as Queensland Law Society president, I have committed to visiting regional areas and connecting with members outside of Brisbane.

During the past six months, I have visited locations such as Mackay, Gympie, the Gold Coast, Bundaberg, Maryborough, Hervey Bay, Rockhampton, Cairns, the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Townsville and Innisfail.

Involvement in regional activities, including professional development programs and networking events, ensures we stay connected with all members to discuss practice issues and understand the local legal environment. It is this understanding of our profession which is essential for the Society to help the profession adapt to change and seize opportunities to improve our offerings to members.

Improving our business agility

This year I have been engaging with the new Queensland Government to advance our members’ decision to transition the Society from a statutory corporation and public authority to a corporate entity.

Corporatisation will empower our Society to increase its business agility and reduce the red tape which we currently experience as a public authority. Without the burden of gazetted forms and weighty statutory compliance, the Society will flourish in achieving its strategic goals.

In my aim of consolidating the Society’s position with its members and our Government, I reiterate that Queensland Law Society is an organisation driven by the rule of the law, by service to our members and by understanding the power of these contributions to our broader community.

Corporatisation would leave us more flexible, agile and able to respond more quickly to our overriding aim in meeting the needs of our members.

Guiding the profession

I believe that the bedrock of true professionalism is a guarantee of quality, a guarantee of expertise and a guarantee of empathy. Solicitors are held to a higher standard, and it is important to know that your peers are also striving alongside you.

In furtherance of that goal, the Society produced the first four in a series of Guidance Statements this year. We are proud of these documents as they are a concrete outcome of our firm belief that a profession should set its own standards of conduct.

The Society’s Guidance Statements help you to maintain appropriate professional standards. If you would like copies of these statements, please visit the Society’s website.

They are but one of a number of tools the Society has developed to ease the pressure on our profession, and I urge all practitioners as part of their duty to the profession to ensure that they read each one as more are released.

I extend my personal thanks, and that of Queensland Law Society Council, to the team who have contributed to the preparation of these statements, including members of our Ethics Committee and Ethics Centre staff.

The voice of the profession

During my term, my aim is to ensure that Queensland Law Society is seen as setting the standards of the profession in Queensland for solicitors. I am committed to listening to members, obtaining their feedback, and trying to make members’ involvement in the Society beneficial for all concerned.

I believe in good law and supporting good lawyers, which I will continue to advocate for during my time as president.

This year, we released a key resource in support of the profession. Our Call to Parties document, issued prior to the 2015 state election, highlighted nine priority issues important for legal professionals. Queensland’s law reform process, access to justice, access to fair injuries’ compensation and criminal law in Queensland were among the listed issues.

We were pleased that both major political parties responded to our Call to Parties and we now use this document as a measure to keep the Government accountable to the profession and the general public.

I have made myself available to media this year to provide comment on numerous legal issues and current headlines. In instances where the Society has a clear-cut position, I will speak to the media, issue a press release or refer the media to members working in the relevant area of practice or region for comment.

I was pleased to endorse the Queensland Handbook for Practitioners on Legal Capacity, launched at Allens by Supreme Court Judge, the Honourable Justice Ann Lyons, earlier this year. This handbook is the product of significant work by Queensland Advocacy Incorporated and Allens, with input from members of our Ethics Centre.


Your contribution to the community

I would like to particularly thank all practitioners who volunteered their services pro bono this year. For the second time in Queensland, solicitors were asked how many pro bono hours they expected to volunteer in 2014-15 via our renewals process.

An impressive 25% of eligible solicitors responded with their pro bono hours, stating they gave a total of 192,914.60 hours, which is an increase of 27,827.60 hours compared to 2013-14. That equates to an average 73.35 hours per respondent, an increase of 4.7 hours. The value of this work is more than $48.2 million. These numbers do not include members who work solely for community legal centres.

This information provides a much clearer picture of how much our profession gives back to the community, and is vital in communicating the valuable contribution our legal profession makes to society.

In 2014, Brisbane hosted the G20 Leaders Summit, which saw leaders from around the world descend upon the city. This event resulted in some disruptions to the courts, and I thank Brisbane legal professionals for their cooperation and patience.

I would also like to make special mention of members who volunteered and trained as independent legal observers for the event.

Thank you and farewell

I would like to take this opportunity to recognise and thank Noela L’Estrange, whose term as the Society’s CEO after six years of service, managing the Society’s operations and acting as the conduit between presidents, Council, members and Queensland Law Society staff ended on 30 June 2015.

Noela has been essential in ensuring the appropriate operational management of the Society and delivering our strategic and corporate plans. She has led extensive change during her term and, as a result, I believe the Society is a more strategic, more focused organisation.

On behalf of Council and our staff, I thank her for her significant service, without which the Society would not be where it is today.

The Council has appointed a new CEO, Amelia Hodge, to commence in that role on 20 July 2015.

I will continue the work of past presidents throughout my tenure, and am grateful to be in the greater service of the profession in which I have worked for more than 30 years. I am striving to make this one of the most fulfilling opportunities of my life so far. I have enjoyed meeting members across Queensland and look forward to sharing it with more members as I traverse the state during the remainder of my term as president.

Michael Fitzgerald President


CEO’s review

This year we embarked on an ambitious internal and external change project. Phase 1 focuses on strengthening our service excellence across the whole organisation and is fundamental in repositioning Queensland Law Society for the future.

Gauge survey (see page 43) revealed the depth of commitment from staff in helping members across not only day-to-day practice but also in understanding the important role they play in the legal system. More than 94% of staff members actively engaged in this survey, reinforcing our strong levels of customer-focused dedication and highlighting the opportunity for us to build upon this.

Members are already making comments to me about positive changes they see in how proactive, attentive and helpful our staff are. We will continue our work on growing staff skills and capability, as well as embedding the service expectations we have set in the coming year.

Improving our performance

This year saw a range of initiatives achieve positive results.

We have raised the standard of our offerings to ensure that we are timely and expert. We are focused on ensuring that information is available in various forms and accessible through channels that suit members. Our work over the past two years in reviewing our professional development offerings has culminated in outstanding attendance and satisfaction levels for all of our major conferences this year. Our webinars continue to grow in popularity and a dedicated marketing campaign for DVDs resulted in a 7% increase in DVD sales.

Continuing to assist the profession, in August 2014 we were the first in Australia to publish a complete annotated commentary on the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules.

This publication has been accessed via our website 4,573 times over the year, proving its worth as an invaluable professional resource for solicitors.

Throughout the year we provided 32 ethics in-house sessions to medium and large firms, raising the Society’s profile and resulting in more members from those firms joining our various committees. Our other activities included conference sessions, regional intensives and the launch of recent Queensland Law Society ethics resources, including our Guidance Statements.

Our prudential management of the Fidelity Guarantee Fund and commitment to supporting practitioners in appropriate professional conduct resulted in a 49% reduction in fund fees for renewing practitioners. We will continue to maintain the integrity of the fund.

Supporting the practitioners of the future

This year we increased focus on our student members. From this group the members of tomorrow will emerge.

We invested more time into working with the deans of Queensland law schools to enhance their understanding of what and where the demand for solicitors is, and what their students will experience when in practice. With the demographics and challenges in our profession constantly evolving, it is vital that we foster the links between universities and professional bodies, along with sharing information and learnings among us. This will not only benefit today’s students, but also the future of the profession.

Embracing cultural change

The change project, known internally as Project Sapphire, recognises that to be effective in leading the profession, we must continue to listen to and understand the needs of our members.

We have invested a large amount of energy into analysing and harnessing our member information. Understanding post-admission experience, areas of practice, geographic location and size of firm helps us to devise appropriate support for our members throughout their careers. We have talked with members across the state and engaged them to review various aspects of our organisation, including our website. Every team has repositioned its outlook to view the Society from the members’ perspective. The development of an enhanced understanding of what is important to our members is fundamental to continually improving the products and services we provide, how we deliver them and ensuring they are easily accessible for our members.

We have focused on ensuring that all our teams understand the big picture, and how the different parts of our business work together for the good of our profession. Managers have undertaken training in leading their teams to help each other manage change and create a culture of excellent member service. We have identified key service expectations for which we will hold each other accountable across all levels of the organisation.

I am delighted at the staff response to this program. More than 30% are active participants in internal working groups on issues such as service excellence, communication and engagement and project management. Our Strategic Culture


Our student member numbers increased by 14.4%, reflecting our success in attending university careers expos and one-on-one interactions with law students. More than 500 students attended the Society’s annual Legal Careers Expo in 2015 and in excess of 2,400 student members now have access to specific, relevant resources via the Society’s website.

We have also recently launched our student ambassador program, providing the opportunity for students to become actively engaged with the Society.

Thank you and farewell

This is my final CEO review and annual report, as my term as CEO ended on 30 June 2015.

I thank the seven presidents and the three Councils with whom I have worked, my countless friends and colleagues in the profession – including four Attorneys-General, three Premiers and many members

of the judiciary in all jurisdictions – and academics who have added to my enjoyment of this role. I look forward to continuing my participation in the profession as a member.

I also sincerely thank Queensland Law Society staff, who strive constantly to ensure that the Society is an organisation our members value and a place where our staff enjoy coming to work.

Thank you also to our members. It has been a pleasure to represent and to serve you.

I am immensely proud to have led the Society for the past six years and I know that our people will continue to deliver on our vision to lead the profession by advocating for good law and supporting good lawyers.

Noela L’Estrange Chief Executive Officer


Membership snapshot

Memberships by generation, category and gender

Full Associate Student HonoraryGeneration* Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Total %

Builder 124 9 18 3 1 0 58 2 215 1.7%

Baby Boomer 1712 544 120 98 70 56 26 21 2647 21.0%

Generation X 1814 1578 87 118 163 255 3 0 4018 31.9%

Generation Y 1382 2366 36 63 574 1089 0 0 5510 43.7%

Generation Z 0 0 0 0 62 146 0 0 208 1.7%

Not categorised 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 0.0%

Subtotal 5032 4497 261 282 870 1546 93 23 – –

Total 9529 543 2416 116 12,604 100%

Bui

lder

Bab

y B

oom

er

Gen

erat

ion

X

Gen

erat

ion

Y

1331.38%

225623.67%

339235.59%

374839.30%

60.06%

Not

cat

egor

ised

Large (50+ PCs)

26%1794

Single (1 PC)

11%769

Micro (2-5PCs)

28%1896

Small (6-19 PCs)

24%1643

Medium (20-49 PCs)

11%732

Members by law firm size#

More than half (51.79%) of the Society’s full members working in law firms are in micro and small firms and 26.25% are in large firms.

There was a 9.75% rise in the number of full members in small firms and a 6.65% increase in sole practitioners.

Age of solicitors (full members)

Generation Y remain the largest group among full members, with female practitioners dominating this category, accounting for 63% of the age group. Generation Y and Generation X together make up 75% of our full members.

* Generation category and year of birth range Builders 1925-1945, Baby Boomers 1946-1964, Generation X 1965-1979, Generation Y 1980-1994, Generation Z 1995-2010, Not categorised pre 1925

# Note: Full members who are in-house counsel, government solicitors, community legal centre practitioners, consultants or academics are not included in these figures.

Gender of full members

The year-on-year growth of female full members continues the trend of the previous year, with numbers increasing by 86, which is a 1.95% increase on last year’s total. By contrast, the number of male full members dropped slightly, by 0.08%.

Male

52.8% 5032

Female

47.2% 4497

Serving our members


Serving our membersKey outcomes for 2014-15

3,541 delegates attended 72 Society events

Legal support staff course enrolments increased by 29%

The Practice Management Course attracted a record 269 participants

Student members increased by 14.4%

Queensland Law Society is focused on providing comprehensive professional development offerings to meet member needs regardless of practice location. We offer a range of conferences, seminars, webinars, specialist accreditation workshops, practice support, and other professional development resources to assist the profession in practice.

Essentials Series

The Essentials Series is aimed at early career lawyers who are in the first five years of their practising career. We held nine Essentials workshops, with the most popular being those on litigation and pleadings, evidence law, contracts, and domestic violence applications. The Essentials: Criminal Law session was our highest-rated event, achieving a perfect overall rating of 5 from delegates.

Feedback included:

“ Very engaging presenters who provided valuable practical advice and tips.”

“ Related well to present experiences as a new solicitor.”

We also held a mental health breakfast seminar for early career lawyers, at which two early career practitioners provided a candid insight into their experiences. This event rated high at 4.8 and was well-attended with 40 delegates.

Masterclass Series

We again ran our Masterclass Series for senior practitioners who wish to increase their skills and knowledge in their practice area. Our 12 Masterclasses were popular, with the largest attendances at those on self-managed superannuation, family law, drafting family orders and the Personal Property Security Act (PPSA). For the first time, we ran four Masterclasses in the same practice areas being assessed in the Specialist Accreditation program for 2015, and utilised previous assessments as a basis for these Masterclasses. These were popular with candidates of the Specialist Accreditation program and practitioners in general.

A successful year of assisting the profession

This year, our professional development offerings proved successful. We held 72 events including conferences, seminars, workshops, webinars, regional and complimentary events, which was a 16% increase on the number of events in last year’s program. Sold-out events included the Criminal Law, Government Lawyers and Conveyancing conferences and the BCIPA (Building and Construction Industry Payments Act) Intensive.

An impressive 3,541 delegates attended Society events, surpassing our target numbers by 4%. As the governing body for continuing professional development (CPD) in Queensland, we are pleased to see increasing interest in purchasing DVDs of seminars, with a 7% increase in sales this year. Total CPD hours claimed increased by 10%, with our average satisfaction ratings across all events rising to 4.4 out of 5.

We would like to thank our presenters for their expertise and commitment. There were 655 sessions presented at Society events, achieving an average presenter rating of 4.3 from delegates, whose feedback response rates rose to 58%.

Offering development for all career stages

The Society aims to deliver professional development opportunities which suit individuals wherever they are in their careers, and which focus on their interests and needs in practice. The success of this year’s offerings indicates that we are identifying member needs and delivering relevant content.

Serving our members


Feedback from this year’s program indicated that delegates enjoyed the interactive and practical format of sessions as well as the discussion of issues and situations encountered in everyday practice. These sessions received an average rating of 4.5.

Webinars

The Society is focused on providing professional development opportunities which suit members and their staff, regardless of practice location and time constraints. This has resulted in our webinars being an increasingly accepted option. This year, 15 paid and two complimentary webinars attracted an average of 40 participants per webinar, with one drawing 106 participants. Topics in this year’s offerings included workers’ compensation, tax, and core CPD topics. There was strong interest from practitioners in regional areas.

Legal support staff were targeted with six webinars on topics including trust accounting, property contracts and confidentiality.

Partnership events

This year, we held four partnership events, including a special conference with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) to mark the 100-year anniversary of family provision application legislation. This high- quality event drew 113 delegates, received a 4.6 satisfaction rating, and featured presentations by members of the judiciary, barristers and accredited specialists.

The Annual Family Law Residential in 2014 was held in partnership with the Family Law Practitioners Association (FLPA) attracting 376 delegates. The Annual BCIPA Intensive held in partnership with the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia (IAMA) sold out, with 67 delegates, and our joint event with the Bar Association Queensland (BAQ) and the Australian Tax Office (ATO) on taxation and revenue law was also a success.

Preparing practitioners for E-Conveyancing

With the introduction of E-Conveyancing in mid-2015, we ran a number of relevant events throughout the year that focused on preparing practices for this process, explaining the revised Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) contracts. Two complimentary webinars filled quickly, and panel sessions at QLS Symposium 2015, the Property Law Conference 2014 and the Conveyancing Conference 2014 were well-attended.

At the time of this report, E-Conveyancing had not yet passed through the Queensland Parliament. We will continue to provide the necessary training and information in the lead-up to the launch.

High-calibre international presenters

The Society is focused on bringing a wide range of expert presenters to member events in support of good law and good lawyers. This year, we hosted three international presenters at key events:

• Megan Hunter, founder and CEO of Life Unhooked in Los Angeles, presented the keynote address at the Family Law Residential 2014. She also presented a Masterclass on dealing with high-conflict people. Delegates described Megan as “brilliant, engaging, inspirational, informative” and “a pleasure to listen to”.

• Kim Wright is a former litigation lawyer, independent scholar and pioneer of the Integrative Law Movement. She conducted a workshop on conscious contracts and how to strategically contribute to your client’s business by understanding the trend in legal practice that focuses on value-based legal documents. Delegates described Kim as “fascinating, refreshing” and were appreciative of the challenge to think outside the square.

• Stuart Teicher is a professional legal educator from the United States who focuses on applied legal ethics and writing instruction. He delivered an entertaining half-day workshop on how to be a ‘rockstar lawyer’. This workshop covered the core CPD topics of writing, social media and time management. Delegates described Stuart as “charismatic, engaging”, and said he delivered useful tips applicable in everyday practice.

Professional development for legal support staff

In addition to our comprehensive offering for solicitors, support staff courses continued to flourish, with 54 students enrolling in the Diploma of Legal Services, the Certificate IV in Legal Services or a single unit from either course. This is a 29% increase in total enrolments on 2013-14, attributed to growing awareness of these high-quality offerings and their flexibility compared with offerings from other providers. We have had 24 diploma graduates and eight certificate graduates so far, with another 26 students completing a single unit.

This year, we launched a fourth course in our introductory series. The introductory courses are based on diploma units and have been consistently well-received, particularly with regional delegates. They are also highly rated by delegates, reflecting their practical and interactive nature. The additional course, ‘Introduction to Civil Litigation’, attracted 10 delegates and achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 4.8.

The introductory course, ‘Introduction to Conveyancing’, attracted the greatest number of delegates and was held twice during the year. It was booked to capacity both times. It continues to be one of our highest-rating offerings.

Serving our members


QLS Symposium 2015 – Stay focused

The theme for QLS Symposium 2015 was ‘Stay focused’, which reflected the need for legal practitioners to focus on building their skills and their businesses in the face of subdued economic conditions and significant change in the delivery of legal services. While delegate numbers were down slightly on the previous year, sponsorship revenue exceeded target, providing a strong financial result for the event.

The hub of our promotional activities for QLS Symposium 2015 was the custom-built website. It was relaunched to market with the full program on 3 November 2014. The website was an outstanding success, receiving more than 19,000 page views and 6,653 unique visits, an increase of traffic and interaction compared with the previous year.

We had an 8% decrease in paying delegates, with 466 practitioners attending. The majority of delegates came from south-east Queensland, with 17% from regional Queensland and three overseas delegates. Although delegate numbers were down, DVD sales were strong in the three months after the event, with many members interested in purchasing stream-specific and core CPD session DVDs. Feedback from delegates also exceeded benchmarks.

QLS Symposium 2015 addressed a number of issues in sessions which received a very positive response from members including:

• ‘Parenting matters and rules of evidence’ (family law stream) – session rating 4.8

• ‘Update: case law, legislation and practice direction’ (commercial litigation stream) – session rating 4.8

• ‘Protecting children’ – the interplay between the State and Federal Courts (family law stream) – session rating 4.7

• ‘Show me the money: how to get your client a share of the pool before the final hearing’ (family law stream) – session rating 4.7

• ‘Mindfulness for Lawyers’ (core CPD stream) – session rating 4.6.

In our opening plenary, ‘Know first, be first, profit first’, futurist Craig Rispin presented thought-provoking data, examples of emerging trends and recent developments in the delivery of legal services using technology. While some delegates appeared sceptical, many found the session stimulating, and felt encouraged to think outside the square in terms of their practice. The session received a 4.1 rating.

One of the most highly-rated sessions provided an introduction to the concept of mindfulness as a strategy for managing workplace stress and maintaining attention. Presenter Petris Lapis, a former lawyer and now consultant and coach, provided evidence on why multi-tasking does not work, and reinforced her message by having delegates complete simple activities to instil mindfulness.

The focus on wellbeing in practice continued with two other core CPD sessions on the importance of leadership, values, culture and KPIs for maintaining wellbeing, and how to manage competing demands in small practices.

A highlight of QLS Symposium 2015 was the annual Symposium Debate. Six legal practitioners faced off to argue that ‘Legal practice was easier 30 years ago’ and they provided entertaining and nostalgic perspectives on the changes they had witnessed first-hand. The debate was presided over by Judge Anne Demack of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, a crowd favourite. It was an entertaining finish to the day’s sessions, and, based on delegate input, the statement was confirmed in the affirmative.

Our cocktail event at the end of the first day, Symposium by Night, was a pleasing success with 200 delegates attending, a 54% increase on the previous year. Guests enjoyed canapés and beverages, live music and catching up with colleagues.

Day 2 was launched with an address to the profession by Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath, who spoke about rebuilding a positive and respectful relationship between the legal profession and the Government.

In the closing plenary, human performance researcher, author and consultant Dr Adam Fraser provided illustrative examples from research in positive psychology to explore how we transition between one interaction and the next in daily practice. He suggested that by using the third space (the gap between roles and environments), we can ‘reset’ and ‘show up’ to the next interaction with a fresh mindset and energy. Dr Fraser’s fascinating and engaging presentation was rated 4.6 and was noted by many delegates as one of the best aspects of QLS Symposium 2015.

Committee chairs

Committee Chair

Continuing Professional Development Rachael Miller, Quinlan Miller & Treston

Early Career Lawyers Greer Oliver, Colin Biggers & Paisley Pty Ltd

Serving our members


Queensland Law Society supports members in their day-to-day practice and in the pursuit of their career goals by offering individual guidance, practice assistance and resources to develop and support good lawyers.

Practice support

Supporting members in their practice

Queensland Law Society’s practice support services help our members to practise efficiently, ethically, profitably and confidently to the highest standards. The Society is committed to assisting the profession to maintain high standards.

This year, our practice support team responded to 508 inquiries on issues such as practice structures, starting a practice and preparing a business plan. This level of inquiry is consistent with the growth in new practices, with 236 new practices established over the year.

The small practice portal on the Society’s website provides practice management guidance materials, a range of practical checklists and an interactive assessment on practice management for members. This portal received 5,345 page views during the year, with the most popular resources being the Incorporated Legal Practice information kit and the checklist for starting a practice.

Practice support tips, also included in our weekly QLS Update e-newsletter, continue to provide guidance for members on topics such as building value in a practice and boosting productivity.

Assisting members by limiting damages costs

The Society protects members through the Limitation of Liability Scheme (the Scheme), which limits the damages that can be awarded against a participating Scheme member in court to $1.5 million. Participation increased this year by 5%, with 4,590 members covered by the Scheme.

We submitted an application in April 2015 to the Professional Standards Councils that would see the Scheme extended for a five-year period from 2016 to 2021. In this application, the Society seeks to extend the operation of the Scheme to other Australian jurisdictions, in order to ensure members are protected for the work they undertake in other jurisdictions.

We have also renewed our efforts to seek protection for incorporated legal practices (ILPs) under the Scheme, by engaging in discussions with the Queensland Attorney-General on the necessary legislative changes that would facilitate this. Although individuals within ILPs are currently protected under the Scheme, this protection does not extend to the actual corporate entity. The Society is hopeful that the necessary changes can be implemented in time for ILPs to be protected under the scheme by 1 July 2016.

Serving our members


Building leadership with the Practice Management Course

The Practice Management Course (PMC) is mandatory for solicitors seeking to become a law practice principal. In Queensland, solicitors are required to successfully complete a PMC in order to apply for a principal practising certificate.

This year, the PMC attracted a record 269 participants, with 81% attending the workshops tailored to small and sole practices, and the remaining 19% attending workshops designed for medium and large practices.

Queensland Law Society sought feedback from PMC participants on their reasons for seeking a principal practising certificate to better understand how we can assist them in their careers. For those wishing to enter into small or sole practices, the decision appears to be based on a number of factors, including:

• growing recognition of the capacity for smaller practices to compete with larger, more established practices by providing niche expertise

• growing confidence among solicitors in relation to personal capacity to run a successful practice

• redundancy from a previous position as an employed practitioner

• insecurities concerning current employed positions across private practice, government, corporate or community employers

• disaffection with culture, career choice and work-life balance in larger practices

• growth in the number of part-time or 'lifestyle' sole practices, and growing recognition that establishing a practice may offer the best chance of obtaining both career satisfaction and work-life balance.

Committee chair

Committee Chair

Practice Management Course Bill Potts, Potts Lawyers

Adding value to members

As an added benefit of our PMC course, the Society offers participants an individual consultation on either establishing a practice or on specific practice management challenges. During 2014-15, 19 PMC participants requested the consultations, which are generally held at a participant’s law practice premises.

We are always looking to add value for our members to ensure they maintain the high standards of the profession. This year, practice support added value by holding its first ‘PMC Encore’ event, which provided PMC alumni with additional guidance on online marketing, and an opportunity to network with solicitors at similar stages of their careers. This additional, complimentary event was followed by two PMC information evenings for practitioners preparing to take the course.

Queensland Law Society is not only focused on adding value to members but also assisting members with complex needs and whose individual circumstances make face-to-face attendance at workshops difficult. The Society’s commitment to equity and accommodating diversity led to the creation of an alternative delivery mode of the PMC to enable a member with a significant disability to complete the course. This involved personal consultations at her home and viva voce assessments which helped to overcome the practical difficulties she otherwise faced in undertaking the course.

Our strong focus on continuous course improvement has led to an increase in delegate satisfaction ratings from an average of 4.2 in 2013-14, to 4.4 this year.

Feedback included:

“ Each presentation delivered relevant material in a very engaging manner with valuable group sharing interlude.”

“ Thank you for a great course which has prepared me more with starting up as a sole practitioner.”

“ Covers all essential aspects of starting a small legal practice.”

“ The course was very professional and exceeded expectations.”

“ All the presenters were competent, clear, educational and entertaining.”

Pilot mentoring program

The pilot mentoring program was launched in the last financial year, pairing experienced legal practitioners with members seeking guidance on career paths, skills and practice experience. This program involved 13 mentor-mentee pairings, decreasing to 11 in September 2014.

The program included a matching service to assist mentees to meet the best available mentor for their particular circumstances; a handbook which provided guidance on how to establish, progress and close the mentoring relationship; initial training delivered by webinar on tips to assist with success; and a Myers Briggs Type Indicator Step II™ Interpretive (MBTI) Report for mentees outlining individual preferences. The MBTI was supported by a one-on-one debrief with an MBTI-accredited practitioner.

Participants were contacted for their feedback on the program through phone interviews in September and an online survey in December, when the program was concluded. There were some difficulties in matching mentors and mentees in line with stated preferences, as not all preferences could be accommodated, and participants indicated a lack of engagement due to the mismatching of aspirations and the skill sets of available mentors. Some mentees’ expectations of the extent to which a mentor could aid them in a job search or career advancement were not in line with the program’s goals. As a result, and due to capacity constraints, the program in this form was not offered again in 2015.

Serving our members


Queensland Law Society provides its members with the opportunity to be formally identified as an expert in their chosen area of practice through the Specialist Accreditation program. Successful completion of this program enables practitioners with extensive competence and knowledge to advertise their expertise with the legal profession’s nationally-recognised mark of excellence.

Distinguishing leaders in the profession

In 2014-15, we had 478 accredited specialists, eight of whom hold accreditation across two areas of law. This is a 3% increase on previous years. The increase in specialists shows the growing attraction of the program to Queensland solicitors who wish to distinguish themselves as an expert cohort.

This program is considered a high-profile and high-value product by members, with previous research recording program awareness by members at an impressive 94%.

Promoting excellence in the profession

In 2014-15, we offered accreditation in business law, commercial litigation, criminal law, workplace relations and immigration law. The candidate success rate in the program was 44%. A post-program survey revealed that 86% of respondents found the program to be a valuable experience whether they achieved accreditation or not.

In 2015-16, the program is offered in family, personal injuries, property and succession law. By 30 June 2015, 99 applications were received for the program. We recorded increases in personal injuries and succession law streams of 17.5% and 6% respectively, a reflection of growing interest in these areas of law.

As there was minimal interest from members in taxation law, this stream will not be offered in 2015-16.

Supporting candidates through collaboration

As an additional support measure, in May we introduced assessment workshops for the prospective candidates. As a collaborative effort between the Specialist Accreditation committees and the Learning and Professional Development team, interactive workshops based on specialist accreditation assessments were included for the first time on the learning and professional development calendar, resulting in a 61% participation rate from the 2015-16 candidates.

Our candidate support activities rated consistently higher than our targets, with candidate briefing sessions rating between 4.3 and 4.6.

In December, the annual Specialist Accreditation Breakfast brought our successful candidates together, with 169 accredited specialists joining with us to celebrate the success of 17 new accredited specialists. Interest in the event is growing, with 220 people attending, an increase of 6% from previous years. We also supported an inaugural Specialist Accreditation Breakfast for north Queensland practitioners in Cairns which will be repeated in Cairns and extended to Townsville.

Specialist Accreditation

Specialist Accreditation Committee chairs

Committee Chair

Family Law Bruce Dodd, Jones McCarthy Lawyers

Property Law Anthony Boge, HopgoodGanim Lawyers

Personal Injuries Law Terry Killian, Dibbs Barker

Succession Law Angela Cornford-Scott, Cornford-Scott Lawyers

Business Law Vacant

Commercial Litigation Geoff Hancock, Tucker & Cowen Solicitors

Criminal Law Kurt Fowler (acting chair), Fowler Lawyers

Workplace Relations Vacant

Immigration Law Glenn Ferguson, Ferguson Cannon Lawyers

Serving our members


Committee membership audit

This year, significant changes were made to our Specialist Accreditation committees after the completion of an audit. We welcomed 13 incoming committee members across all areas of accreditation, and at the annual breakfast formally thanked the 26 outgoing members who dedicated significant time and expertise to the program over the past 10 years.

We recognise the significant contributions to the Specialist Accreditation program by former Specialist Accreditation Board members Megan Mahon, Rachael Miller and Nita Stratton-Funk who have all served on the board for about 10 years.

Name Firm Board role

Genevieve Dee Cooper Grace Ward Chair – appointed January 2015

Previous member of Queensland Law Society Council

Accredited Specialist (Family Law)

Michael Fitzgerald Ashurst Australia President of Queensland Law Society

Paul Newman Allens Linklators Accredited Specialist (Property Law) – Qld

Chris Coyne Coyne & Associates Member of Queensland Law Society Council

Accredited Specialist (Commercial Litigation) – Qld

Kathy Atkins Jones Mitchell Lawyers and Clinical Associate Professor, Associate Dean (External Engagement and International), Faculty of Law, Bond University

Accredited Specialist (Family Law)

Professor Sally Kift

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), James Cook University, Australian Learning and Teaching Council Discipline Scholar: Law

Glen Cranny Gilshenan & Luton Legal Practice

Previous chair and inaugural member of the Criminal Law Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee

Accredited Specialist (Criminal Law) – Qld

Peter Jolly Thynne + Macartney Inaugural member of the Business Law Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee

Accredited Specialist (Business Law) – Qld

Julie Cameron Corrs Chambers Westgarth Previous chair of the Personal Injuries Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee

Accredited Specialist (Personal Injuries) – Qld

Michael Klatt Mullins Lawyers Previous member of the Succession Law Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee

Accredited Specialist (Succession Law) – Qld

Neil Henderson The Services Union Inaugural member of the Workplace Relations Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee

Accredited Specialist (Workplace Relations)

Specialist Accreditation Board members

Serving our members


New Year profession drinks

Each year the Society celebrates the New Year with a casual event, allowing colleagues to reconnect after the Christmas break and launch the new working year. This year, the event was fully booked within the first two days, with 154 attendees.

Legal Profession Dinner

We hosted 220 guests at our Legal Profession Dinner in February 2015 at the Sofitel Brisbane Central, including key legal professionals, members of the judiciary and parliamentarians.

This annual highlight of the legal calendar is an opportunity for the incoming Queensland Law Society president to share the Council’s strategies and includes the awarding of the QLS President’s Medal, the Equity and Diversity Award and the presentation of 50-year membership pins to practitioners.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath opened the proceedings, and the keynote address, ‘A True Profession’, was delivered by High Court Justice Patrick Keane. His Honour provided a unique perspective on Magna Carta, the ‘Great Charter’ of liberties sealed 800 years ago, and its relevance then and now.

MemberConnect breakfasts

This year, the Society held three complimentary MemberConnect breakfasts in Brisbane for senior lawyers in mid-to-large firms.

The first event in July 2014 celebrated members acknowledged in Chambers Asia Pacific Guide 2014, Best Lawyers in Australia 2015 list and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2014. The event also featured a keynote address by Gerhard Vorster, Chief Strategy Officer of Deloitte, ‘Positioning for Prosperity: Catching the Next Wave’. This was well-attended, with delegate numbers exceeding the target by 62%.

The second breakfast focused on what we could expect from the G20 presence in November 2014. The keynote address was delivered by Mike Callaghan, Director, G20 Studies Centre, Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney who set the scene for the global spotlight on Brisbane during this event.

The third MemberConnect breakfast in June 2015 again celebrated the achievements of legal leaders as acknowledged in Chambers Asia Pacific Guide 2015, Best Lawyers in Australia 2016 list and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2015. The panel discussion, chaired by Stephanie Daveson of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, examined opportunities for legal firms arising from the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement with a panel of practitioners and representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Trade and Investment Queensland.

Queensland Law Society connects with members throughout the year in many ways, including through social events. These events provide opportunities for practitioners to engage with the Society and network with their peers in a relaxed atmosphere.

Celebrating our members

Torrential rain failed to dampen guests’ enjoyment of the Legal Profession Dinner.

Serving our members


2014-15 50-year pin recipients

Recipient Law Firm

Frederick Liston Lilley Grose & Long

Malcolm Marshall Crowley Greenhalgh

John McDonald Robinson & Robinson

David McEachern Cranston McEachern

Bill Purcell Purcell Chadwick & Skelly

Anders Anderssen Anderssen & Company

Patricia Conroy Australian Law Group

Peter Duell Quinn & Scattini Lawyers

25-year and 50-year pin ceremonies

Throughout the year, we hold special pin ceremonies for members who have remained consistently with the Society for 25 and 50 years. Presentations of 50-year pins are part of our annual Legal Profession Dinner and 25-year pin presentations align with many of our regional events.

Serving our members


Connecting with the regions

Queensland Law Society is a Society for the whole of Queensland, committed to remaining connected with our members in regional areas as well as those in cities.

A Society for all of Queensland

This year, we continued to connect with practitioners in regional areas, ensuring that the Society remains up to date with local issues. We have been involved in conferences and sponsored events to discuss practice issues and insights into local legal environments. It is an understanding of what is important to the profession as a whole as well as locally that is

Queensland Law Society supported events

District law association Event Event information

Central Queensland Law Association

Central Queensland Law Association’s annual conference – a two-day event for lawyers and barristers from general practice firms in Rockhampton, Mackay, Gladstone, Yeppoon and Emerald

10-12 October 2014, Mercure Resort, Yeppoon

Downs and South West Law Association

An evening with the Chief Justice cocktail party 23 April 2015, Cobb+Co Museum, Toowoomba

Downs and South West Law Association’s annual dinner for members

16 May 2015

Far North Queensland Law Association

The annual Carbolic Smoke Ball for members of the Far North Queensland legal profession

16 May 2015, Hilton Hotel, Cairns

Fraser Coast Law Association Fraser Coast Law Association’s gala dinner 20 March 2015

Ipswich DLA Ipswich DLA’s September Seminar 18 September 2014, Brookwater Golf and Country Club, Brookwater

Mackay DLA Mackay DLA’s annual law dinner 31 October 2014, Mackay

Mackay DLA’s new year’s networking event 30 January 2015, Mackay

Mackay DLA’s breakfast CPD series • CPD: 5 March 2015, Mackay Grande Suites • Ethics session: 3 June 2015, Ocean

International, Mackay

Moreton Bay Law Association

Moreton Bay Law Association’s wine night aimed at legal practitioners and barristers in the Moreton Bay District area

21 May 2015, Sails Restaurant and Function Centre, Redcliffe

North Queensland Law Association (NQLA)

NQLA’s annual conference held for solicitors, barristers and judicial officers from north Queensland, as well as delegates from across Queensland

29-30 May 2015, Hamilton Island Yacht Club, Hamilton Island

South Burnett DLA Magistrate farewell and networking with South Burnett DLA

24 July 2014

South Burnett DLA’s Christmas Party 12 December 2014, Explorer’s Restaurant, Burke & Wills Motor Inn, Kingaroy

Townsville DLA Townsville DLA’s networking event for new and early career lawyers

19 September 2014, Brewery Function Room, Townsville Brewing Co, Townsville

District law association relationshipsessential for the Society to guide the profession and act on opportunities to improve our offerings to members.

Regional lawyers are a significant proportion of our membership, comprising 31% of our full members. We recognise that the role of solicitors in their communities is important, ensuring that our professional development and networking offerings extend to the regions. We both hold and sponsor events in conjunction with the local district law associations (DLAs).

This year, we noted excellent attendance at regional professional development and social events. Our 2014 DLA Presidents’ Workshop saw 16 of the 18 DLAs send representatives, with a 4.7 overall satisfaction rating. The workshop’s keynote address was

delivered by the then Chief Justice, Justice Tim Carmody.

We also held a sold-out social event for early career lawyers on the Gold Coast. Our regional intensives in Townsville, Toowoomba, Bundaberg and Rockhampton all either reached or exceeded delegate targets, and achieved an average satisfaction rating of 4.5.

Regional events

Each year, the Society joins with the regional DLAs in sponsoring or contributing to their events. Our support of these events can take many forms, including monetary, product, assistance with logistics, or provision of guest speakers among other areas of involvement.

Serving our members


Law Week 2015

Law Week (11-15 May 2015), a national event we engage in each year, provides a welcome focus on the legal profession.

The spirit of the profession

Through our Law Week 2015 activities, we engaged with and celebrated our members and the spirit of our profession. We contributed to raise public awareness and understanding of the profession and Queensland’s laws and legal systems. Events included:

• Open Day at Law Society House offering professional development sessions for all practitioners

• In Focus: Mental Health in the Legal Profession seminar

• QLS Touch Football Tournament for the profession

• QLS Annual Ball, organised by our Early Career Lawyers Committee

• sponsorship of, and participation in the Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House (QPILCH) Queensland Legal Walk

• partnering with the Department of Justice and Attorney-General in the Queen Street Mall Law Week display.

Law Society House Open Day

The second Law Week Open Day at Law Society House built on the success of the previous year’s event, attracting 29% more delegates than in 2014 and achieving an overall satisfaction rating of 4.6 (compared with 4.4 in 2014).

More than 150 delegates participated in the eight complimentary professional development sessions this year on topics including building long-term relationships through strategic networking, good governance principles for the not-for-profit sector, protecting firms and clients against cyberattack, and the work of the Society in advocating for good law. Attendees also enjoyed the opportunity to network with fellow practitioners, meet Society staff and learn of the benefits and rewards of membership.

Feedback included:

“ Practical and informative sessions. Refreshing topics.”

“ High quality generally. Excellent QLS initiative.”

“ Very good sessions. Very important to have the QLS do something for the members. Excellent. Thank you QLS.”

This and opposite page: The QLS Touch Football Tournament, QLS Annual Ball and Queensland Legal Walk were key features of Law Week 2015.

Serving our members


In Focus: Mental Health in the Legal Profession seminar

We were honoured to have Federal Court Justice Shane Marshall, a Wellbeing and the Law Foundation ambassador (WATL), as guest speaker at the In Focus: Mental Health in the Legal Profession breakfast seminar at Law Society House. This complimentary event was also part of our Love Law, Live Life program promoting resilience in the profession and awareness of distress and depression. More than 100 delegates applauded Justice Marshall for his honest, open account of his experience with depression, and participated in a panel discussion with practitioners and psychiatrist Dr Curtis Gray on strategies and solutions to overcome the stigma surrounding mental health.

Feedback included:

“ One of the most interesting and relevant QLS seminars I’ve been to.”

“ An excellent series. Fact sheets a good ‘take home’ to complement the valuable information discussed/presented.”

QLS Touch Football Tournament

This inaugural event for members emphasised the wellbeing foundation of our Love Law, Live Life program. Twelve mixed teams from legal firms and the Society tested their skills in a tournament of friendly, six-a-side touch football matches, cheered on by colleagues and friends. Teams from K&L Gates and Clayton Utz contested the final, with K&L Gates coming out on top.

QLS Annual Ball

The picturesque surrounds of Victoria Park in Brisbane provided the perfect setting for the enchanted garden theme of the Society’s Annual Ball, organised by our Early Career Lawyers Committee. Almost 270 guests enjoyed this black-tie affair, with $2,000 donated to our event charity partner, the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS), an independent not-for-profit community legal centre.

Queensland Legal Walk

The Society was a proud sponsor and participant in the QPILCH Queensland Legal Walk, a key Law Week activity which supports the important work of QPILCH. More than 500 people, including 46 Queensland Law Society registrants, stepped out with the Attorney-General and Chief Justice on the Brisbane walk, while another 500 people participated in walks organised in Toowoomba, Townsville, Mackay, Cairns, and on the Sunshine Coast. Across the state more than $40,000 was raised to assist in providing free legal services to disadvantaged and vulnerable Queenslanders through QPILCH.

Department of Justice and Attorney-General Queen Street Mall display

The Society again partnered with the Department of Justice and Attorney-General in the Law Week presentation in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall. The theme, ‘We’re with you every step you take’, aimed to show Queenslanders how legal professionals offer assistance and services for many of the milestones in life. The program of talks, mock trials, demonstrations and displays drew crowds, with the Society highlighting our online Find a Solicitor service.

Serving our members


Queensland Law Society works hard to ensure that members are provided with up-to-date news and events information of the highest standard. Our monthly Proctor magazine and weekly QLS Update electronic newsletter are just two of the key ways in which we provide value to members through the publication of information that is relevant to them.

Proctor

Proctor underwent a major makeover during the year, with the first issue of 2015 featuring a fresh new look, cover style, typefaces and revised content structure. It remains a cornerstone of Society services, providing members with essential legal news and information along with practical guidance in many areas of law. Proctor balances hard-edged legal content alongside practitioner interviews, social events, career moves and other items of broad appeal to our profession.

We introduced the Proctor application (app) for Android and Apple mobile devices, providing easy-to-read editions for practitioners on the move and supplementing the extensive online magazine archive (10 years+). An impressive 425 people downloaded the app after its launch in late 2014.

As well as Proctor’s online presence growing, circulation of printed copies continued to increase, rising from 9,708 (CAB audit, March 2014) to 9,822 (March 2015).

Our publications

QLS Update

Our weekly QLS Update e-newsletter performed strongly once again this year, providing members with timely notice of major legal news, Society initiatives and key professional development opportunities.

We refreshed the newsletter with a new format optimised for mobile devices, with a cleaner look and more appealing structure. Featured items, including breaking news, an enhanced ethics section and Legislation Update, drew a growing number of practitioners, with subscriber numbers rising from an average of 9,553 the previous year to 10,788 in 2014-15.

The all-important ‘open rate’ for QLS Update also grew – up 0.74% to 39.7%. The equally significant ‘click through rate’ was also spectacular, reaching an average of 43.3%, well over twice the legal industry average of just 17%.

Queensland Law Society supports the creation of good lawyers through education, providing student members with a wide range of professional, social and community-focused benefits.

Student interaction

Links with academe

This year, we continued our work with Queensland universities and students to promote good legal training. We continued our regular meetings with Queensland law deans and had trade booths at university careers expos.

The Society sponsored two University of Queensland events this year, supporting the TC Beirne School of Law’s Annual David Jackson Dinner for students who participated in mooting competitions throughout the year, and the Justice and the Law Society’s Annual Pandora’s Box breakfast event.

Student membership numbers increasing

Queensland Law Society’s student members increased by 14.4% this year, predominately through our Legal Careers Expo and university events. More than 500 students attended the Society’s annual Legal Careers Expo in 2015.

We recently launched our student ambassador program, providing the opportunity for outstanding and engaged students to become actively involved in the Society.

We currently have more than 2,400 student members who have access to limited resources via the Society’s website, 64% of these student members are female.

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Serving our members


Member benefits

Queensland Law Society’s member rewards program is a key benefit of membership, offering discounts and exclusive rewards on a broad range of lifestyle and business products and services from partners. Each new member rewards partner is introduced based on research and feedback from our members.

Rewarding our members

This year, we continued our member rewards program with more than 20 offers from partners across industries including car sales, flights, banking, optical, accommodation and retail. Our member rewards web portal received 12,257 views from members over the past 12 months, with some of the most popular offerings being JB Hi Fi, Qantas Club, Europcar and Member Benefits Australia (MBA) Car Assist.

Improving our focus on members

One of our areas of strategic focus in 2014-15 was an internal project to segment our membership and analyse and articulate the value we provide to each group. After analysis of our membership data we chose to segment our membership primarily into four key groups:

• Early Career Lawyers (0-5 years post-admission experience)

• Career Builders (6-12 years post-admission experience)

• Secure Achievers (13-20 years post-admission experience)

• Pinnacle Practitioners (21+ years post-admission experience).

This is a career lifecycle approach to segmentation. We also analysed our membership based on geographic location and size of firm.

Through member value proposition development, we enhanced our understanding of what each of our member segments values in membership of the Society. We will use this knowledge to better tailor our products and services to different member groups.

In 2015-16 we will utilise our segmentation work as the foundation of new marketing and membership strategies to delight and attract members.

Serving our members


Recognising our members

Queensland Law Society recognises that the efforts of solicitors in our community are not made in search of recognition, but to stand in solidarity with those least able to be afforded justice. The Society takes great pride each year to ensure that members who serve as role models for others are recognised.

The Society presents three awards annually:

The Agnes McWhinney Award

The Agnes McWhinney Award, named for Queensland’s first admitted female solicitor, recognises outstanding professional or community contribution by a female lawyer, and the significant involvement of women in the legal profession and the community. The award acknowledges a modern legal pioneer who will leave a meaningful professional legacy for women following in her footsteps.

In 1915 we had one female solicitor, and in 2015 we have more than 5,000. Our 2014 winner was Vicki Jackson, who was the first female solicitor in Rockhampton, and whose work within her community and speaking with young women about careers in the law has helped pave the way for female solicitors in many regional Queensland cities.

The Equity and Diversity Award

The Equity and Diversity Award celebrates firms which support their professionals’ mental health, wellbeing and social equality. The award is designed to recognise firms that embrace the changing nature of the profession by promoting positive firm cultures that celebrate staff diversity and accommodate lifestyle needs.

These include flexible working practices that maintain work-life balance and support legal practitioners with diverse backgrounds and lifestyle requirements, equitable recruitment, promotion and education policies, education on diversity within the profession, including anti-discrimination legislation, harassment, bullying and other meaningful gender, disability or ethnicity initiatives. The 2015 Equity and Diversity Large Practice Award winner was Carter Newell Lawyers.

The President’s Medal

The 2015 Queensland Law Society President’s Medal was awarded to Bill Purcell, an individual with an abiding commitment to the legal profession who has lived a professional life in service of his Society. He was a sitting Council member from 1980 to 1990, and has also been involved in the Ethics, Property, Conveyancing and Property Law Specialist Accreditation committees over the years. Bill was among the principal drafters of the original REIQ contract, and a key consultant in each subsequent iteration since 1980, a significant body of work with the totality of revisions required with each amendment of the Property Law Act.

His passion and foresight in working to establish LawCare in 1992 is particularly notable. In realising that the profession faces constant change with evolving business practices and client demands, Bill saw the need for a service which protects and supports members of the legal community who face personal and professional distress.

In his role as a QLS Senior Counsellor, Bill has worked beyond the establishment of LawCare, having taken innumerable calls from members experiencing professional or personal distress, and taking the personal time to assist with practical issues. He has spent his 50 years as a QLS member working in tandem with its executive and Councils in achieving great things for our profession.

Agnes McWhinney Award winner Vicki Jackson and 2014 president Ian Brown presenting.

Equity and Diversity Award winner Carter Newell Lawyers, represented by Belinda Parish, and 2015 president Michael Fitzgerald.

Carolyn Purcell and President’s Medal winner Bill Purcell.

Leading our profession


Key outcomes 2014-15

Phone calls to our Ethics Centre increased by 19% to 3,090

Four Guidance Statements published

102 advocacy submissions made to the Government

5,892 page views of the Love Law, Live Life web portal


Queensland Law Society is committed to the creation of good law and the support of good lawyers. At the forefront of this commitment is the Society’s advocacy on behalf of both the profession and the public.

Call to Parties: keeping the Queensland Government accountable

When it appeared likely that a Queensland election would be called in late 2014 or early 2015, the Society issued a Call to Parties which outlined nine priority issues on which we asked both the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Liberal National Party (LNP) to respond to prior to the election. These issues were determined through consultation with the Society’s policy committees and involved clear QLS policy positions in the areas of:

1. Queensland’s law reform process2. Queensland’s judicial appointments

process3. Access to justice in Queensland

courts and tribunals4. Criminal law in Queensland5. Children’s law in Queensland6. Public administration

decisions which impact elderly Queenslanders

7. Access to fair injuries’ compensation

8. Public education about the Queensland justice system

9. Appointments to key public service positions.

We received responses from both parties which were published to members prior to the election in January 2015.

With the Palaszczuk ALP Government taking office in February 2015, the Society has utilised the Call to Parties as its key framework for proactive advocacy with the new Government. We have achieved some excellent outcomes for our members and the Queensland public including:

• removal of the ‘gag clause’ from community legal centre contracts

• commitment to the establishment of a protocol for judicial appointments

• a commitment to an audit of all Queensland courts and tribunals, focusing on issues raised by the Society

• a commitment to the re-establishment of the Sentencing Advisory Council.

Advocating for good law and good lawyers

The Society is fortunate to have 27 policy and advisory committees with members whose expertise and experience make a vital contribution to the development of policy and legislation in both state and federal jurisdictions.

The aim of our advocacy is to ensure that the policies and legislation created by governments are workable, fair, and based on evidence and consultation with the profession. The more than 390 members on our policy and advisory committees inform our advocacy with up-to-date legal knowledge and in-depth understanding of the practical implications of legislation and policy.

In the first months of 2014-15, the Society was invited to attend several public hearings of parliamentary committees on significant legislative changes including the Safe Night Out Legislation Amendment Bill 2014, the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Bill 2014 and the Major Events Bill 2014. The Newman Government also adopted some of the Society’s proposals on the Education and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014.



Where to from here?

The response to, and implementation of, the reforms called for by the Society in the Call to Parties statement has been positive. The Society has representatives on all of the Government’s major review stakeholder reference groups.

These include:

The reference group advising the Government on appropriate arrangements to reinstate common law rights for injured workers under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. As outlined in our 2013-14 annual report, the Society vigorously opposed changes introduced by the LNP Government to the Queensland Workers’ Compensation Scheme, including the impairment threshold for access

Reflecting our members through our committees

Over the past few years we have focused on ensuring that the composition of our policy committees reflects the demographics of our membership in terms of firm size.

We came close to achieving our targets in 2014-15 – see table below. Our overrepresentation of sole and associate members compared to our overall representation reflects the keen interest that members in these categories take in the Society’s advocacy. However, we will work towards a more balanced profile so that member needs and interests are served more accurately.

Committee membership

Size of firm Committee membership %

target

Committee members

Committee membership %

Large 30% 103 26.3%

Medium 10% 38 9.7%

Small 20% 73 18.7%

Micro 20% 53 13.6%

Sole/associate 20% 124 31.7%

Total 100% 391 100%

Through the year Queensland Law Society Council appointed 55 new committee members and accepted the resignations of 32, representing a turnover rate of less than 10%. We see this as a reflection of the enthusiasm and commitment of our members in advocating for good law.

to common law claims arising out of work injuries. The stakeholder reference group is also advising the Government on mitigation of the negative impact on workers who were impacted by the operation of the common law threshold between 15 October 2013 and 31 January 2015.

Industrial Relations Legislative Reform Reference Group, which will conduct a wide-ranging review of Queensland’s industrial relations laws and tribunals, including the structure, functions and powers of those tribunals, and make recommendation for legislative change.

Taskforce on organised crime legislation, chaired by former Supreme Court Judge Alan Wilson, which will review the Criminal Law (Criminal Organisations Disruption) Amendment Act 2013; Tattoo Parlours

Act 2013; Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013; Criminal Law (Criminal Organisations Disruption) and Other Legislation Act 2013; and Criminal Code (Criminal Organisations) Regulation 2013.

Director of Child Protection and Office of the Official Solicitor Advisory Group, which will advise the Government on implementation of the recommendations of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry.

We are being vigilant to ensure that the approach of effective consultation by the Palaszczuk Government continues as many of these reviews conclude and we proceed towards legislative amendment in 2015-16.



Advocating for a better Queensland

In addition to the matters contained in our Call to Parties, our advocacy this year has spanned a diverse range of legal areas including domestic violence guidelines, requirements for admission to legal practice, practice and procedure in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) and competition policy reform.

Domestic violence guidelines

The Not Now, Not Ever – Putting an End to Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland taskforce report recommended that the Society develop best practice guidelines for lawyers working with people who have experienced domestic and family violence. With vice president Deborah Awyzio as chair, our advocacy team worked with members of our policy committees to establish a stakeholder working group which will respond to the recommendations in 2015-16.

Law Admissions Consultative Committee Review of the Academic Requirements for Admission

In 2014, the Law Admissions Consultative Committee commenced a review of the academic requirements for admission to the legal profession in Australia. The focus of the review was that the requirements should be relaxed by removing Company Law, Ethics, Evidence and Civil Procedure.

This proposal was of significant concern to the Society and the wider profession, with a notable decline in law graduates’ preparedness for practice reported by members. Despite reasonably tight time frames, our advocacy team consulted with all policy committees and produced a comprehensive rebuttal of the proposal. The proposal was based on the practice adopted by the Law Society of England and Wales, and the assumption that targeted subjects were adequately covered by the practical legal training which graduates undertook prior to admission.

This proposal was refuted by noting that the practical legal training in England and Wales was a 12-month, full-time process as opposed to the shorter, part-time course in Queensland. Our advocacy team included submissions from providers of practical legal training in Queensland to support this position.

There has been no further move to implement this proposal.

Review of the QCAT Act

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal commenced operation on 1 December 2009, amalgamating 18 tribunals into a single forum for administrative review. As part of the three-year statutory review process, the Department of Justice and Attorney-General released a discussion paper for community consultation in relation to QCAT’s establishing Act, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (QCAT Act).

The Society made a detailed submission to the QCAT Act review, with one of the priorities being legal representation within QCAT. Feedback from our members overwhelmingly favours legal representation as of right in QCAT, and our submission advocated strongly for amendments to the QCAT Act to allow this.

Operationally, the Society noted that most courts and tribunals take advantage of the callover process to manage file flow. The suggestion was made that the QCAT Act be amended to provide that the tribunal cannot make directions or list a matter until an affidavit of service is filed (excepting ex parte applications) and that when the affidavit is filed, the matter be listed at a callover before any directions are made.

We also noted the lack of facilities available for regional litigants and suggested the establishment of a northern regional office to improve QCAT’s regional and rural service delivery.



Competition Policy Review (‘Harper Review’) Final Report

The Competition Policy Review Final Report was released in March 2015. The report is the culmination of an intensive review of competition policy in Australia by an expert panel comprised of Professor Ian Harper, Peter Anderson, Sue McCluskey and Michael O’Bryan QC.

The lengthy review involved a stocktake of competition policy, including assessment of the impact of the Hilmer Review which preceded it. A review issues paper was released on 14 April 2014 and a draft report on 22 September 2014. These documents were the subject of rigorous analysis by the Society’s Competition and Consumer Law Committee, and a comprehensive response was prepared with significant assistance and contribution from the committee and its members.

The Final Report made 56 recommendations. It is pleasing to note that many of these recommendations are consistent with submissions made by the Society. In delivering the report, Professor Harper noted that many of the recommendations appeared to have the support of the major political parties, signalling that recommended reforms may become law.

Summary of submissions and achievements

The numbers of both proactive and reactive submissions were down on previous years. However, this was not unexpected given that the timing of the state election resulted in a three-month period of parliamentary inactivity.

For 2014-15 we set the target of having the Government accept changes to legislation or policy at least once for every three submissions made. Although our results fell slightly short of this target at one successful submission for every 3.31 submissions made, the outcome was commendable given the limited number of Bills passed in the first six months of the new Government’s term.

Quotes in Hansard were significantly down on last year, in part due to the lighter legislative agenda. We will be reviewing the use of this as a KPI next year as it is not necessarily a good indicator of the persuasiveness or profile of our advocacy.

Submissions dispatched – proactive

28

Submissions dispatched – reactive

74

Quotes in Hansard 60

Consultative events and meetings attended

38

Articles and publications 38

Successes (defined as obtaining changes to legislation, policy or procedure of government)

32



In addition to these Queensland committees, there are also three which co-sit as joint committees with the Law Council of Australia:

Committee Chair

Company Law Bruce Cowley, Minter Ellison

Construction and Infrastructure Law

Ross Williams, HWL Ebsworth

Insolvency Law Scott Butler, McCullough Robertson

Our members’ voice in the media

Queensland Law Society was extremely active this year in contributing policy views and comment on significant issues relevant to the profession. We produced 51 media releases, an increase of 65% on last year.

2014-15 2013-14

Media releases

51 33

QLS responded media

96 131

Leading outlets in the various media types that published content mentioning Queensland Law Society were:

• Print: The Courier Mail• Television: ABC News 24• Radio: ABC 612• Online: brisbanetimes.com.au

Committee Chairs

Committee Chair

Access to Justice and Pro Bono Committee

Robert Reed, Minter EllisonBruce Doyle (deputy chair), Doyle Family Law

Accident Compensation/Torts Law Michael Garbett, Moray & Agnew

Alternative Dispute Resolution Toby Boys, Minter Ellison

Banking and Finance Ian Lockhart, Minter EllisonMichael-Angelo Anastas (deputy chair), HWL Ebsworth

Children’s Law Damian Bartholomew, Youth Advocacy Centre Inc.

Competition and Consumer Law David Grace, Cooper Grace Ward

Criminal Law Peter Shields, Peter Shields LawyersKurt Fowler (deputy chair), Fowler Lawyers

Elder Law Kirsty Mackie, Caxton Legal Centre Inc.Brian Herd (deputy chair), CRH Law

Equalising Opportunity in the Law Ann-Maree David, The College of Law Queensland

Family Law Alison Ross, HopgoodGanim Lawyers

Franchising Law Tony Conaghan, Thomson Geer

Government Lawyers Andrew Harris, Public Service Commission

Health and Disability Law Karen Williams, BarristerSimon Brown (deputy chair), Office of the Public Guardian

Industrial Law Robert Stevenson, Australian Workplace LawyersKristin Ramsey, Hynes Legal

International Law/Relations Justin Barker, Advisers Australia

Litigation Rules Anthony Deane, Clayton UtzPaul Garrett (deputy chair), Hickey & Garrett

Mining and Resources Martin Klapper, HopgoodGanim LawyersGavin Scott (deputy chair), Ashurst Australia

Not-for-Profit Dr Matthew Turnour, Neumann & Turnour LawyersAndrew Lind (deputy chair), Corney & Lind

Planning and Environment Leanne Bowie, Leanne Bowie Lawyers

Practice Development and Management*

Elizabeth Shearer, Affording Justice

Property and Development Law Matthew Raven, Gadens Lawyers

Revenue Law Duncan Bedford, McCullough Robertson

Succession Law Gary Lanham, Minter EllisonGlenn Dickson (deputy chair), non-practising

Technology and Intellectual Property (TIPS)

Harold Littler ,̂ Harold Littler & CompanyAngeline Behan (deputy chair), Wynnes Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys

* In April 2014, Council resolved to merge this committee with the Practice Management Course Committee.

^Vale Harold Littler

Sadly, Queensland Law Society’s advocacy effort lost one of its great supporters and contributors when Harold Littler passed away in June 2015. Harold was a leading light of the Queensland legal profession and a tireless volunteer for more than 40 years, as a Society member and chair of the Technology and Intellectual Property Committee since 2012. His hard work, wisdom and wit will be missed by the committee, all at the Society and the profession at large.



Queensland Law Society aims to equip practitioners with the information and tools they require to act ethically at all times, as well as to provide the community with an insight into legal ethics. These values and principles, supported by the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012 and common law, regulate the behaviour of an ethical practitioner.

Practical tools for ethical matters

This year, the Society’s Ethics Centre and Ethics Committee released The Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012 in Practice: A Commentary for Australian Legal Practitioners. The commentary provides practitioners with a practical tool on issues which may arise when considering ethical matters in practice. Since its release, the commentary has been well-received by both academics and the profession in general as an important resource for practitioners. It is available online for members at no cost and can be purchased in hard copy by all practitioners, academics and law students.

The Ethics Centre provided bespoke private client engagement sessions for 32 firms in which all practitioners are Society members, including most members of Law Firms Australia (formerly the Large Law Firm Group) and significant Australian firms where the sessions included practitioners from other jurisdictions through video-conferencing. Topics were prepared in consultation with the firms and ranged from the ethics of contract drafting and negotiations to the exceptions and limitations on confidentiality. In some cases, the firms also invited in-house counsel from their clients to attend.

The Ethics Centre delivered 57 sessions over the year, including to a number of district law associations, Legal Aid Queensland and at the Society’s conferences and the Practice Management Course. The average score for these presentations was 4.5 out of 5. Multiple comments received indicated that participants

found the presentations engaging, thought-provoking and different from past ethics presentations. This can be attributed, in part, to the creation of new and innovative modules that reflect real-life circumstances, and utilise the most recently published educational resources from institutions such as the Harvard Law School, the American Bar Association and the Law Society of England and Wales to enhance the learning experience.

The Ethics Centre has developed a synopsis of the bespoke sessions which will be available for distribution to existing private clients and those who may wish to take up the provided service.

Enhancing our ethical guidance

The annual QLS Senior Counsellors’ Conference is designed to enhance the skills of our Senior Counsellors in providing practice or ethical guidance to practitioners. The Society’s 43 Senior Counsellors are experienced in a variety of disciplines and provide professional and ethical guidance to the profession across Queensland. This year, we welcomed Dr Matthew Turnour and Elizabeth Shearer to our list of experienced practitioners.

We were pleased to contribute to the preparation and publication of the Queensland Handbook for Practitioners on Legal Capacity with Queensland Advocacy Incorporated and Allens. The handbook was launched in May 2015 by Justice Ann Lyons and practitioners can access this via the ethics portal on the Society’s website.

Supporting good lawyers

Ethics Committee

Committee Chair

Ethics Committee Nola Pearce, Carter Newell Lawyers

Connecting good law with good lawyers

This year, the ethics portal on the Society’s website was updated, including the adoption of a taxonomy which aligns to the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012. The aim of this project was to ensure ease of access for members in locating important information and resources.

The Ethics Centre connects with members via a section in the Society’s weekly e-newsletter, QLS Update. This space provides the opportunity for members to read about important ethical issues in the ‘Discipline update’ and in articles dealing with ethical matters, costs and frequently asked questions.

Our Ethics Centre received 3,090 phone calls in the year, a 19% increase over the previous year. Among the issues, callers were concerned about relations with other practitioners, conflicts with former clients or conflict issues arising with multiple representation. Many calls also related to costs and communications with clients in relation to costs.

The Ethics Centre has maintained a significant publishing commitment though a variety of media. Private client engagement and other educational opportunities are possible reasons why, in the last two quarters, there was a 25-30% increase in inquiries to the centre from the profession.



QLS Senior Counsellors

Senior Counsellor Firm

Peter Apel Apels Solicitors

Russell Beer MacDonnells Law

Michael Beirne Barclay Beirne Lawyers

Christopher Bowrey Wilson/Ryan/Grose

Mark Bray Bradley & Bray

James Byrne Bennett & Philp

Martin Conroy Australian Law Group

Peter Cooper Cooper Grace Ward (now retired)

Glen Cranny Gilshenan & Luton Legal Practice

Peter Eardley Eardley Motteram

Peter Elliott Giudes & Elliott

Anne English Atherton Tablelands Law

Glenn Ferguson Ferguson Cannon

George Fox Fox Bradfield Lawyers

Kurt Fowler Fowler Lawyers

Gary Hutchinson Cooke & Hutchinson

Vicki Jackson South Geldard Lawyers

Peter Jolly Thynne + Macartney

Warwick Jones Jones Mitchell Lawyers

Peter Kenny Thynne + Macartney

Michael Klug Clayton Utz

Ross Lee Lee Lawyers

William Loughnan Thynne + Macartney

Dr Jeffrey Mann AM Jeffrey Mann

Justin McDonnell King & Wood Mallesons

Wendy Miller Damien Greer Lawyers

Andrew Moloney Moloney MacCallum Lawyers

John Nagel John Nagel & Co.

Thomas Nulty DLA Piper Australia

Terence O’Gorman AM Robertson O’Gorman Solicitors

Ross Perrett Clayton Utz

Bill Potts Potts Lawyers

Bill Purcell Purcell Chadwick & Skelly

Jim Reaston O’Reilly Stevens Lawyers

Stephen Rees Rees Law

Anthony Ryan Payne Butler Lang

John Ryan Whitsunday Law

Elizabeth Shearer Affording Justice

Garth Smith Mellick Smith & Associates

Thomas Sullivan Davidson & Sullivan

John Taylor Taylors Solicitors

Chris Trevor Chris Trevor and Associates

Dr Matthew Turnour Neumann & Turnour Lawyers

Gregory Vickery AO Norton Rose Fulbright

Kathryn Walker Walker Lawyers



Supporting our members

Another way which the Society has assisted the profession in maintaining a high level of professionalism is through effectively managing trust account queries. This year there were fewer receiverships, with the past few years counting historically high numbers.

The Society undertook six external interventions this year, a decrease from 13 last year. These were due to practitioners’ health issues, going out of business or a determination that the trust account required supervision. The appointment means that funds in a law practice trust account cannot be withdrawn without the approval of the supervisor. On average, external interventions had responsibility for 56 trust accounts all requiring monthly reconciliations and the annual prescribed account calculations. Trust funds totalling $2,034,842.95 were distributed from law practice trust accounts in receivership, resulting in 17 trust accounts being closed.

This year, trust account investigation feedback was positive, with many firms commenting that the process was professional, comfortable and helpful in assisting them to better manage their obligations in the future.

Professional standards

Setting, communicating and maintaining standards is the essence of any profession. Queensland Law Society performs this function for the legal profession by setting the benchmarks and providing support to members.

Setting standards for the profession

The Society is consistently strengthening its position in the setting of professional standards. Along with continuing to encourage solicitors to utilise the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012 as guidance for professional standards, we aim to provide members with guidance on complex and sensitive professional issues.

One of the Society’s strategic goals is to lead the profession through the setting of professional standards. One of the ways that we are achieving this is through the publication of Guidance Statements which set out a solicitor’s ethical obligations in a particular subject area and the Society’s position in respect to specific subjects. The responsibility for these Guidance Statements rests upon the Society’s Ethics Committee, drawing on the range of experience and wisdom available through the Society’s membership.

The Legal Services Commissioner has been consulted in the drafting of these Guidance Statements. Four were published in the year:

• Guidance Statement No. 1 – Undertakings

• Guidance Statement No. 2 – Ongoing Costs Disclosure

• Guidance Statement No. 3 – Paying Referral fees and Rule 12.4.4 Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012

• Guidance Statement No. 4 – Receiving Referral fees and Rule 12.4.3 Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012.

Copies of these statements are available via the ethics portal on the Society’s website.

Feedback included:

“ Being a relatively new law firm, the investigation process has been extremely helpful in highlighting the areas that we need to improve to ensure compliance moving forward.”

“ Happy with the process. I am keen to see this audit activity continue so practitioners receive the necessary feedback to keep us on track and out of inadvertent difficulties.”

“ My team and I were highly impressed with the professionalism, pragmatism and approach taken by the investigator. The visit was very helpful and will assist us to better manage our trust accounting obligations in the future.”

Queensland Law Society is focused on supporting our members who are investigated, due to a complaint or trust account matter, by providing advice through a free legal service. Free legal advice is available to members who have received an official notification asking that they provide information to either the Legal Services Commission (LSC) or the Society as the result of a complaint investigation or trust account matter. Prior to this year, this service was limited to three hours with one of the six solicitors on the panel. This year, the Society increased this limit to six hours to ensure solicitors receive the assistance they need. The utilisation of the free legal advice service increased this year from 97 members to 134.

This year, Lexon Insurance also extended its cover to provide further advice and representation beyond six free hours for approved circumstances.

The Society endeavours to assist practitioners in Queensland where possible and has received positive feedback from member compliance reviews conducted in the year.



Protecting the community

In addition to supporting our members, the Society is focused on ensuring that the public is protected in legal matters through the Fidelity Guarantee Fund. This fund exists to compensate members of the public who lose trust money deposited with solicitors due to the dishonesty of a solicitor or their staff. There has been little call on the fund over the past two years.

Due to the lack of claims on the fund, which is funded by a levy paid by solicitors, considerable reserves have been built up. These savings enabled the Society to reduce the 2015-16 levy and reduce the cost burden on members.

This year there was a decrease in show-cause matters against solicitors. While in the preceding two years the number of show-cause matters determined by the Society was historically high at 22 and 21, this year there were only 12 such matters.

Legal Services Commission investigations

The Society completed 215 investigations of complaints against solicitors at the delegation of the LSC, compared with 210 in 2013-14. There were 10 reported instances where the LSC’s determination diverged from the Society’s recommendation. The main difference in the 10 cases was that the LSC determined it was not in the public interest to take the matter further rather than to prosecute or dismiss the complaint outright.

We would like to thank members of the Professional Conduct Committee who spent many hours reviewing investigators’ recommendations prior to returning them to the LSC for action.

Responding to members

Our phone and email inquiries rose from 4,914 last year to 5,068, a 3.13% increase. It is important we are responsive to these inquiries, as many involve critical practice issues such as trust account management, the definition of trust money, advice on how to account for it, when it can be used and the legislated process for moving trust money. We are pleased to report that 99.6% of inquiries received a same-day turnaround.

The increase in inquiries is due to our comprehensive assessment of all law practices’ trust accounts. This year we conducted more compliance reviews: 346, compared with 294 last year. We also conducted more investigations as a result of our assessment: 220, compared with 187 last year. By their nature, investigations are more labour-intensive than compliance reviews.

Members scored both our compliance review and investigations teams highly in terms of their satisfaction of our service. Our compliance reviews and investigations each rated an average of 4.8.

We appointed receivers and trust money supervisors in four instances due to practitioners passing away, going out of business as a result of bankruptcy, or a determination that the trust account required supervision. This means that law firm funds cannot be removed from a trust account without Queensland Law Society approval. Supervisions are generally in place for an average of two years.

In strengthening member education delivered through the inquiry service, compliance reviews and investigations, we presented our annual Trust Account Refresher, which exceeded its delegate target and received a 4.5 member satisfaction rating. We also conducted six panel sessions at practice management workshops in 2014-15.

Committee chairs

Committee Chair

The Committee of Management for the Fidelity Guarantee Fund

Michael Fitzgerald, 2015 Queensland Law Society president, Ashurst Australia

Professional Conduct Committee Ian Brown, 2014 Queensland Law Society president, de Groots Wills & Estates Lawyers



The Society remains acutely aware of the pressures of legal practice and views the promotion of wellbeing, resilience and coping mechanisms within the legal profession as essential.

Through our Love Law, Live Life program, we are focused on building greater awareness of the prevalence of depression and anxiety among practitioners, and on seeking the best means of taking a preventative approach, as well as looking at best practice intervention.

We encourage all legal practices to adopt flexible work policies and to provide a positive work culture for all staff, and welcome the successful adoption by law firms of the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation Psychological Wellbeing Best Practice Guidelines, to which the Society was the first law society signatory in Australia.

We continue to support the annual Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation lecture, sponsoring the video streaming into the Queensland Federal Court of the October 2014 lecture delivered by Justice Virginia Bell AC QC.

We also continue to consult with the Law Council of Australia (LCA) to build on the National Attrition and Re-engagement Study (NARS) and participated in the May 2015 workshop which adopted the LCA Diversity and Equality Charter. The workshop also discussed practical initiatives to address unconscious bias in the workplace, guidelines for those with family responsibilities who wish to adopt flexible work arrangements, and a commitment to promoting equitable briefing policies.

Wellbeing and resilience

Love Law, Live Life

The Love Law, Live Life initiative provides wellbeing and resilience resources and events specifically tailored for the legal profession. Since its launch in March 2013, it has incorporated many facets, including its original iteration, the Resilience Working Group. The work of the group informs events, member communication and support services.

Three complimentary Love Law, Live Life professional development events, including one specifically developed for early career lawyers, were held in 2014-15, all of which received member satisfaction ratings of 4.8.

• More than 100 people attended our In Focus: Mental Health in the Legal Profession breakfast seminar in May 2015, held in conjunction with Law Week, with guest speaker Federal Court Justice Shane Marshall. See page 25

• At our breakfast seminar in August 2014 guest speaker John Canning, a partner at King & Wood Mallesons, shared his journey in addressing mental health and wellbeing challenges in the workplace. The event, which included a panel discussion, drew 106 attendees. The DVD of this presentation has been particularly popular.

• A candid insight into the challenges faced by early career lawyers was provided by two early career practitioners at our September 2014 breakfast seminar, attended by 40 people.

We have added to our Love Law, Live Life resources an innovative series of 27 short video clips, prepared with the assistance of experienced psychologists and based on our five published resilience factsheets. The project to develop and publish these materials was funded by the Professional Standards Councils of Australia. The factsheets and videos, available via our website, have attracted strong interest from members. Total downloads of the factsheets in the five months following their publication on 1 February 2015 was 899. There were also 5,892 views of our Love Law, Live Life website page.



Offering support for members

This year, 321 Society members and their staff (64% were members and 36% were employees or immediate family of members) used LawCare, the employee assistance program which is provided through Assure Programs.

LawCare is provided by the Society to support members with up to six hours counselling annually from clinical psychologists for members, their immediate family members and their staff. The service is confidential and available across Queensland. In addition to psychological counselling, the service also covers counselling on financial matters and has a manager support helpline which is particularly helpful for principals and supervising partners.

Members also called upon the service to support their staff in three instances of critical incident management in the past year.

Most callers contacted LawCare of their own volition, although managers and principals can refer staff to the service. This is a positive step towards overcoming problems that can affect work performance or deal with instances of family and relationship problems which affect mental health and wellbeing.

Flexibility Working Group

The Flexibility Working Group is a joint iniative between the Society and its committees, including the Equalising Opportunity in the Law Committee, and the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland.

The group seeks to guide and support members in running their practices with flexible arrangements and gathers qualitative and quantitative information about flexibility in operation, including interviews for the My flexibility story articles shared with the profession through the Society’s Proctor magazine.

Six practitioners outlined their experiences with flexible work practices in the magazine this year, including a senior litigation lawyer diagnosed with bipolar disorder (March 2015), a legal costs consultant and costs assessor (June 2015) and solicitors in Toowoomba (February 2015) and North Queensland (October 2014).

54 PROCTOR | April 2015

My flexibility storyHaving children early in your career may have its drawbacks, but it can work out for the best, as the story of a Cairns practitioner illustrates.

Nine years after admission, Stephanie Williams, right, is a barrister practising in Cairns.

She is now settled after a series of roles in government and private practice that were complicated by her decision to have children early in her career.

The roles were with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, a private criminal law firm and a civil firm, followed by more than three years as counsel assisting the Coroner.

At both of the private firms, Stephanie negotiated a four-day week after having her children.

“One of the law firms was less receptive about working flexibly than the other,” she said. “I felt that I had to work longer on the four days that I was in the office to give the impression that I was working five days.

“At the first firm I made myself available on my day off by phone and email. This meant that I was spending a lot of time fielding calls from my administrative staff. I did not do that at the second firm, which worked much better for my family life.”

In 2013, while working at the Office of the State Coroner, the older of Stephanie’s two children began school.

“My son’s school day finished at 2.45pm and I was reluctant to send him to after-school care five days a week in his first year of school,” she said. “As such, I approached my manager and the Coroner with a proposal to work a full day but start earlier, and they were both supportive of the arrangement.

As a consequence of having children early in her career, Stephanie said that one of the issues she had to adjust to was seeing her contemporaries advancing their careers while she was on maternity leave or working flexible hours.

On reflection, Stephanie became content with the realisation that this part of her career was only temporary. In her mind it was a question of: “At this time in my life do I want to focus on my career, or do I want happy children who I can spend time with?”

It was Stephanie’s recommendation, based on her own experience, that lawyers seeking flexible work arrangements had to bring a good reputation as well as strategic thinking to the table when negotiating flexible arrangements.

“In my experience trust and confidence has to pre-exist between employer and employee, whether it has been built up over time with an existing employer or through bringing a reputation of good work and reliability with you,” she said.

“Be creative in your thinking about working flexibly and stick to your guns – don’t make yourself too available on your day off unless you feel it is the right thing for your family – set boundaries and limits for yourself and your employer.

“Don’t overcompensate for wanting to work flexibly. In my own experience flexible work arrangements should not result in you going above and beyond what you would do in full-time employment.”

“In my view the fact that I was still able to complete a full workday, albeit earlier in the day, greatly assisted the negotiations for flexible arrangements.”

Stephanie switched to a 6.45am start, finishing at 2.30pm. As the office was empty and few others commenced work between 6.45am and 8am, she found this time particularly productive. However, there were some drawbacks.

“I regularly had to appear in court, which impacted on my ability to finish at 2.30pm,” she said. “It took some time for staff to adjust to the early finish time, but ultimately both staff and stakeholders became aware of my working hours and would contact me without hesitation during those times.”

This story appears on behalf of the flexibility working group, an initiative of the Queensland Law Society and Women Lawyers Association of Queensland. The group needs your story – good or bad. Please contact [email protected] and share your experiences with flexibility in the legal profession.

Flexibility

52 PROCTOR | March 2015

Flexibility

This story appears on behalf of the flexibility working group, an initiative of the Queensland Law Society and Women Lawyers Association of Queensland. The group needs your story – good or bad. Please contact [email protected] and share your experiences with flexibility in the legal profession.

See the love law, live life page at qls.com.au for links to BeyondBlue, the TJMF Psychological Wellbeing: Best Practice Guidelines for the Legal Profession, and other resources.

My flexibility storyIn a profession in which mental health issues are all too common, there remains a need for greater understanding by employers, as a senior litigation lawyer in private practice explains.

I am a senior lawyer. I also have bipolar disorder. That is, I have been told that I am ‘somewhere on the bipolar spectrum’, although there is no neat way to diagnose or treat my illness.

The lack of a clear diagnosis doesn’t really bother me. I have been dealing with the illness for long enough (24 years) that, provided I am medicated correctly and I can function normally (whatever this means), I am satisfied that I am getting by.

The ‘but’ is, that when you suffer from a mood disorder that can’t be accurately described or predictably treated, confronting your employer about your illness can leave you feeling isolated, confused and fearful that every display of emotion you have is secretly being evaluated for signs of mania or depression.

My first experience of disclosing my illness didn’t go well, and in retrospect I wish I had known more about discrimination law at the time. It was 2005, I was in my mid-20s, and I was working as a restricted practitioner in the litigation section of a respected mid-tier firm.

Though motivated, inspired and keen to make an impression, I suffered a relapse for which I was hospitalised for two weeks. On my return to work, my supervising partner pulled me aside and said that in light of my illness she would be putting me on a performance management plan.

I was taken aback, but in my highly sensitive state did not protest. I had just been instructing solicitor on a Supreme Court trial, stepping in when a senior lawyer had literally walked out of the office in resignation and in protest at the long hours we had been working leading up to the trial. The firm had also just received a letter from senior counsel praising my efforts at trial. I did not believe that my performance was lacking, and when I asked for feedback from other senior lawyers there was nothing but praise for my efforts.

Not long afterwards I left the firm for different reasons, although I can’t deny that the performance management plan was the nail in the coffin of my relationship with my supervising partner. Many years later when I was a senior lawyer and employed with another firm, I had the satisfaction of working opposite her and demonstrating that I was not only capable of working in the same field, but excelling.

Fortunately, at that stage in my career I also had an employer who remains to this day the best I’ve ever had, and who did not for a moment after I disclosed that I had bipolar disorder consider that my abilities were compromised by the illness. At times when I was hospitalised, my direct boss understood how important working was not only for me but for my recovery, and trusted that I could do some work remotely from my hospital room.

For a while I also worked four days a week, taking a Wednesday off to allow for the obligatory appointments with my psychiatrist and to look after my health. If I needed to, I worked from home on my day off and this had the added benefit of me getting work done with minimal disruption. The ability to change these arrangements without being interrogated as to whether I could get the job done was something I will never again take for granted.

I have moved on from this employer, but learned a lot from her about leadership and how acceptance, diversity and flexibility in the workplace can mean that your staff not only get the job done, but excel at the job. So here I humbly offer some tips of my own for management on how to deal with requests for flexibility from staff with a disability:

• Be mindful of the power imbalance between management and junior staff, and how this is particularly exaggerated in a situation in which that staff member is swallowing his or her pride to ask for a flexible work environment. In my case, at seven years post-admission and following a promotion, I finally felt that I had ‘earned the right’ to request flexible working arrangements which would make management of my illness easier. It should, in fact, work the opposite way around: a lawyer requests flexible work practices because this will give her the best prospects of managing the illness so she can perform well in the job.

• Management of disability is an ongoing journey with inevitable peaks and troughs. Often the person with the disability will have periods where the disability itself is managed and under control, however may be suffering from problems related to the treatment of the illness, such as medication. In my case, I moved into an apartment 500 metres up the road from the office because I was so fatigued from my medication that I was getting to work late when I lived 20 kilometres away. My point is that, if you are the manager of a person with a disability, be mindful of the fact that their battle is often more than just with the illness or disability itself.

• Respect not only the individual’s right to privacy (this goes without saying), but his or her decision to disclose information which may make you uncomfortable. Every time a person with a psychiatric illness discloses that fact to their employer, he or she is taking a considerable leap of faith in entrusting that information to you. It is an extremely bold decision. Do not minimise the experience of that person by glancing away, brushing it under the carpet or changing the subject, or worse still, thereafter questioning every judgment call that person makes when decision-making is required. Acknowledge how difficult making that decision to disclose the illness must have been and thank them for trusting you with that information. Don’t forget that they are asking for your help to make their working life easier.

56 PROCTOR | February 2015

My flexibility storyI have experienced first-hand how taking a collaborative and personalised approach to integrating work-life balance through flexible working arrangements can benefit both the individual worker’s career, and the success of the business.

I am the practice leader of the commercial and property team at Clifford Gouldson Lawyers in Toowoomba. I moved to Toowoomba about four years ago after deciding that I wanted to move closer to my family. I was coming from a sizeable firm in Brisbane and had developed a strong practice in property law, particularly rural property.

After changes within the firm I initially came to Toowoomba to work for, I was contacted by Clifford Gouldson, a firm I knew to be held in high regard in the Toowoomba region. The firm did not practise in my area of specialty, but after some discussion we decided that I would join the firm and develop a commercial law practice.

Fast forward two years and I was expecting my first child. With imminent life changes ahead, I took some time to reflect. In particular:

• I had invested significant time and effort into developing my expertise in commercial practice and building a strong team.

• I had fostered many strong personal relationships with my clients and the business community.

• I felt that taking 12 months’ maternity leave would significantly affect my team and my practice.

• I decided that I wanted to keep my career moving.

• Despite all the above, it was important to me to be a significant part of my child’s life.

The result of this reflection was a plan to return to work after three months’ maternity leave. I discussed this plan with the directors before I went on leave. They were fully supportive of my plan, but also encouraged me to take the time I needed. They suggested that we touch base closer to my planned return date to discuss what I would need to facilitate my transition back to work.

In the end, I did return after three months. Together, we came up with a flexible arrangement whereby I aim to work from home one day each week, and the firm also turned one of our client meeting rooms into a feeding room. Having a private and comfortable feeding room meant that my husband (who was at home caring for our daughter) was able to bring my daughter in during the day for a feed, and I could also comfortably express as needed.

I really felt like I did not need to push for a flexible arrangement at my firm. There always seemed to be acceptance that making personalised work-life arrangements was part of the reality of attracting and retaining great staff in a regional environment. The directors were very proactive in simply asking me what I would need to make things work.

I think my flexible arrangement works well because I have the full and genuine support of the directors and my colleagues. No one has ever made me feel like my arrangements make their life difficult. There are, of course, logistical challenges from time to time – when IT issues rear their ugly head, or urgent meetings arise – but the close distance from home to work generally makes these easy to circumvent.

57PROCTOR | February 2015

Flexibility

This story was prepared on behalf of the Queensland Law Society Equalising Opportunity in the Law Committee for the flexibility working group. The group needs your story – good or bad. Please contact [email protected] and share your experiences with flexibility in the legal profession.

It was also challenging for me to transition into a new arrangement – I love the hum and buzz of the office, and at first I found it difficult to keep myself motivated without that environment to keep me going at home. However, once I got myself organised, I managed to structure my workload so that I kept certain types of work to be done in the relative quiet of my home office that would be more challenging in our open-plan office environment.

From the outset of my time with the firm, it was obvious to me that the directors were open and accepting of personalised arrangements. There were numerous examples of good work-life balance, including in the directors themselves, and there were already some staff working remotely on a permanent basis. I think that this collaborative environment really allowed

me to sink my teeth into the challenge ahead without worrying about whether all my hard work would be thrown away when a child came into the mix. It made sure that I never had one foot on the accelerator and one on the brake at the same time. Instead, I gave the firm everything I had, knowing that when the time came, they would help me to keep helping them.

Very recently the success of this approach has been reinforced with the existing two directors, Danny Clifford and Ben Gouldson, inviting me to join them as a director. This more than anything shows that, with a flexible approach and the right attitude of everyone involved, it is possible for a female lawyer to continue to progress her career while also enjoying a healthy and happy family life.

My experience has made me see how this collaborative approach to flexibility really helps to retain top talent, particularly in regional areas where it can sometimes be difficult to attract staff. But not only that – it also makes the junior members of the profession more optimistic about what lies ahead for them in their own careers.

A collaborative approach to managing a sustainable return to work benefits all involved and is a great strategy to improve retention of top staff. Amanda Tolson offers her flexibility story.

The top three workplace concerns expressed by those who accessed the program this year were excessive workload, reduced productivity and unclear vocational direction. Overall, most concerns related to family and personal relationship issues, followed by stress and anxiety.

Employees in their first two years of employment made up 22.4% of cases.

We noted that 39 sessions were booked with LawCare but were not attended, and there was an under-utilisation of the manager support program which was only used seven times in the year.



Developing our cultureKey outcomes for 2014-15

Commenced change project focusing on service excellence

Staff engagement survey results went up an average 19%

More than 25% of staff have flexible working arrangements

Invested in executive leadership development

Queensland Law Society employs more than 100 staff working across diverse areas. Our people are pivotal in making the Society a leading professional membership association. Our relationships with each other, our members and the wider community are guided by our values of respect, integrity and service.

Ensuring diversity in the organisation

The Society is committed to attracting and retaining quality staff. We welcomed 34 new team members this year across departments, all of whom took part in our comprehensive induction program.

The Society has diversity and flexibility policies in line with legislation and we aim to promote a broad range of work options within our organisation. The majority of our staff (69%) are employed full-time. More than 25% of our staff have flexible work arrangements, including working from home, job-share and flexible start and finish times.

Item Number

Staff 118 (FTE: 100.5)

Employment type

Full-time: 82 (69%) Part-time: 29 (25%)

Casual: 7 (6%)

Gender Male: 32 (27%) Female: 86 (73%)

New team members

34

Permanent separation (turnover) rate

17%

During 2014-15, one employee received a redundancy package at a cost of $20,769.24. Reasonable attempts were made to find alternative employment and at the conclusion of this period, the employee was terminated.

Project Sapphire: focusing on excellence

A major corporate plan initiative for 2014-15 was the launch of our rebranding/culture change project which internally we call Project Sapphire. We launched Phase 1 of Project Sapphire in July 2014 with four key strategic aims:

• build our leadership capability, agility and ability through change

• improve engagement and communication across the Society – keeping our people better informed and providing them the opportunity to have input into our strategic direction and decision-making

• create a service excellence ethos across the organisation – in terms of quality, timeliness, knowledge and value-adding

• enhance our project management capability and capacity – in terms of quality, timeliness, efficiency and delivery.

There is a strong desire to support these goals across the Society, with 30% of staff directly involved in the project as either a Sapphire Champion or an active member of a working group.

Service Excellence Working Group

This year, the Service Excellence Working Group rolled out our ‘whole-of-business’ service non-negotiables and initiated a service standards survey. Individual business units also put their own service non-negotiables and plans in place.

Across the organisation, all business units received more than 75% positive ratings for the key internal service measures of ‘willingness to assist’, ‘timeliness’, ‘quality’, and ‘overall satisfaction’.



Communications and Engagement Working Group

The Communications and Engagement Working Group focuses on increasing communication across the Society and ensuring high levels of engagement with Project Sapphire initiatives. Very positive engagement survey results relating to communication and confidence in the Society’s leadership team demonstrate the success of this group’s work. Initiatives including a monthly staff e-newsletter and the social staff competition, the Sapphire Games, were introduced this year.

Project Management Working Group

The Project Management Working Group was initiated early in the project to ensure correct project management principles and documentation. New templates were developed in consultation with key staff and they are used as tools in managing a range of projects of varying sizes across the organisation. This framework has been instrumental in maintaining high levels of governance, accountability and visibility of the Project Sapphire project.

We will move in 2015-16 to Phase 2 of Project Sapphire, which will focus on embedding our excellent service ethos at an individual and team level. We are pleased with the change achieved with Project Sapphire and are confident that this next phase will produce even greater results.

Engagement survey shows staff commitment

An internal engagement survey this year measured staff commitment at a high of 86%, and job satisfaction at 76%. We maintained a high participation score (89%) and recorded a significant improvement across all 14 key measures of staff engagement: the average rating across all measures rose from 60% in 2014 to 79% in 2015.

Three key areas in the 2014-15 corporate plan were measured in the survey. The results showed that:

• feeling well-informed about what is happening at the Society increased by 26%

• confidence that the Society can deliver on its strategic plan increased by 31%

• satisfaction with the level of the Society’s reputation within the profession increased by 27%.

These results indicate that shifting the focus of our staff, management team and working groups is achieving positive results. Our goal is to maintain these excellent results by embedding these behaviours and further focusing on improving our processes.

Shaping our culture through the Strategic Culture Gauge

This year, the Society undertook the Strategic Culture Gauge delivered by Chandler Macleod. This customisable tool assists users in shaping the desired culture to meet organisational goals. The gauge looks at the conviction (level of commitment to a cultural value) and opportunity (how much opportunity there is in a particular cultural value) scores of an organisation across a range of cultural qualities.

The Strategic Culture Gauge can measure 24 cultural qualities. After completing the activity we worked with Chandler Macleod to determine the Society’s top four cultural qualities and benchmarked these against our desired target of 70% conviction. Results are shown in the table below.

Cultural quality

Conviction score*

Opportunity score

Responsible 61% 86%

Connected 61% 86%

Customer Centric

60% 87%

Purposeful 66% 91%

*A conviction score of 60-69% is described as generally having consistent messages about the cultural quality and what is expected. This likely results in a mostly positive and performance-enhancing culture, however, may be vulnerable to pressure and therefore inconsistent over time.

Our participation in the Strategic Culture Gauge provided a valuable benchmark to compare against when we retest in late 2015. We are confident that there will be improvements in all four key areas, with the gaps narrowing between potential and conviction scores.

Developing our staff

The Society understands that staff development is critical to our success as an organisation and we continue to focus on professional development opportunities for our staff. Developing our staff will also aid in the successful implementation and embedding of the Project Sapphire initiatives.

This year, we invested $71,019 in training for staff, an average of $601 per staff member. Learning and development activity includes:

• Project Sapphire-focused change management training for our management team and Sapphire Champions

• attendance at external workshops and conferences, including service excellence, influence and negotiation, problem solving and decision making, commercial and financial acumen, leadership and management, industry and networking events, specialised training and Microsoft Office programs

• mental health awareness sessions focused on managing mental health concerns, early warning signs and an introduction to the ‘recognise, respond, refer, review’ model

• one-hour ‘lunch and learn’ sessions with topics including law 101, understanding our members and the profession, 10 faulty thinking habits, giving feedback effectively, Society business unit 101 sessions, superannuation and general wellbeing

• study assistance for our team members undertaking law degrees and postgraduate qualifications including law, finance and corporate governance

• annual refreshers of our regulatory and compliance requirements.



Developing our leaders

We commenced Phase 2 of our executive leadership development program, focusing on individual, tailored leadership development, as well as team building.

The program comprises six individual executive coaching sessions to further develop personal and sustained behaviour changes, along with four facilitated group workshops to enable the leadership team to develop a greater understanding of themselves and others.

All of the Society’s senior leaders have completed a Leadership Circle 360 assessment. This ensures that each leader has a clear plan in place to improve their leadership effectiveness. Our team members have also determined their next progression on the leadership circle which will enable them to be a more effective, cohesive and results-oriented team.

Encouraging mental health awareness

Queensland Law Society is a signatory to the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation Psychological Wellbeing Best Practice Guidelines for the Legal Profession. From this we established our key initiative to raise mental health awareness among staff. We developed a process to assess the Society against the 13 psychological factors outlined in the guidelines and determined which areas should be our education and training focus. This year, we focused on increasing awareness of mental health in the workplace and developing the leadership team’s skills to better identify and manage mental health issues within a best practice framework.

We made sessions available to staff through an external mental health and mental health management provider. These sessions have been well-attended, and have raised the level of awareness and education within our organisation.

Managing our workforce through performance reviews

We completed our annual staff performance reviews, known internally as Link Success. This process includes a review of an individual’s yearly performance plan and an assessment by both the staff member and their manager of their performance, adherence to organisational values, and communication and interpersonal competencies. At the completion of each review, a new plan is discussed and agreed by the staff member and managers for the upcoming year.

Our human resources team completed a high-level analysis of review results. Overall, these were positive, with the majority of staff achieving or exceeding their annual objectives. The below graph depicts the ratings across the organisation.

The Link Success program will be reviewed in the next financial year, with one of the initiatives to address the results being weighted slightly towards the positive end of the scale and ensuring we have consistency around the definition of high performance within the organisation.

Our remuneration and industrial relations approach

We have reviewed all remuneration to ensure that salaries are in line with external, benchmarked remuneration policies and we follow a transparent, structured performance-bonus program. Employees who reach their performance objectives have the opportunity to receive a monetary bonus of up to 8% of their annual salary.

We employ a robust approach towards working within the industrial relations framework. The human resources team is highly qualified and experienced in all facets of industrial relations, and hold memberships with the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) which requires compulsory development activities each year. These activities ensure the team is up to date with legislative changes and best practice guidelines across the industry.

For more complex industrial relations matters, we have a number of external legal specialists to provide guidance and advice when needed.

2

Requires improvement

Achieved

31

Commendable

34

Outstanding

12

Link Success ratings for FY14-15

Only 79 staff undertook Link Success in 2014-15 due to either being employed for less than 3 months or having resigned at the time of completion. Casual employees do not complete a Link Success.



Our Council

In accordance with the Legal Profession Act 2007 (the LPA), Council comprises 12 elected members: four office bearers – president, deputy president (who succeeds the president in Council’s second year), vice president and immediate past president; and eight elected Council members. In addition, the Attorney-General nominates a Council representative. This means during Council’s two-year term there are 13 Council members in the first year and 12 Council members in the second year.

Council is responsible for the governance of Queensland Law Society, including the continual review of the strategic plan and the Society’s performance as reported through the CEO. Council is also responsible for approving the annual budget and overseeing the financial management of the Society’s affairs.

Council is committed to excellence in corporate governance and believes that good corporate governance is consistent with respect, integrity and service, the Society’s core values. Our Council uses the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Good Governance Principles and Guidance for Not-for-Profit Organisations as its benchmark and key guidance for the Society’s corporate governance.

Council has delegated responsibility for management and day-to-day operations to the Society’s CEO, and the CEO has the authority to carry out these responsibilities in accordance with the directions and policies established by the Council. The CEO supports the Council in carrying out its governance functions and ensures that the Society operates in compliance with all statutory obligations.

Our Audit and Investment Committee

The Audit and Investment Committee (AIC) is responsible for overseeing and ensuring the integrity of the financial reporting process, for monitoring the Society’s risk management framework and for overseeing the responsible investment of surplus funds in accordance with the Society’s investment policies.

Our AIC is led by an independent chair, Grant Wallace, a qualified chartered accountant and advisor with more than 30 years’ industry experience spanning all facets of accounting and financial services.

During the year, the AIC:

• reviewed and approved the audited 2013-14 financial statements

• discussed with our auditors the audit process and any matters arising

• reviewed and updated the Risk Register

• reviewed the workplace health and safety framework and hazard identification process

• considered the best way to progress information technology disaster recovery

• reviewed the 2015-16 budget and recommended a fee schedule to Council

• reviewed and recommended steps to improve returns from Queensland Law Society investments by applying for government approval to enter into certain financial arrangements

• reviewed and recommended to Council for approval a new Investment Policy for the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund and changes to the Lexon Investment Policy Statement

• reviewed its own performance and adherence to the AIC Charter.

Our Governance Committee

During 2014-15, Council established a new subcommittee, the Governance Committee, to assist Council in fulfilling its corporate governance responsibilities. The committee comprises three members of Council. The Governance Committee embarked on a review of all current committee delegations and corporate governance policies, processes and practices, to ensure best practice is consistently applied and recommend any required changes to policies or practices to Council. This review is expected to continue throughout 2015-16.

Other committees

Council has established a number of other committees to assist it in discharging its statutory responsibilities and to carry out other business of the Society. These include:

• Executive Committee (a subcommittee of Council which meets monthly and exercises delegated powers of Council in relation to operational matters)

• The Committee of Management for the Fidelity Guarantee Fund (established under s366 of the LPA to exercise delegated powers of Council in relation to management of the Fidelity Guarantee Fund)

• Practice Management Course Committee (established under Part 5 of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005 to oversee the conduct and management of the Practice Management Course conducted by the Society)

• Continuing Professional Development Committee (established under Part 6 of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005 to assist Council in managing and monitoring the obligations of legal practitioners to complete 10 CPD units per year)

• Ethics Committee (established by Council to assist, advise and report to Council on matters relating to lawyers’ professional ethics).

All committee chairs, deputy chairs and members are appointed by Council. Each committee is supported by an appropriately qualified and experienced staff member from the Society.

Our governance framework



Council and AIC meetings

1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015 CouncilAudit and Investment

Committee

Councillors Attended Scheduled Attended Scheduled

Ian Brown (2014 president; 2015 immediate past president*)

9 12 3 4

Michael Fitzgerald (2014 deputy president; 2015 president)

12 12 4 4

Deborah Awyzio (vice president)

11 12 1 4

Kara Cook 10 12 - -

Christopher Coyne 8 12 - -

Danielle Keyes 10 12 - -

Bill Potts 11 12 - -

Elizabeth Shearer 12 12 4 4

Christine Smyth 12 12 - -

Paul Spiro 7 12 - -

Ken Taylor 11 12 - -

Paul Tully 8 12 3 4

Grant Wallace (independent chair)

- - 4 4

*resigned from Council effective 18 June 2015

Ensuring risk management

The Society has a risk management and compliance framework which includes clear accountabilities for managing areas of risk and compliance, regular monitoring and updating of a centralised risk register and oversight of the framework and key risks as identified by the Audit and Investment Committee and Council. Risk assessments are performed routinely in the development of business cases and project plans and in the normal course of business. The Society’s Office of General Counsel, our in-house legal unit, provides advice on risk and compliance issues and delivers regular compliance training to staff.

Our ethics

The Society has developed and implemented a Code of Conduct that applies to all staff. We encourage our Council, committee members, member and business colleagues to partner with us in implementing our Code. Staff are educated in the importance of the Code, requirements to ensure adherence and potential impacts if the Code is breached. Our values of respect, integrity and service are reinforced in our human resource policies and procedures and incorporated in our Link Success performance agreements for all staff.

Our organisational structure

Member Services and Products

Marketing and Engagement

Chief Executive Offi cer

President and Council

Professional Standards

Corporate Services Finance Human Resources

Records and Member Services

Advocacy

Ethics Centre

Business Development

Learning and Professional Development

Marketing and Communications

Legal Investigations

Information Systems Finance Human Resources

Corporate Governance and Strategy/Corporate Secretary

Offi ce of the General Counsel

Legal Practitioners Admissions Board

Strategic Partnerships

Digital Marketing

Graphic Design

Events Management

Trust Account Investigations

External Interventions

Fidelity Guarantee Fund

Administration Services

Facilities and WHS

Updated 23 July 2015

Corporate structure



Back row: Paul Spiro 2014-15 Attorney-General’s nominee, Deborah Awyzio 2014-15 vice president, Christine Smyth, Ian Brown 2014 president; 2015 immediate past president

Middle row: Ken Taylor, Elizabeth Shearer, Bill Potts, Kara Cook, Christopher Coyne

Front row: Michael Fitzgerald 2014 deputy president; 2015 president, Noela L’Estrange chief executive officer

Our Council

Danielle Keyes Paul Tully



Queensland Law Society’s leadership team comprises experts in their respective teams who possess a passion for driving organisational goals and providing customer service excellence. Together, our leaders work to deliver the best outcomes for our members.

Noela L’Estrange

Chief Executive Officer

BA (Hons) LLB MAdmin FAICD FAIM FAuSAE

Noela L’Estrange was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Law Society in May 2009.

She is a director of Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd and a member of its Audit and Investment Committee.

Noela is a director of the Camerata of St John’s and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australian Institute of Management and the Australasian Society of Association Executives.

She is a member of the management committee of the Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House (QPILCH), which operates the Society’s pro bono legal program, and a member of both the Supreme Court Library Queensland Committee and the Griffith Law School Visiting Committee.

Noela has extensive experience in the legal profession, as a practitioner in private and public practice, an academic, human resources lawyer, strategic consultant and, immediately prior to her appointment, as the Director of Legal Practice Support for the Australian Government Solicitor in Canberra.

She has been a director of public and private companies, a national director of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association and a councillor for the ACT for the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

This year, she was awarded only the third honorary membership of the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland.

Noela’s term concluded on 30 June 2015.

Erin Bray

General Manager, Marketing and Engagement

GradCertBus AFAMI CPM

Erin Bray joined Queensland Law Society in May 2011 and is responsible for providing strategic and operational support in corporate branding, member engagement, and marketing services and products.

Erin leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for the attraction and retention of members, publications, public relations, internal and external communications, advertising, sponsorship, market research, visual identity, brand awareness and events management.

With more than 20 years’ experience in marketing and communication, including managing her own digital marketing firm, Erin has held key strategic senior roles within the Asia-Pacific region in private and public sector organisations.

Our leadership team

Jo Mugglestone

General Manager, Human Resources

Grad Dip Psychology BA (Psychology) BA (Business)

Jo Mugglestone joined Queensland Law Society in February 2014 and is responsible for ensuring that effective human resource and organisational development systems and practices are in place to support the business strategy.

Jo has held key senior leadership roles in human resource management across a range of industries including mining and engineering, aviation and professional services.

Jo resigned in April 2015.



Kerin McMahon

General Manager, Human Resources

CAHRI

Kerin joined Queensland Law Society in May 2015 and is responsible for ensuring that effective human resource and organisational development systems and practices are in place to support the business strategy.

Kerin worked at McCullough Robertson for more than seven years in various HR roles. Prior to joining the Society she was the head of talent and culture at CapitalB and Megaport, where she had responsibility for strategic and operational HR support.

Vijay Mavani

General Manager Finance

BCA MBA CA

Vijay Mavani joined Queensland Law Society in February 2014 and takes a key leadership role in managing all aspects of the Society’s financial operations.

With extensive experience in financial management and senior financial roles across a range of industries including engineering, energy and government sectors, Vijay has completed an MBA from Southern Cross University and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University of Wellington.

He is also a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Bronwyn Neroni

General Manager, Corporate Governance and Strategy/Corporate Secretary

BA LLB MAICD

Bronwyn Neroni manages risk and compliance, and ensures that the Society maintains appropriate governance. She works with our Council and leadership team to develop and implement strategy and manage reporting. She joined the Society in June 2014.

Bronwyn was admitted to practice as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1999. She has experience as a litigation lawyer, in-house legal advisor, legal practice manager and as national manager of the Australian Government Solicitor pro bono practice. She is a non-executive director of Deaf Services Queensland.

Scott Rowan

General Manager, Corporate Services

BCom CA

Scott Rowan facilitates Queensland Law Society’s internal corporate needs, ensuring IT systems, administrative support, facilities and workplace health and safety systems assist operational and strategic requirements.

With more than 15 years’ experience in information systems, Scott also has a background in accounting and is a graduate of The University of Queensland.

He delivers on strategic objectives through the selection, implementation and ongoing use of appropriate systems and processes.

Craig Smiley

General Manager, Professional Standards

LLB (Hons)

Craig Smiley joined Queensland Law Society in June 2004. He heads the Society’s Professional Standards Division.

Craig provides leadership to the professional standards team across trust account investigations, legal investigations, the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund and external interventions.

Craig has practised as a solicitor and barrister in private practice and as a government lawyer.

Anne Gately

General Manager, Member Services and Products

MA Dip Ed PGCE MAICD FAIM

Anne Gately is responsible for teams that design and deliver a range of products, services and experiences that are commercially viable and sustainable and which form the member value proposition of Queensland Law Society.

Anne’s experience includes senior management roles in three global professional services firms, including two legal firms and a national member association.

Anne’s roles were in strategic and operational leadership, marketing and business development.

Anne has experience as a non-executive director of an e-learning company and three professional associations.



Information privacy

The Society is committed to ensuring that personal information collected is dealt with in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles contained in the IP Act and the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

The Society has procedures in place to prevent unauthorised use and access to personal information collected by it. Society members and the public have the right to request access to any personal information which relates to them and the right to request that the information be corrected should it be inaccurate.

Recordkeeping

In 2014-15 the Society regularly undertook archival activities in accordance with its obligations under the Public Records Act 2002. The Society has policies to meet its obligations regarding the destruction of temporary public records and the transfer of permanent public records to Queensland State Archives (QSA).

We are also conducting a review of QSA’s Queensland Disposal Authority Number (QDAN) 674 version 1 to ensure it captures Society records not caught by the QSA’s General Retention and Disposal Schedule for Administrative Records.

All Society staff complete online training modules in recordkeeping, managing emails which are public records, and the Information Privacy Act 2009 and Right to Information Act 2009 as part of the induction program, to ensure that we are all aware of our regulatory obligations.

Right to information

The Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI Act) allows members of the public access to certain information controlled by government. We support RTI principles by operating in an open, transparent and accountable manner, while protecting the privacy of members and staff. The Society is required to report the number of applications for access to documents under the RTI Act and submits these figures to the Department of Justice and the Attorney-General (DJAG) for inclusion in its Right to Information and Information Privacy Annual Report. This report can be found on the Queensland RTI website.

Our publication scheme is designed to release information we routinely make available to the public, without people having to apply through the formal RTI Act or the Information Privacy Act 2009 (IP Act) application processes.

QLS Symposium 2015

Ensuring our sustainability


Ensuring our sustainabilityKey outcomes for 2014-15

2015-16 renewal fees and insurance levy rates reduced

14,859 visitors to the mediation and meeting rooms at Law Society House

2.73 tonnes of office paper was recycled

Our paper recycling more than doubled our savings in carbon emissions

Queensland Law Society is committed to taking care of the environment through our internal processes, and focusing on our sustainability within the building. Each year, we undertake steps to ensure that we are conducting business in the most sustainable way possible.

Decreasing landfill contributions

This year, we continued our commitment to protect the environment and promote our sustainability by distributing recycling boxes to each staff member in the form of recycled milk box cartons. This endeavour increased our recycling of clean office paper by 2% to an impressive 2.73 tonnes. This initiative also saw our milk box cartons repurposed rather than thrown away.

The Body Corporate of Law Society House also provides for the collection of cardboard, aluminium and glass from all inhabitants of the building, including levels 1 and 3 which are not occupied by our staff. This year, 22% of total wastage from the building was diverted from landfill to recycling.

Office paper recycling results

2014-15 2013-14

Recycled office paper 2.73 tonnes 2.655 tonnes

We saved

Trees 38.34 34.63

Landfill 10.92m3 10.62m3

Electricity 11,193kWh 10,885.5kWh

Oil 6.78 barrels 6.59 barrels

Water 86.61kL 77.57kL

Carbon emissions 12.92 tonnes 6.07 tonnes



Lowering our energy consumption

The Society has been strongly focused on lowering our energy consumption since 2010, when the building was refurbished and energy-saving fluorescent tubes were installed. This refurbishment did not include an upgrade to the air-handling compressor units which date back to 1987. These units are now ageing and continue to drive up the electricity consumption of the building. We have placed ultra-violet lights within two of these units in order to kill algae growth deep within the coils, resulting in increased efficiency of the units and a decrease in overall electricity consumption. There are plans underway to systematically replace these units with a more energy-efficient option.

The Body Corporate of Law Society House is currently furthering the energy consumption project, continuing to change over failing mercury and metal halide lighting to more efficient LED bulbs. Our facilities team is also staying informed on the City Smart initiative which will develop a centrally located plant to supply chilled water to service the air-conditioning systems in buildings across the Brisbane CBD. This service would eliminate the need for buildings to run their own individual cooling towers, as chilled water would be bought as any other utility, such as mains water. This would free up our rooftop for the installation of other sustainability initiatives, such as solar panels.

Sustainability champions

This year, some of our staff joined the Australian Legal Sector Alliance Sustainability Champions network to further our sustainability initiatives. Recent discussions in the network have involved potential sustainability criteria when purchasing items like catering and equipment. The Society will continue to be involved in this group and other sustainability initiatives.

Decreasing our carbon footprint

This year, we actively focused on reducing food and beverage wastage by measuring and reporting wastage by individual event. This initiative has allowed us to identify areas of waste and take steps to reduce it by changing our catering options. Where poured beverages were regularly returned from lunchtime meetings, this has been changed to bottled beverages, allowing beverages which are not consumed to be returned to stock for another event. This has resulted in the recording of zero beverage wastage from lunchtime meetings.

On the occasion that food wastage does occur, the Society continues with our food diversion program to Rosie’s Youth Mission and its street outreach program.

The Society sources everyday catering for committee meetings from suppliers in the local Ann Street precinct to ensure that catering is delivered on foot to reduce carbon emissions.

Ensuring a safe environment for all

Queensland Law Society is committed to providing a safe work environment for employees, members and visitors. Law Society House is a space that we are proud of, and we continue to ensure that it is the best place that we can make it for both those who work in the building as well as visitors.

This year, we took further steps to ensure safety at Law Society House, by further developing the Traffic Management Plan for the easement and basement carparks. This easement is primarily a service area and shares space with pedestrian traffic, making it an acute risk for injury. As a control measure, we have implemented a policy that ensures all staff and visitors to the building use the front door as the only entry and exit point to Law Society House.

Brisbane’s role as host of the 2014 G20 Summit was also a major focus this year for our facilities team, as they ensured that the building and staff were prepared in case of a security event. Key facilities staff attended police briefings to keep informed of the latest developments, and drills were conducted to test our lockdown procedures in the event of civil disturbance or other threats in the vicinity of Law Society House. The site was monitored by additional security patrols and our facilities staff monitored the CCTV system remotely over the weekend. The Summit passed incident free.



A home for our membersQueensland Law Society offers a range of professional conference and meeting rooms conveniently located in Brisbane’s CBD.

Law Society House

Law Society House offers a range of facilities and amenities for our members to utilise for meetings, mediations, conferences and other important events. Located on level 2, our Brisbane members and those visiting from regional areas have access not only to a space to conduct their business but also access to the members’ lounge, free wireless internet, audio and videoconferencing facilities and presentation equipment.

This year, bookings increased across all rooms, with 14,859 visitors to the mediation and meeting rooms, and 9,571 attendees at events held in the Law Society House auditorium. The Members’ Lounge also increased in usage by 25 bookings this year.

Our member satisfaction ratings for level 2 spaces have increased to 4.6 this year. This was achieved through the appointment of an additional full-time staff member to the facilities team, which resulted in improved delivery and efficiency of customer service.

Mediation and meeting room usage

2014-15 2013-14

Bookings 2,207 2,161

Reserved hours 11,336.25 10,970.97

Total attendees 14,859 12,844

Auditorium usage

2014-15 2013-14

Bookings 328 277

Reserved hours 1,595.67 1,478.50

Total attendees 9,571 7,587

Maximising our space

This year, we focused on increasing member use of our facilities by relocating Society committee meetings, where possible, to vacant auditoriums. This has influenced the increase in auditorium usage, however, the auditoriums were under-utilised this year.

In late October 2014, we became members of Brisbane Marketing to raise our profile and attract non-member interest in our conveniently located venue. Since joining the association, we have responded to 13 requests, secured one new client for multiple bookings, and been shortlisted by others as a suitable option for venue hire.

Business Supporters

Queensland Law Society would like to thank the members of our Business Supporters Program for their continued loyalty in 2014-15.

This program promoted our commercial partners’ services to the specific and sought-after consumer audience of Queensland solicitors.

2014-15 Business Supporters

Area of Business Organisation

Accounting Moore StephensFWO Chartered AccountantsSV Partners

Audit, tax and advisory BDO

Broadcast hire Pro-Cam

IT support SAI Global

Investigators/process serving Advance National ServicesSharmans Investigations and Process Serving

Legal software Law Support AustraliaLEAP

Property advisors Herron Todd White

Serviced offices Clarence Professional Offices

Medicolegal LexiMed



Building for the future

Queensland Law Society’s finance team works hard behind the scenes to ensure the financial sustainability of the organisation. The department undertakes training, reviews and strategic approaches to reach this target.

Financial literacy training

In order to promote financial sustainability outcomes, our finance team ensured that all managers across various disciplines received financial training. The aim was to increase awareness of the Society’s financial health and budget literacy in regards to what drives our financial performance. This initiative will ultimately maximise our returns to members, and was seen in a resulting robust budget for 2015-16 across all departments.

Reducing fees for members

This year, the Society’s Council announced to members that their combined membership and practising certificate renewal fees would be lower in the 2015-16 renewals process.

Council decided to significantly reduce payments to the Fidelity Guarantee Fund as a reflection of the strong prudential management of the fund, whilst still maintaining its sustainability. This moderates the overall fees payable, also recognising the financial stresses currently faced by many firms and practitioners.

Employee practitioner members had their overall fees reduced by 12%, and principal practitioner members had their overall fees reduced by 7%.

Reducing insurance base levy rates

The Society announced to members that the base levy rates for 2015-16 will fall by no less than 10% for every levy band. This means that the base levy rates for the next financial year will be at their lowest levels since the current turnover base model was introduced in 2007-08.

The reduction in rates is an outcome of the combined commitment of the Society and Lexon Insurance to deliver an affordable insurance scheme for all insured members.

The Society’s ongoing commitment to Lexon was acknowledged by Lexon chairman Glenn Ferguson. The reduction in rates was achievable in part due to the profession actively embracing Lexon’s risk management message. The claims performance shows that the yearly number of insurance files has reduced by more than 40% since 2002-03 despite insured practitioner numbers growing by more than 45% in the same period.

Ensuring financial sustainability

We continue to review our operations to assess where services could be delivered more efficiently to reduce costs and maximise value to our members. This year, cost reductions against budget were achieved in information technology systems and administration areas of the Society.

Our plans for the future

Queensland Law Society’s corporate and strategic plans form the short and medium-term roadmaps for the Society and our members. These plans are influenced by member feedback, previous corporate results and external and internal factors.

Corporate plan

Queensland Law Society’s corporate plan for 2015-16 contains five initiatives which will be a key focus to deliver in preparation for our 2018 goals.

We have decided once again to limit our corporate plan to a maximum of five key areas of cross-team strategic focus.

Key initiatives include:

• to grow membership and member engagement by implementing our marketing strategy and finalising our membership strategy

• proactive and strategic advocacy, including following up on the issues in our Call to Parties document, and

• Project Sapphire Phase 2 which continues to develop our culture. Embedding our culture of service excellence to members at an individual and divisional level along with process improvement are crucial 2015-16 deliverables.



Strategic plan

Our strategic plan is our longer term view, spanning the period 2013-18. We are currently well underway to delivering on these strategies.

• Review and maximise alternative revenue sources including investments and service charges


• Embed our culture of service excellence to members at an individual and divisional level and pursue opportunities for process improvement

Serving our members


• Grow membership and member engagement by implementing our marketing strategy and finalising our membership strategy

• Deliver proactive and strategic advocacy which effectively applies the skills and knowledge of our volunteer members

• Research, design and deliver new risk management and early intervention programs for practitioners

Our visionTo lead the legal profession by advocating for good law and supporting good lawyers

Our purposeTo be the profession’s trusted advisor through providing quality advice, advocacy, learning and professional development for our members

Strategic objectives for 2018• Grow membership

• Lead the profession through setting professional standards, providing ethical guidance and targeted advocacy

• A culture of excellent member service

• Strengthen our financial sustainability

Key performance indicators 2015-16• Membership growth (number of full members

up at least 1.5%)

• Member participation rate increase (at least 89.7% of practising certificate holders are full members)

• Member satisfaction scores for QLS services and facilities exceed targets

• Evidence of effective consultation and engagement between government and QLS on advocacy issues

• Positive change in internal survey results, particularly in relation to communication, engagement and service excellence

• Achieve financial targets

For questions regarding the corporate plan, contact Queensland Law Society: 1300 367 757 or [email protected]

Our corporate plan 2015-16 at a glance


2013-18 Strategic planOur vision: To lead the legal profession by advocating for good law and supporting good lawyersOur purpose: To be the profession’s trusted advisor through providing quality advice, advocacy, learning and professional development for our members

Our 2018 goals

Grow membership Lead the profession through setting professional standards, providing ethical guidance and targeted advocacy

A culture of excellent member service

Strengthen our financial sustainability

Our strategies

Attract and engage members by explaining and promoting the value of QLS membership

Improve our advocacy and its value to members and the community

Strengthen our position in setting professional standards and providing authoritative ethical guidance

Develop new ways to help legal practices manage their professional and business risk

Create a workplace culture focused on service excellence, quality, productivity, efficiency and professional credibility

Deliver professional development offerings that meet members’ needs

Our risks and challenges

Providing and demonstrating value to all of our member segments

A more competitive market for our products and services

To be flexible and agile and respond quickly to the needs of members

Developing and maintaining a skilled and member-focused workforce

Our success measures

Membership growth (all member categories)

Member participation rate (full members only)

Member satisfaction scores

Staff engagement survey results

Achievement of financial targets

Revised March 2015

Our corporate plan 2015-16 at a glance

2013-18 Strategic plan



Our future focus

Generations are changing

Change to the composition of membership organisations is occurring on a global scale, with associations experiencing extensive growth in the Generation Y (also known as ‘Millennials’) and Generation X segments, with less growth and engagement from Baby Boomers. These generational changes present challenges to how we communicate value to different audiences and where to best focus marketing and communications efforts. However, with these changes also come significant opportunities to capitalise on our most engaged and receptive member segments.

It’s all about ‘me’

Our data on full members for 2014-15 reveals that we are experiencing significant changes to our membership base. This is the second year that there has been more Generation X males as full members than Baby Boomers. Generation Y is our largest female category. Trends such as these are being experienced by membership organisations worldwide, and in the not-too-distant future all members will fall into the Generation X or Generation Y category, with Generation Z following not too far behind. Future generations will then join our ranks and have different needs.

The Society’s highest full membership numbers are within the 26 to 35-year-old age group, prompting the question of how we engage with this growing segment as an increasingly important task. Our marketing strategy recognises that Generation X and Generation Y need to see clear and tangible value from membership organisations, and they are reluctant to join membership associations that ‘need work’. According to the PwC International Engaging and empowering Millennials – a follow-up study to PwC’s NextGen global generational study (4 December 2012) (PwC study), there are significant differences between the Xers and Ys: While Generation X values control over work, development opportunities and pay satisfaction, Generation Y is driven by the more social needs

of flexibility, appreciation and team collaboration, particularly early in their careers. This makes positioning the Society and our offerings in a way that communicates value, while still ensuring that we maintain the right combination of products and services tailored to this segment, of utmost importance.

Young member enthusiasm is reflected in associations around the world, making it unsurprising that students are one of our key drivers of conversion. It is clear that we have a highly receptive audience of Generation Y members who are eager to learn and develop their careers. They were also our biggest advocates in the 2015 Beaton Benchmarks Associations Report (the Beaton Benchmarks). We currently have a number of products and services to meet their needs, such as our program for early career lawyers, but on review, it is not particularly clear how we are communicating the value of membership. This does not necessarily have to be done through the spoken or written word, but could be in the way that we position our offering to this audience. For example, the early career lawyers section of our website does not genuinely speak to an audience hungry for knowledge and information that could advance their careers.

Appeasing the Ys

It is not only membership organisations paying attention to the generational changes happening in workplaces and industries. Organisations are taking notice of what motivates and satisfies the Generation Y (or Millennial) worker. In 2014-15, our Generation Y membership segment grew the most compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers. In recent times, mid to large law firms have become more sophisticated in their approach to enticing the best of the Generation Ys to join their firms, through fully leveraging technology and building a sense of community, among other strategies. This kind of approach, according to the PwC study, helps to promote retention and an engaged workforce across all generations and levels of their workforce.

We are increasingly seeing firms communicating with this segment in a language and format that strikes a chord with their needs and wants. There are some great examples of how firms are engaging with graduates, which could prove a worthwhile reference for the Society.

There are fundamental characteristics and behaviours which set this group apart from the other generation groups. These include the need to have access to the best tools for collaboration at any time by way of technology, including the ability to exchange information via social media. Considering whether our current offering allows this group to engage with the Society in a relevant and appropriate way is important. Beyond the everyday, it might also be a good time for the Society to explore how we can make our learning, development and support services more accessible to this technology-savvy group. Generation Ys are quick to react to any perceived disconnect between an organisation’s words and actions, reiterating the need to position our offerings in a way that demonstrates a carefully considered approach to this audience.



Changing needs of the generations

It is evident that the needs of the different segments will vary depending on the stage of their career. For example, there is a clear difference in the reasons for joining the Society between young and less-experienced members and older professionals, highlighting the importance of segmenting people at different stages of the career lifecycle.

According to the Associations Matter 2013 State of the Sector Report, 54% of young members join a professional association for information, professional development and networking opportunities. They also value career information more than older segments and are more likely to view events programs as an avenue to help them advance their career. The Society needs to ensure that it has the right mix of services and products to satisfy young members’ unrelenting thirst for learning and development opportunities. They also want to see the tangible benefits that belonging provides, and mercilessly seek answers to the question of ‘what’s in it for me?’

Demonstrating a commitment to their profession is one of the key reasons mid-career members join or maintain membership. While this segment also values information and networking opportunities, their focus is more on the specialty services the Society offers. This may include accreditation programs and ways to maintain professional standards of practice. The Society already has a number of programs to support the needs of this segment; however, keeping them engaged, up to speed and connected to these offerings will remain a constant challenge as this group tends to be more time poor than the other generation groups.

Bear market for Baby Boomers?

At the other end of the membership spectrum we have a declining membership of Baby Boomers and career builders as a result of retirements, and less reliance on the Society due to already established careers and practices. These segments also provided the lowest scores across numerous key metrics in the Beaton Benchmarks.

Given that we have a clearly engaged audience in the early career lawyers and career builders, and declining engagement and membership with the Baby Boomers, it is worth posing the question as to whether our investment should be focused on nurturing and feeding the pipeline of members rather than maintaining the status quo and trying to be all things to all segments. This shift in focus further emphasises the need for the Society to ask the question of whether or not we look and sound like a brand Generation Y would want to connect with, and if not, what should we be doing to future-proof our appeal?

Innovation

Our future focus is all about responding to operational changes in our profession.

The biggest opportunity to emerge is to make the membership experience personal for each member and to articulate the value we provide.

With a new CEO leading Queensland Law Society in 2015-16 and beyond, we will look at things differently and will be prepared to challenge activities, products and services to ensure they meet the needs of our members in a tailored, value-centred context.

We need to construct a framework for this innovation so that it becomes part of our working and is focused on key priorities that will deliver benefits supporting our broader corporate objectives. For example, the website and delivery of services are two areas we have already identified for innovation focus.



Our financial performance

The Group’s consolidated results include the Society’s membership activities, insurance activities (through Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd and the Law Claims Levy Fund – LCLF) and the regulatory responsibilities Queensland Law Society carries out under legislative requirements.

Group results

This year, the Group made an operating surplus before tax of $19.7m, with increased memberships and insurance levies offset by lower investment returns. This resulted in an overall reduction in revenue for the year. Whilst revenues were down, a significant drop in claim expenses more than offset the decline in revenue which led to this operating surplus compared to $10.6m for last year.

2015

18.3m

2014

18.5m

Other Income

Investment Income

Grants and Funding

Services and Events

Membership and Practitioner Fees

QLS revenue (parent company)

QLS revenue growthQueensland Law Society enjoyed strong revenue growth through increased membership and practitioner numbers. Our events added to these revenues, growing by 3.4% due to the higher demand for the Society’s professional development courses and seminars. Stronger cashflows and active investment strategies also led to an increased investment income. Unfortunately, the successes in these areas were negated by reduced government grants of $0.7m resulting in an overall revenue reduction of $0.2m.

Our cost increases are in line with increased activities in seminars and conferences, along with the higher uptake of free legal advice and LawCare.

SURPLUS

EVENTREVENUE

BY 3.4%

OPERATING

GR

OU

P

BEFORE TAX

FROM $10.6m

LAST YEAR

$19.7mUP



Insurance scheme (excludes parent company results)

The insurance scheme results comprise those of Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd and the Law Claims Levy Fund. The scheme reported a surplus before tax of $19.5m, compared to $9.2m for 2013-14. This strong result has been achieved from a significant drop in claims by $15.5m ($28.5m in 2014 to $13m in 2015).

Investment income fell by $3.7m due to interest rates continuing to fall. The insurance scheme has an investment policy statement in place, which provides a framework for managing the investment portfolio. The scheme reported returns of 4.8% compared to 8.4% the previous year.

QLS net assets

Net assets of the parent entity as at 30 June 2015 is $55.1m, up from $53.3m in 2013-14. Retained surpluses are used to deliver major strategic projects for members.

6% Depreciation

19% Membership Services

and Event Costs

24% Member Administration

51% Employee Costs

2015

10.7m

2014

10.1m

QLS Practising Certificate and Membership Revenues

QLS* 2015 EXPENSES

-$

NET ASSETS

FROM

UP $1.8m

$55.1m

$53.3m

$17.8million

SURPLUSDROP INCLAIMS BYBEFORE TAX

COMPAREDTO $9.2m

$19.5m $15.5m

FOR 13-14

FROM $28.5m

$13mIN 2014 TO

IN 2015*parent company

INSURANCE SCHEME

Queensland Law Society Incorporated

Contents Statement of profit or loss 62

Statement of financial position 63

Statement of changes in equity 64

Statement of cash flows 65

Notes to and forming part of the financial statements 66

Declaration of Queensland Law Society Incorporated 106

Independent auditor’s report 107

Law Claims Levy Fund 109

Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund 127

*All amounts are denoted in Australian currency.

Financial statements


Statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the year ended 30 June 2015


Consolidated Parent Entity

Note 2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Revenue

Membership and practitioner fees 6 10,692,111 10,106,846 10,692,111 10,106,846

Dept of Justice and Attorney-General grants 1,356,623 2,107,379 1,356,623 2,107,379

Rent and administration revenue 7 949,730 930,496 1,284,771 1,291,756

Membership services and events 8 3,943,030 3,812,655 3,943,030 3,812,655

Commissions and funding 162,317 233,192 162,317 233,192

Insurance premiums, levies and deductibles 23 31,357,853 30,295,664 - -

Investment income 5(a) 6,963,392 6,987,467 707,265 654,744

Realised gains (losses) on financial assets – fair value through profit or loss 5(b) 2,111,017 531,773 - -

Fair value gains on financial assets – fair value through profit or loss 5(b) (759,911) 4,507,987 - -

Other income 175,511 265,862 175,511 262,355

Total revenue 56,951,673 59,779,321 18,321,628 18,468,927

Expenses

Membership services and events 8 2,209,312 2,010,774 2,209,312 2,010,774

Administration expenses 9 5,857,226 5,983,639 3,856,027 3,617,815

Employee expenses 11,268,478 10,499,014 9,125,006 8,564,246

Council and committee costs 10 460,294 438,009 460,294 438,009

Depreciation and amortisation 14 1,161,666 1,152,326 1,072,097 1,051,446

Law Council capitation fees 1,057,905 1,055,947 1,057,905 1,055,947

Reinsurance costs 23 767,927 1,229,758 - -

Stamp duty 23 1,361,972 1,358,873 - -

Insurance claims 12,996,493 28,471,779 - -

Insurance recoveries 11 604,621 (2,934,299) - -

Claims handling expense 11 (583,000) (254,000) - -

Brokerage fees 130,000 152,000 - -

Total expenses 37,292,894 49,163,820 17,780,641 16,738,237

Operating surplus before income tax 19,658,779 10,615,501 540,987 1,730,690

Income tax expense 20 4,115,869 890,760 - -

Operating surplus after income tax 15,542,910 9,724,741 540,987 1,730,690

Other comprehensive income, net of tax

Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to operating result

Increase in asset revaluation surplus 14 1,252,934 225,245 1,252,934 225,245

Total comprehensive income 16,795,844 9,949,986 1,793,921 1,955,935

The accompanying notes form part of these statements.



Statement of financial position as at 30 June 2015



Note 2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents 19(a) 66,388,384 66,697,941 56,010,745 22,487,731

Receivables 12 3,486,275 2,464,335 1,090,557 1,096,352

Income tax recoverable 21 - 74,919 - -

Insurance contract liabilities ceded 11 2,651,948 1,289,000 - -

Total current assets 72,526,607 70,526,195 57,101,302 23,584,083

Non-current assets

Investment in controlled entities 4 - - 19,000,000 19,000,000

Financial assets, fair value through profit or loss 5(b) 159,312,343 140,667,755 - -

Property, plant and equipment 14 23,972,532 23,805,710 23,847,734 23,595,286

Deferred tax assets 22 99,880 920,502 - -

Insurance contract liabilities ceded 11 5,010,654 9,002,000 - -

Total non-current assets 188,395,409 174,395,967 42,847,734 42,595,286

Total assets 260,922,016 244,922,162 99,949,036 66,179,369

Current liabilities

Payables 13 44,810,975 42,427,674 43,638,328 11,716,341

Accrued employee benefits – Annual Leave 15 619,640 576,030 503,816 469,535

Accrued employee benefits – LSL 15 580,432 509,140 506,556 509,140

Income tax payable 21 3,000,765 - - -

Provision for outstanding claims 11 15,203,548 18,005,500 - -

Total current liabilities 64,215,360 61,518,344 44,648,700 12,695,016

Non-current liabilities

Accrued employee benefits – LSL 15 353,708 365,694 201,396 179,334

Provision for outstanding claims 11 60,380,980 63,862,000 - -

Total non-current liabilities 60,734,688 64,227,694 201,396 179,334

Total liabilities 124,950,048 125,746,038 44,850,096 12,874,350

Net assets 135,971,968 119,176,124 55,098,940 53,305,019

Equity

Accumulated surplus 119,631,454 104,088,544 38,758,426 38,217,439

Asset revaluation surplus 16,340,514 15,087,580 16,340,514 15,087,580

Total equity 135,971,968 119,176,124 55,098,940 53,305,019




Parent entity NoteRevaluation

surplusAccumulated

surplus Total

$ $ $

Opening Balance – 1 July 2013 14,862,335 36,486,749 51,349,084

Operating surplus for the period - 1,730,690 1,730,690

Increase in asset revaluation surplus 14 225,245 - 225,245

Closing balance – 30 June 2014 15,087,580 38,217,439 53,305,019

Operating surplus for the period - 540,987 540,987

Increase in asset revaluation surplus 14 1,252,934 - 1,252,934


Consolidated NOTEAsset revaluation

reserveAccumulated

surplus TOTAL

$ $ $

Opening Balance – 1 July 2013 14,862,335 94,363,803 109,226,138


Increase in asset revaluation surplus 14 225,245 - 225,245



Increase in asset revaluation surplus 14 1,252,934 - 1,252,934


Statement of changes in equity for the year ended 30 June 2015






Note 2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Cash flows from operating activities

Receipts from the profession 47,733,408 48,408,775 17,167,169 18,655,336

Receipts from Department of Justice 1,356,623 662,214 1,356,623 662,214

Payments to suppliers and employees (20,307,963) (21,833,912) (16,168,721) (16,796,485)

Receipts collected for Society entities - - 31,994,065 31,343,233

Payments to Society entities - - (1,020,052) (31,343,233)

Receipts collected for Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund 2,142,562 3,409,090 2,142,562 3,409,090

Payments to Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund (328,417) (3,411,730) (328,417) (3,411,730)

Reinsurance payments (767,928) (1,229,759) - -

Claims and claims related payments (17,063,607) (16,333,740) - -

Interest received 1,742,472 1,679,313 786,344 723,809

GST receipts 2,482,405 2,154,207 1,556,316 1,336,174

GST paid to ATO (3,891,264) (4,043,098) (3,891,264) (4,043,098)

Income tax refund/(paid) 21 (219,563) (74,919) - -

Net cash generated from operating activities 19(b) 12,878,728 9,386,441 33,594,625 535,310

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of investments 5(b) (22,700,000) (6,900,000) - -

Proceeds from investment redemptions 9,150,000 1,710 - -

Cash distributions received 437,268 151,081 - -

Payments for property, plant and equipment 14 (75,553) (79,176) (71,611) (48,759)

Net cash used in investing activities (13,188,285) (6,826,385) (71,611) (48,759)

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents held (309,557) 2,560,056 33,523,014 486,551

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 66,697,941 64,137,885 22,487,731 22,001,180

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 19(a) 66,388,384 66,697,941 56,010,745 22,487,731

Statement of cash flows for the year ended 30 June 2015




Notes to and forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2015



Objectives and principal activities

The Queensland Law Society Incorporated (the Society) is the professional association for solicitors in Queensland and continues in existence under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (the Act). While the Society is defined as a statutory body under the Financial Accountability Act 2009, it remains an independent professional body, subject to the governance of its elected Council.

The Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) came into effect on 1 July 2007. The provisions contained within the Act cover a range of matters including the establishment of the Legal Services Commission, Legal Practice Tribunal and Committee and the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board, together with a number of technical measures including those relating to transitional provisions to facilitate the transfer to the new legislation.

These financial statements include the Society, Law Claims Levy Fund and Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd (Lexon) and when combined are referred to as “the Group”.

The Society is responsible for issuing of practicing certificates, providing continuing legal education, investigating complaints of unsatisfactory professional conduct against solicitors, administering funds under the control of the Group, providing services and support to members and the general public and providing general insurance and services as licensed under the Singapore Insurance Act. Major sources of income for the Society include annual fees paid by its members, contributions from the Department of Justice and Attorney-General, continuing legal education to the profession, investment income, and insurance premiums.

The financial statements are authorised for issue by the Council of the Queensland Law Society Inc. at the date of signing the management certificate.

1. Summary of significant accounting policies

The significant accounting policies which have been adopted in the preparation of the Group’s financial statements are:

a. Statement of Compliance

The Group has prepared these financial statements in compliance with section 43 of the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009. These financial statements are general purpose financial statements and have been prepared on an accrual basis in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and interpretations. In addition, the financial statements comply with the Queensland Treasury’s Minimum Reporting Requirements for the year ended 30 June 2015 and other authoritative pronouncements.

With respect to compliance with Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations, the Society has applied those requirements applicable to not-for-profit entities, as the Society is a not-for-profit body. Except where stated, the historical cost convention is used.

b. The reporting entity

The financial statements include the value of all revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity of the Society and the entities that it controls where they are material.

The Society controlled the following entities at reporting date:

• Law Claims Levy Fund (This Fund was wholly controlled for the whole period). The Fund is responsible for the management of professional indemnity claims of practitioners for the years 1987 to 1995, and the administration of insurance matters (jointly with Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd) in accordance with the Queensland Law Society Indemnity Rule 2005.

• Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd. This Company was established on 23 June 2001 in Singapore and is 100% owned by the Society. This Company was wholly controlled for the whole period. The principal activity of the Company is that of a general insurance company. The Company currently has a mandate to provide Professional Indemnity Insurance to Queensland Solicitors via a Master Policy with the Queensland Law Society Inc.





1. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued)

Details of controlled activities are outlined below:

2014-15

Name of EntityControlling interest %

Total Assets

$m

Total Liabilities

$m

Total Revenue

$m

Operating Results

$m

Law Claims Levy Fund 100% 78.7 28.0 33.7 5.2

Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd 100% 156.4 107.1 31.6 9.8

2013-14

Name of EntityControlling interest %

Total Assets

$m

Total Liabilities

$m

Total Revenue

$m

Operating Results

$m

Law Claims Levy Fund 100% 75.6 30.1 33.6 5.1

Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd 100% 176.1 136.7 33.9 2.9

c. Principles of consolidation

The financial statements of controlled entities are included in the consolidated financial statements from the date control commences to the date control ceases. In the process of reporting the Society as a single economic entity, unrealised gains and losses, inter-entity balances resulting from transactions with or between controlled entities are eliminated on consolidation where material. The accounting policies have been consistently applied by each entity in the consolidated entity.

d. Taxation

Income tax is recognised on consolidation.

The Queensland Law Society Inc (parent entity) is exempt from income tax by virtue of Section 50-25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 with the exception of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of GST, except where the amount of GST incurred is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In these circumstances, the GST is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset or as part of the expense. Receivables and payables are stated with the amount of GST included.

The net amount of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO is included as a current asset or liability in the statement of financial position. Cash flows are included in the statement of cash flows on a gross basis. The GST components of cash flows arising from investing activities and financing activities which are recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO are classified as operating cash flows.

Lexon is registered in Australia for income tax. The company has dual tax residency in Australia and Singapore. In relation to offshore insurance business, the Company has been granted tax exempt status for a period of 10 years from 1 April 2010 under the tax exemption scheme for captive insurers by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Current income tax is recognised at the amount expected to be paid to or recovered from the tax authorities.

Deferred income tax is recognised for all temporary differences except when the deferred income tax arises from the initial recognition of an asset or liability which affects neither accounting nor taxable profit or loss at the time of the transaction.






d. Taxation (continued)

Current and deferred income tax is measured using the tax rates and tax laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the Statement of Financial Position date, and are recognised as income or expenses in the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income, except to the extent that the tax arises from a transaction which is recognised directly in equity.

Deferred tax liabilities and assets are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against current tax liabilities and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the Group intends to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis.

e. Revenue recognition

i. Insurance Premiums, levies and deductibles

Premium income is recognised as revenue at the commencement of the risk period covered by the policy and accrued proportionally over the period of coverage.

ii. Interest income

Interest income is accrued on a time-proportion basis using the effective interest method.

iii. Investment income

Investment income is recognised when declared by fund managers.

iv. Membership and practitioner fees

Memberships and practitioner fees are recognised as revenue within the membership period.

Prepayments of these are recognised as income in advance.

Revenues are recognised at fair value of the consideration received net of any amount of GST payable to the ATO.

v. Commissions and funding

Grants, donations and gifts that are non-reciprocal in nature are recognised as revenue in the year in which the Society obtains control over them. Where grants are received that are reciprocal in nature, revenue is accrued over the term of the funding arrangement.

vi. Recovery of expenditure

Under the rules of the Act, certain operating expenses of the Society are recoverable from the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund and the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board. The gross amounts recovered are disclosed as income. Expenses incurred on behalf of the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund and Legal Practitioners Admissions Board form part of the administration expenses incurred by the Society.

f. Operating leases

Payments made under operating leases (net of any incentives received from the lessor) are taken to the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

When an operating lease is terminated before the lease period has expired, any payment required to be made to the lessor by way of penalty is recognised as an expense in the financial year in which termination takes place.






g. Cash and cash equivalents

For the purposes of the Statements of Financial Position and Statements of Cash Flows, cash assets include all cash and cheques receipted but not banked at 30 June as well as deposits on call with financial institutions. The cash deposit account is an interest bearing account which is readily convertible to cash on hand at the Group’s option.

h. Insurance and reinsurance contracts

i. Insurance contracts

Contracts under which the Group accepts significant insurance risk from another party (the policyholder) by agreeing to compensate the policyholder or other beneficiary if a specified uncertain future event (the insured event) adversely affects the policyholder or other beneficiary are classified as insurance contracts.

ii. Reinsurance contracts:

Contracts entered into by the Group with reinsurers under which the Group is compensated for losses on one or more contracts issued by the Group where significant insurance risk is transferred are classified as reinsurance contracts.

The benefits to which the Group is entitled under its reinsurance contracts are recognised as reinsurer’s share of insurance liabilities. These assets consist of short-term balances due from reinsurers as well as longer term receivables that are dependent on the expected recovery. Reinsurance liabilities are primarily premiums payable for reinsurance contracts and are recognised as expenses when due.

The Group assesses its reinsurance assets for impairment at each reporting date. Such assets are deemed impaired if there is objective evidence, as a result of an event that occurred after its initial recognition, that the Group may not recover all amounts due and that the event has a reliably measurable impact on the amount that the Group will receive from the reinsurer.

The Group ceded reinsurance in the normal course of business for the purpose of limiting its net loss potential through the diversification of its risks. Reinsurance arrangements do not relieve the Group from its direct obligations to its policyholders.

i. Financial instruments

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the Statements of Financial Position when the Group becomes party to the contractual provisions of the financial instrument.

Financial instruments are classified and measured as follows:

• Receivables – held at amortised cost

• Payables – held at amortised cost

• Investments – held at fair value through profit and loss.

• Investment by the parent company in Lexon – held at cost

The Group does not enter into transactions for speculative purposes, nor for hedging.






j. Receivables

Trade debtors are recognised at the amounts due at the time of sale or service delivery i.e. the agreed purchase/contract price. Settlement of these amounts is generally required within 30 days from invoice date. The collectability of receivables is assessed periodically with allowance being made for impairment. All known bad debts were written-off as at 30 June. Increases in the allowance for impairment are based on loss events..

Other debtors generally arise from transactions outside the usual operating activities of the Group and are recognised at their assessed values. Terms are a maximum of three months, no interest is charged and no security is obtained.

k. Investments

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss at inception are those that are managed and their performances are evaluated on a fair value basis, in accordance with a documented Group investment strategy. Assets in this category are presented as current assets if they are either held for trading or are expected to be realised within 12 months after the reporting date.

l. Property, plant and equipment

i. Acquisition of assets

All assets acquired are recorded at their cost of acquisition at the date of acquisition, being the fair value of the consideration provided plus incidental costs directly attributable to the acquisition. Plant and equipment acquired are expensed unless the initial cost exceeds $5,000. Buildings and additions are recognised upon acquisition if the initial cost exceeds $10,000.

ii. Depreciation and amortisation

All assets including strata title buildings have limited useful lives and are depreciated using the straight line method over their estimated useful lives.

Assets are depreciated from the date of acquisition. Any expenditure that increases the originally assessed capacity or service potential of an asset is capitalised and the new depreciable amount depreciated over the remaining useful life of the asset. Depreciation rates and methods are reviewed annually for appropriateness. When changes are made, adjustments are reflected prospectively in current and future periods.

The depreciable amount of leasehold improvements is allocated progressively over the estimated useful lives of the improvements or the unexpired period of the lease, whichever is the shorter. The unexpired period of a lease includes any option period where exercise of the option is probable.

The depreciation and amortisation rates used for each class of asset are as follows:

Asset Class 2015 2014

Strata Title Building 2.5% 2.5%

Leasehold Improvements 2.5% 2.5%

Plant and Equipment 10% - 33% 4% - 33%

Computer Equipment 25% - 33% 33% - 100%

Software 20% - 33% 20% - 33%






l. Property, plant and equipment (continued)

iii. Impairment of non-financial assets

Plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever there is any objective evidence or indication that these assets may be impaired.

If the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. The difference between the carrying amount and recoverable amount is recognised as an impairment loss in profit or loss.

An impairment loss for an asset is reversed if, and only if, there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the assets’ recoverable amount since the last impairment loss was recognised. The carrying amount of the asset is increased to its revised recoverable amount, provided that this amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined (net of depreciation) had no impairment loss been recognised for the assets in prior years. A reversal of impairment loss for an asset is recognised in profit or loss.

iv. Revaluations

The strata title building is measured at fair value in accordance with AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment and AASB 13 Fair Value Measurement. The building is reported at its revalued amount, being the fair value at the date of valuation, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation. The building is independently revalued every five years to ensure the carrying amount does not materially differ from the fair value at reporting date. In between independent valuations, the Society uses the Implicit Price Deflator for non-residential buildings indices to index the carrying amount of the building where there has been a material variation in the index. Revaluation increments are recognised in the asset revaluation reserve except where amounts reversing a decrement previously recognised as an expense are recognised as revenues. Revaluation decrements are only offset against revaluation increments for the same class of assets and any excess is recognised as an expense.

m. Fair value measurement

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date under current market conditions (i.e. an exit price) regardless of whether that price is directly derived from observable inputs or estimated using another valuation technique.

Observable inputs are publicly available data that are relevant to the characteristics of the assets/liabilities being valued. Observable inputs used by the Society include, but are not limited to, published sales data for land and general office buildings.

Unobservable inputs are data, assumptions and judgements that are not available publicly, but are relevant to the characteristics of the assets/liabilities being valued. Significant unobservable inputs used by the Society include, but are not limited to, subjective adjustments made to observable data to take account of the characteristics of the Society’s assets/liabilities and assessments of physical condition and remaining useful life. Unobservable inputs are used to the extent that sufficient relevant and reliable observable inputs are not available for similar assets/liabilities.

A fair value measurement of a non-financial asset takes into account a market participant’s ability to generate economic benefits by using the asset in its highest and best use.






m. Fair value measurement (continued)

All assets and liabilities of the Society for which fair value is measured or disclosed in the financial statements are categorised within the following fair value hierarchy, based on the data and assumptions used in the most recent specific appraisals:

• level 1 – represents fair value measurements that reflect unadjusted quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities;

• level 2 – represents fair value measurements that are substantially derived from inputs (other than quoted prices included within level 1) that are observable, either directly or indirectly; and

• level 3 – represents fair value measurements that are substantially derived from unobservable inputs.

None of the Society’s valuations of assets or liabilities are eligible for categorisation into level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. There were no transfers of assets between fair value hierarchy levels during the period.

More specific fair value information about the Society’s Financial Assets, and Property Plant and Equipment, are outlined in Notes 3 (f) and 14 respectively.

n. Insurance liabilities

Insurance liabilities comprise of outstanding claims provision and unearned premiums provision.

i. Outstanding claims provision

Full provision is made for the estimated cost of all claims admitted or intimated but not settled at the reporting date, less reinsurance recoveries, using the best information available at that time.

In addition, provision is made for claims incurred but not reported (IBNR) at the date of the reporting based on claims experience and industry statistics.

ii. Unearned premiums provision

The portion of premiums that relates to unexpired risk at the reporting date is reported as the unearned premium liability. Unearned premiums are calculated based on the 1/365 method applied to the net premiums written for the financial year.

iii. Liability adequacy test

At reporting date, a liability adequacy test was performed to ensure the adequacy of the contract liability. In performing this test, current estimates of future contractual cash flows and claims handling and administration expenses, as well as investment income from assets backing such liabilities, are used. Any deficiency is immediately charged to general insurance revenue by establishing a provision for losses arising from the liability adequacy test.

o. Payables

Trade creditors are recognised on receipt of the goods or services and are carried at actual amounts, gross of applicable trade and other discounts. Amounts are unsecured and are generally settled on 30 day terms.

p. Provisions

A provision is recognised when there is a legal, equitable or constructive obligation as a result of a past event and it is probable that a future sacrifice of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation, the timing or amount of which is uncertain.






q. Employee benefits

i. Annual leave and long service leave

The liabilities for long service leave and annual leave that are not expected to be settled wholly within 12 months after the end of the period in which the employees render the related service. They are therefore recognised in accrued employee benefits and measured as the present value of expected future cash outflows to be made in respect of services provided by employees up to the end of the reporting period. Consideration is given to expected future wage and salary levels, experience of employee departures and periods of service. Expected future payments are discounted using market yields at the end of the reporting period of government bonds with terms and currencies that match, as closely as possible, the estimated future cash outflows. Remeasurements as a result of experience adjustments are recognised in profit or loss.

The obligations are presented as current liabilities in the balance sheet if the entity does not have an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least 12 months after the reporting period, regardless of when the actual settlement is expected to occur.

ii. Key management personnel and remuneration

Key management personnel and remuneration disclosures are made in accordance the Financial Reporting Requirements (FRR) for Queensland Government Agencies issued by Queensland Treasury. Refer to note 17 (b) for the disclosures on key management personnel remuneration.

Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the entity. Following consideration, the Society has decided that the Council, sub committees and the CEO are the only employees with the authority and responsibility for these activities for the entire agency. This is supported through the council charter which is available on the Society’s website.

r. Foreign currency

Foreign currency transactions are translated to Australian currency at the rate of exchange ruling at the dates of the transactions. Amounts receivable and payable in foreign currencies at reporting date are translated at the rates of exchange ruling on that date. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and from the translation of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income.






s. New and revised accounting standards

i. New and revised Accounting Standards

The Group did not voluntarily change any of its accounting policies during 2014-15. Australian Accounting Standard changes applicable for the first time for 2014-15 have had minimal effect on the Group’s financial statements, as explained below.

The following new and revised standards became applicable from reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014 –

• AASB 10 Consolidated Financial Statements;

• AASB 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities;

• AASB 127 (revised) Separate Financial Statements;

• AASB 128 (revised) Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures; and

• AASB 2011-7 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards arising from the Consolidation and Joint Arrangements Standards [AASB 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 2009-11, 101, 107, 112, 118, 121, 124, 132, 133, 136, 138, 139,1023 & 1038 and Interpretations 5, 9, 16 & 17].

• AASB 2013-8 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards – Australian Implementation Guidance for Not-for- Profit Entities – Control and Structured Entities.

AASB 10 redefines and clarifies the concept of control of another entity, and is the basis for determining which entities should be consolidated into an entity’s financial statements. AASB 2013-8 applies the various principles in AASB 10 for determining whether a not-for-profit entity controls another entity. On the basis of those accounting standards, the Group has reviewed the nature of its relationship with other entities that the Group is connected with, including entities that are not currently consolidated, to determine the impact of AASB 2013-8. The Group’s conclusion is based on existing circumstances; it will not have any control over any additional entities other than those already disclosed in the Financial Statements. However, the new AASB 12 requires a range of particular details to be disclosed in respect of controlled entities, so note 1 (b) now contains further information that is relevant to the Group. The Group will continue to review its relationships with other entities from year to year to identify any further application of AASB 10’s principles.

The Group is not permitted to early adopt a new or amended accounting standard ahead of the specified commencement date unless approval is obtained from Queensland Treasury. Consequently, the Group has not applied any Australian accounting standards and interpretations that have been issued but are not yet effective. The Group applies standards and interpretations in accordance with their respective commencement dates.

ii. Standards in issue not yet adopted

At the date of authorisation of the financial report, the expected impacts of new or amended Australian accounting standards with future commencement dates are either not applicable to the Group’s activities, or have no material impact on the Group





2. Critical accounting estimates and judgments

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions

The Group makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

Management discussed with the directors of Lexon the development, selection and disclosure of the Group’s critical accounting policies and estimates and the application of these policies and estimates. Certain critical accounting judgements in applying the Group’s accounting policies are related to the policyholder claims.

a. Actuarial methodology for estimate for policyholder claims

The Group’s estimates for reported and unreported losses, establishing resulting provisions and related reinsurance recoverable are continually reviewed and updated, and adjustments resulting from this review are reflected in profit or loss. The process relies upon the use of external advisors (lawyers, actuaries and loss adjustors) and the assumption that past experience is an appropriate basis for predicting future events.

In estimating the outstanding claims liability, projected future claims payments are discounted to the calculation date for each claim year.

The projected future claims payments for each claim year are based on the claim estimates and an allowance for the development of claims (Incurred But Not Enough Reported – IBNER) especially for the recent claim years in respect of which limited claims information is available and estimates are therefore the most subjective; and an allowance for additional claims, which were incurred but have not yet been reported (Incurred But Not Reported – IBNR).

The IBNER and IBNR estimate has been calculated using a combination of the Incurred Claims Development (“ICD”) and Bornhuetter-Ferguson (“BF”) methods.

b. Key assumptions

The following key valuation assumptions have been used to estimate future projected payments and outstanding claims liabilities:

• The ICD basis allows for the following development:

Development Factors:

Year Yr2 Yr3 Yr4 Yr5 Yr6 Yr7 Yr8

Current Year 22.8% 14.9% 10.5% 8.7% 6.9% 4.7% 2.3%

Prior Year 22.8% 14.9% 10.5% 8.7% 6.9% 4.7% 2.3%

• The average cost per solicitor (used in the BF method) adopted is $3,900 (2014: $4,000).

• The Group has assumed reinsurance recoveries will be fully recoverable on a prompt basis.

• The Group has applied the zero-coupon yield for Commonwealth Government bonds to the expected future cashflows. This has resulted in a uniform discount rate of 2.3% (2013-14: 2.90%) per annum.

• The Group has assumed future inflation will be the same as past inflation, to the extent that it has been captured by the claims development data.

• The Group has included an allowance for claims handling expenses (“CHE”) based on historical experience and projected expenses.

• While the Group has calculated a central estimate, we have applied a risk margin at a 90% level of sufficiency and adopted reserves at this level to maintain a higher level of adequacy.

• While claim numbers are not directly used in determining our estimates, they are a good lead indicator. Given the policy is based on claims made, we have assumed minimal development post the end of the year.





2. Critical accounting estimates and judgments (continued)

b. Key assumptions (continued)

There have been no significant changes in the business underwritten by the Group or the way the insurance liabilities are estimated. Hence, no significant amendments have been made to the assumptions.

The assumptions have been determined by management and the actuarial team by taking into account: claim development experience, statistical analysis and market trends.

c. Sensitivity analysis of key estimates

While the gross ultimate costs are sensitive to valuation assumptions, the net results are much less sensitive due to the aggregate limits that apply which reduce the net exposure. The gross undiscounted unused exposure for all years totals A$51.8 million before risk margins; and $33.7 million after allowing risk margins to the 90th probability of sufficiency.

The impacts on the estimated total provision due to changes in assumptions are:

• Reserve underestimation: A 10% reserve under estimation results in an additional gross undiscounted reserve of $5.8 million and net discounted reserve (after risk margins) of $4.9 million or 7.3% of the discounted net central estimate plus risk margins.

• Reserve overestimation: If the estimated reserves on all years improved by 10% then it would result in a decrease in gross undiscounted reserve of $5.8 million and the total net provision (after risk margins) would decrease by $5.0 million or 7.3% of the discounted net central estimate plus risk margins.

• Discount rate: A half a percentage point increase in discount rate (from 2.30% to 1.80%) would increase the provision by $0.9 million or 1.3%.of the discounted net central estimate plus risk margins.

• Claims handling provision: A one percentage point increase in the claims handling rate applied would increase the provision by $0.6m or 0.9% of the discounted net central estimate plus risk margins.

• Cost per solicitor overestimation: A reduction in the cost per solicitor from $3,900 to $3,400 reduces the provision by $1.5m or 2.2% of the discounted net central estimate plus risk margins.

• Cost per solicitor underestimation: An increase in the cost per solicitor from $3,900 to $4,400 increases the provision by $1.5m or 2.2% of the discounted net central estimate plus risk margins.





3. Management of insurance and financial risk

Lexon is a captive insurer and issues a single insurance contract to its holding corporation that transfers insurance risks of its holding corporation to itself. This section summarises these risks and the way the Group manages them.

3.1 Insurance risk

The risk under any one insurance contract is the possibility that the insured event occurs and the uncertainty of the amount of the resulting claim. By the very nature of an insurance contract, this risk is random and therefore unpredictable.

The primary insurance activity carried out by the Group assumes the risk of loss from persons that are directly subject to the risk – professional indemnity liability. Such risk may relate to liability that may arise from an insurable event. As such, the Group is exposed to the uncertainty surrounding the timing and severity of claims under the contract.

The Group manages its insurance risk through underwriting guidelines, centralised management of reinsurance and monitoring of emerging issues.

a. Underwriting strategy

The Group is unable to provide a diversified portfolio of similar risks due to its licensing arrangement. The Group currently only underwrites the risk of its holding corporation. Such a focus on one “insured” group does create a wider variability of outcome than a balanced portfolio.

b. Reinsurance strategy

In considering the purchase of reinsurance protection, the Group’s philosophy is twofold, namely:

• to reduce risk, and

• to stabilise solvency.

To achieve such objectives, the Group will consider the placing of reinsurance protection at appropriate levels with reinsurance carriers of a proven financial record. Specific reinsurance placements should reflect the appropriate balance between retention and reinsurance commensurate with the nature and complexity of the risk, all within acceptable exposure limits to the Group.

Ceded reinsurance contains credit risk, and such reinsurance recoverables are reported after known deductions for insolvencies and uncollectible items. The Group monitors the financial condition of reinsurers on an ongoing basis and reviews its reinsurance arrangements periodically. The Board of Directors of Lexon is responsible for setting the minimum security criteria for acceptable reinsurance.

c. Terms and conditions of insurance contracts

The terms and conditions of insurance contracts that have a material effect on the amount, timing and uncertainty of future cash flows arising from insurance contracts are set out below.

The following gives an assessment of Lexon’s main product – professional indemnity liability and the ways in which it manages the associated risks.

i. Product features

Lexon writes professional indemnity liability and under these contracts, monetary compensation awards are paid for any description of civil liability whatsoever incurred in connection with the Law Practice.

Professional indemnity liability is generally considered a long tail line, as it takes a relatively long period of time to finalise and settle claims for a given claim year. The speed of claim reporting and claim settlement is a function of the specific coverage provided, the jurisdiction and specific policy provisions.

Major contributors to this provision estimate uncertainty include the reporting lag, the number of parties involved in the underlying action, the potential amounts involved and whether such claims were reasonably foreseeable and intended to be covered at the time the contracts were written. Claims with longer reporting lag will result in greater inherent risk.





3. Management of insurance and financial risk (continued)

3.1 Insurance risk (continued)

c. Terms and conditions of insurance contracts (continued)

ii. Management of risks

The key risks associated with this product are underwriting risk and claims experience risk.

Underwriting risk includes the risk of higher claims costs than expected owing to the random nature of claims and their frequency and severity and the risk of change in legal or economic conditions or behavioural patterns affecting reinsurance pricing and conditions of reinsurance cover. This may result in the Group having either too little premium for the risks it has agreed to underwrite and hence, has not enough funds to invest and pay claims, or that claims are in excess of those expected.

Claims development history

$’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000

Underwriting year2008-09 and Prior 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Total

Gross

Estimate of ultimate claims

Costs:

– at end of reporting year 21,695 25,310 18,688 18,706 20,254 16,447

– one year later 15,572 24,476 15,609 19,670 14,454

– two years later 16,675 26,504 14,922 18,684

– three years later 16,212 29,113 16,869

– four years later 16,120 28,539

– five years later 13,854

Cumulative payments to date (12,641) (22,237) (9,298) (6,597) (4,365) (1,459)

Estimate of claims reserve 1,213 6,302 7,570 12,087 10,090 14,988

Effect of discounting (54) (288) (364) (703) (650) (972)

Best estimate of claims liability 5,177 1,159 6,014 7,206 11,384 9,440 14,016 54,396

Risk margin 17,080

Provision for claims handling 4,109

Total gross outstanding claims included in the Statement of financial position 75,585

Movement in accident year estimates before discounting and margins 668 (2,266) (574) 1,947 (986) (5,800) 16,447 9,436






3.1 Insurance risk (continued)

c. Terms and conditions of insurance contracts (continued)

ii. Management of risks (continued)

Claims development history (continued)

$’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000

Underwriting year2008-09 and Prior 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Total

Net

Estimate of ultimate claims

Costs:

– at end of reporting year 21,695 25,310 18,688 18,706 20,254 16,447

– one year later 15,572 24,476 15,609 19,670 14,454

– two years later 16,675 26,504 14,922 18,684

– three years later 16,212 29,113 16,869

– four years later 16,120 28,539

– five years later 13,854

Cumulative payments to date (12,641) (22,237) (9,298) (6,597) (4,365) (1,459)

Estimate of claims reserve 1,213 263 7,571 12,087 10,090 14,988

Effect of discounting (54) (2) (364) (703) (650) (972)

Best estimate of claims liability 3,267 1,159 261 7,207 11,384 9,440 14,015 46,733

Risk margin 17,080

Provision for claims handling 4,109

Total gross outstanding claims included in the Statement of financial position 67,922

Movement in accident year estimates before discounting and margins 1,166 (2,266) - 1,947 (986) (5,800) 16,447 10,508

Insurance risk is managed primarily through sensible pricing, product design, appropriate investment strategy and reinsurance. The Group therefore monitors and reacts to changes in the general economic and commercial environment in which it operates. The Group also assesses the need to minimise its underwriting risks by retaining part of the risks underwritten for its own account and reinsuring the remainder.






3.2 Reinsurance risk

The Group cedes insurance risk to limit exposure to underwriting losses under agreements that cover risks or group risks on yearly renewable terms. These reinsurance agreements spread the risk and minimise the effect of losses. The amount of risk retained depends on the Group’s evaluation of the risk. Under the terms of the reinsurance agreements, the reinsurer agrees to reimburse the ceded amount in the event the claim is agreed and paid. However, the Group remains liable to its policyholders with respect to ceded insurance if any reinsurer fails to meet the obligations it assumes.

When selecting a reinsurer, the Group considers their relative security. The security of the reinsurer is assessed from public rating information.

3.3 Concentration of risk

The concentration of insurance risk before and after reinsurance is solely in Australia and from a single line of business, Professional Indemnity insurance.

3.4 Financial risk

The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: market risk (currency risk, price risk and interest rate risk), credit risk, liquidity risk.

Management and the Board regularly review the performance and ensure all investments held are within the approved mandate.

a. Currency risk

The Group is not exposed to significant foreign currency risk in relation to its functional currency as the majority of the Group’s transactions, assets and liabilities are denominated in Australian Dollars.

The Group holds minor cash balances in Singapore Dollars.

The Group outsources its investment activities to respected fund managers who use defined risk management techniques as part of the funds mandates.

Investments in income securities are predominately hedged where a currency exposure exists.

As part of the Group’s investment mandate it holds units in two funds which hold unhedged international securities. Any unhedged position is in accordance with the strategic asset allocation, and is monitored regularly by management and the Board of Lexon.

b. Price and interest rate risk

The Group is exposed to equity securities price risk arising from the investments classified as fair value through profit or loss. These securities are held with Australian fund managers.

The Group seeks to reduce risk by diversifying across a range of securities, maturities and counterparties. Investment of the funds is subject to risk control limits and constraints:

Duration and tracking error limits (interest rate management)

• The Modified Duration of the funds are constrained within a specified period either side of the Modified Duration of the Benchmark.

• Rolling year ex post tracking error will be limited to a specified number of basis points. The ex-ante tracking error of the funds is not expected to exceed a specified number of basis points.

Sector exposure bands

• The weighting of each sector (eg domestic, international – government, non government) within the funds will be maintained in specified limits.






3.4 Financial risk (continued)

b. Price and interest rate risk (continued)

Credit limits

• The funds will be invested in a broad and diversified range of securities across the credit spectrum.

Credit risk limits for individual security investments

• Individual security limits apply for direct physical holdings based on their credit rating and inclusion in the benchmark.

c. Credit risk

There is no significant credit risk with respect to the collectability of premiums as the Group only underwrites risks from its holding corporation. All premiums are paid up front at the commencement of the period covered under the insurance policy.

Credit risk arising on funds placed with external fund managers and on reinsurance activities is managed by established policies to ensure that the counter-parties have adequate financial ratings and appropriate credit history.

i. Financial assets that are neither past due or impaired

At the balance sheet date no financial assets are past due or impaired other than trade receivables noted below.

Cash and cash equivalents that are neither past due nor impaired are placed with reputable financial institutions with high credit ratings and no history of default.

Financial assets, fair value through profit or loss are redeemable on demand. These are placed with reputable fund managers.

No insurance recoveries are past due. All reinsurance contracts are placed in accordance with the Group’s reinsurance policy which ensure appropriate credit rating of individual reinsurers and concentration risk is reduced to acceptable levels.

ii. Financial assets that are past due and/or impaired

Trade debtors relate to excesses which are due in relation to claims.

Trade debtors include excess balances of $213,475 (2014: $378,376) which are more than one month past due. There is a provision of $153,475 (2014: $263,792) on these outstanding balances.

Reinsurance recoveries of $Nil (2014: $607,232) are outstanding more than one month.

While provisions have been raised for insurance excesses, the Queensland Law Society Indemnity Rules gives power to the Queensland Law Society to take action against insured law practices where any balances are outstanding.







c. Credit risk (continued)

iii. Credit ratings

Investment grade (AAA to BBB) Not rated Total

$ $ $

At 30 June 2015

Cash and cash equivalent 11,101,177 55,287,207 66,388,384

Insurance contract liabilities ceded 7,662,602 - 7,662,602

Trade and other receivables 807,877 2,678,398 3,486,275

Financial assets - 159,312,343 159,312,343

19,571,656 217,277,948 236,849,604

At 30 June 2014

Cash and cash equivalents 66,697,407 534 66,697,941

Insurance contract liabilities ceded 10,291,000 - 10,291,000

Trade and other receivables 1,157,124 1,307,211 2,464,335

Financial assets - 140,667,755 140,667,755

78,145,531 141,975,500 220,121,031

Financial asset investments are placed with the following fund managers:

• Queensland Investment Corporation

• UBS Global Asset Management

• AMP Capital Investors

• MFS Investment Management

• Tasman Asset Management (Tyndall)

• Zurich Investment Management

• Denning Pryce

• Schroder Investment Management

• Nikko Asset Management

d. Liquidity risk

In the management of liquidity risks, the Group monitors and maintains a level of cash and cash equivalents deemed adequate by management to finance the Group’s operations and mitigate the effects of fluctuations in cash flows. The Group also constantly reviews its investments to ensure that there are sufficient cash and liquid deposits to meet its estimated outflows from its insurance contract.

The Group manages its expected cash flow requirements using the latest actuarial valuations detailing projected cash flows. These are monitored in conjunction with available cash and investments readily convertible to cash.

As at balance date, the Group’s financial assets and financial liabilities are all current.







d. Liquidity risk (continued)

During the year ending 30 June 2014, one property fund held units with fair value of $430,304 which had limited redemption as a result of the Global Financial Crisis. As at 30 June 2015, the fund was closed with cash distributions of $432,583 made during the period.

An analysis of insurance liabilities is provided in Note 11.

e. Capital risk

The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to ensure that the Group is adequately capitalised, and assessing shortfalls between reported and required capital levels on a regular basis. Lexon will issue or redeem additional equity and debt instruments when necessary.

Lexon is required under the Singapore Insurance Act, Cap.142 and the relevant regulations made thereunder to meet and maintain at all times during the course of each financial year that it carries on insurance business, minimum fund solvency and capital solvency requirements. As at balance date, Lexon has met the funds solvency requirement for its Offshore Insurance Fund and the minimum capital adequacy requirement of SGD400,000.

Management and the Lexon board monitor the capital position using a risk based capital model.

f. Fair value measurements

Some of the Group’s financial assets are measured at fair value at the end of each reporting period. The following table presents assets measured at fair value and classified by level of the following fair value measurement hierarchy as at the reporting date.

a. quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1);

b. inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (list prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices) (Level 2); and

c. inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs) (Level 3).

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total

As at 30 June 2015

Recurring fair value measurements

Financial assets

Investments carried at fair value through profit or loss - 159,312,343 - 159,312,343

Total financial assets - 159,312,343 - 159,312,343

As at 30 June 2014

Financial assets

Investments carried at fair value through profit or loss - 140,667,755 - 140,667,755

Total financial assets - 140,667,755 - 140,667,755







f. Fair value measurements (continued)

The portfolio of financial assets carried at fair value through profit or loss, consists of collective investment schemes. The fair value of the financial assets is determined using the net asset value of the collective investment schemes.

There were no transfers between levels for recurring fair value measurements during the year.

The carrying value less allowances for impairment of current trade receivables and payables approximate to their fair values. The fair value of financial liabilities is estimated by discounting the future contractual cash flows at the current market interest rate that is available to the Group for similar financial instruments.

g. Sensitivity analysis

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss have had the following sensitivity analysis applied, which are based on the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority’s (APRA) General Insurance Prudential Standard GPS 114.

• Interest rate sensitivity

Interest rate sensitivity measures the changes on the capital base from changes in real interest rates. The sensitivity has been determined by multiplying the nominal risk-free interest rate by -0.20 (downward stress) and 0.25 (upward stress), with a maximum stress adjustment of 200 basis points in either direction.

• Inflation risk sensitivity

Expected inflation sensitivity measures the changes on the capital base from changes to expensed consumer price index inflation rates. The sensitivity has been determined by adjusting the expected inflation rates by adding 125 basis points (upward movement) and subtracting 100 basis points (downward movement).

• Currency sensitivity

Currency sensitivity measures the changes in the capital base due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The sensitivity has been determined by applying a 25% increase and 25% decrease in exchange rates. An increase in the Australian Dollar is divided by 1.25 (or multiplied by 0.8) while a decrease is divided by 0.75 (or multiplied by 1.333).

• Equity sensitivity

Equity sensitivity measures the change on the capital base of a fall in equity and other asset values. For listed equities, the fall is determined by increasing the dividend yield on the ASX 200 index by 2.5 per cent. For unlisted equities, the fall is determined by increasing the dividend yield on the ASX 200 index by 3.0 per cent.

• Property stress

Property sensitivity measures the change on the capital base of a fall in property and infrastructure asset values. The fall is determined by increasing the rental yield (for property assets) or earnings yield (for infrastructure assets) by 2.75 per cent.







g. Sensitivity analysis (continued)

• Credit spread stress

Credit spread sensitivity measures the change on the capital base of an increase in credit spreads and the risk of default. The sensitivity has been determined by adding a spread (based on APRA credit spread and default factors) to the current yield on the asset and multiplying the reduced value of the asset by (1 – default factor).

The below details the impact to financial assets at fair value through profit or loss before tax and before any aggregation benefits.

Stress test Upward impact

2015 2014

$ $

Interest rate (507,037) 212,964

Inflation 1,039,986 1,081,534

Currency (1,301,454) (2,112,574)

Downward impact

Interest rate 461,183 (195,281)

Inflation (790,160) (1,240,801)

Currency 2,169,091 3,520,956

Stress test Impact

Equity (12,142,642) (13,810,187)

Property (1,794,319) (1,612,027)

Credit spread (4,460,270) (2,891,522)





4. Investment in controlled entities

In June 2001, Lexon was incorporated in Singapore as the captive insurer of the Society. The company was capitalised with $9,000,000 via surplus funds from the Society controlled Law Claims Levy Fund. A further $10,000,000 was issued in May 2009. The $19,000,000 share capital of the company is fully owned by the Society and the company is a controlled entity of the Society. Share capital is eliminated on consolidation.

5. Investments

a. Investment income

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Distributions from financial assets, fair value through profit or loss (net of fees) 5,309,505 5,440,878 - -

Interest income 1,653,887 1,546,589 707,265 654,744

6,963,392 6,987,467 707,265 654,744

b. Financial assets, at fair value through profit or loss

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Collective investment schemes

Opening balance 140,667,755 123,272,345 - -

Additions 22,700,000 6,900,000 - -

Additions via reinvestment 4,943,482 5,457,360 - -

Disposals proceeds (10,350,000) (1,710) - -

Gain/(loss) on disposal 2,111,017 531,773 - -

Fair value movements (759,911) 4,507,987 - -

Closing balance 159,312,343 140,667,755 - -

The portfolio of financial instruments held consists of collective investment schemes. The fair value of the financial instruments is determined using net asset value of the collective investment schemes.





6. Membership and practitioner fees

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Practising certificate fees 5,595,408 5,270,778 5,595,408 5,270,778

Member fees 4,439,942 4,233,527 4,439,942 4,233,527

PSC Capping Fee 580,620 541,980 580,620 541,980

Certificate of fitness 18,441 18,791 18,441 18,791

Late application levy 57,700 41,410 57,700 41,410

Corporate marketing levy - 360 - 360

10,692,111 10,106,846 10,692,111 10,106,846

7. Rent and administration revenue

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Lexon management fees - - 292,726 341,260

Law Claims Levy Fund - - 42,315 20,000

Legal Practitioners Fidelity Guarantee Fund 70,354 48,000 70,354 48,000

Legal Practitioners Admissions Board 354,284 372,932 354,284 372,932

Body corporate admin fee 15,000 15,000 15,000 15,000

Rent 510,092 494,564 510,092 494,564

949,730 930,496 1,284,771 1,291,756





8. Membership services and events

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Income

Courses, conferences and events 2,685,736 2,561,729 2,685,736 2,561,729

Publications, DVDs and membership products 529,916 589,802 529,916 589,802

Proctor advertising and subscription 335,627 348,510 335,627 348,510

Marketing and sponsorship 391,751 312,614 391,751 312,614

3,943,030 3,812,655 3,943,030 3,812,655

Direct expenditure (exclude staff costs)

Courses, conferences and events 1,031,655 966,954 1,031,655 966,954

Publications, DVDs and membership products 877,366 742,574 877,366 742,574

Proctor advertising and subscription 300,291 301,246 300,291 301,246

2,209,312 2,010,774 2,209,312 2,010,774





9. Administration expenses

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Office administration and insurance 947,622 973,796 747,224 728,097

Actuarial fees 75,301 88,238 - -

Audit fees* 175,824 159,573 81,000 78,300

Bad debts (110,317) (145,629) - 75,895

Body corporate, electricity, rates & taxes 500,891 459,836 490,953 456,064

Captive managers fee 87,550 85,000 - -

Catering, functions and entertainment 104,193 86,554 89,366 63,889

Regulatory audits and investigations 48,276 48,807 48,276 48,807

Directors fees 351,480 334,727 - -

Bank fees and finance costs 163,930 82,975 130,960 76,167

Information technology and related costs 530,145 496,746 352,122 289,986

Investment management fees 148,419 136,280 - -

Office rent 205,461 203,691 - -

Presentations, donations and gifts 97,574 97,562 96,157 94,552

Professional and consulting fees 917,720 1,324,151 583,417 486,284

Repairs and maintenance 261,747 237,317 259,181 231,625

Staff costs 683,171 764,287 549,531 610,529

Travel and vehicle costs 389,389 314,378 148,990 142,270

Liability capping scheme 278,850 235,350 278,850 235,350

5,857,226 5,983,639 3,856,027 3,617,815

* Total audit fees paid to Queensland Audit Office for both the Society and its controlled entity relating to the 2014-15 financial year are estimated to be $99,000 (2014: $95,800). There are no non-audit services included in this amount.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore performs audit and taxation services for Lexon while PricewaterhouseCoopers Brisbane provides taxation services to the group. Audit fees payable to PWC Singapore are estimated to be $77,000. Taxation fees are disclosed in the professional and consulting fee line above and amount to $36,261.





10. Council and committee costs

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Travel and accommodation 37,008 39,592 37,008 39,592

Honorarium 377,290 368,118 377,290 368,118

Catering and functions 45,996 30,299 45,996 30,299

460,294 438,009 460,294 438,009

11. Provision for outstanding claims

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Opening gross outstanding claims 81,867,500 71,538,001 - -

Claims incurred 14,269,617 29,845,320 - -

Claims paid during the year (19,969,589) (19,261,821) - -

Movement in claims handling provision (583,000) (254,000) - -

Closing gross outstanding claims 75,584,528 81,867,500 - -

Opening reinsurance recoveries (10,291,000) (9,771,000) - -

Movement in reinsurance recoveries 604,621 (2,934,299) - -

Reinsurance receivables 2,023,777 2,414,299 - -

Closing reinsurance recoveries (7,662,602) (10,291,000) - -

Net outstanding claims 67,921,926 71,576,500 - -

Law Claims Levy Fund - - - -

Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd 67,921,926 71,576,500 - -

67,921,926 71,576,500 - -

The Law Claims Levy Fund has stop loss insurance that capped the fund’s liability at $5,000,000 for payments made after 1 July 2001.

Lexon and the Law Claims Levy Fund has assessed the provisions for outstanding claims based upon an independent actuarial assessment as at 30 June 2015 by Mr. Andrew Cohen (FIAA) and Ms. Susie Amos (FIAA), of Finity Consulting Pty Ltd. The key assumptions are detailed in Note 2.





11. Provision for outstanding claims (continued)

Net discounted maturity analysis

2015 Less than 1 year 1 to 5 years Over 5 years Total

Gross central estimate 15,203,548 32,952,429 6,239,992 54,395,969

Reinsurance recoveries (2,651,948) (4,335,109) (675,545) (7,662,602)

Net central estimate 12,551,600 28,617,320 5,564,447 46,733,367

Risk margins 17,079,559

Claims handling 4,109,000

Net claims outstanding 67,921,926

2014 Less than 1 year 1 to 5 years Over 5 years Total

Gross central estimate 18,005,500 37,501,000 6,665,000 62,171,500

Reinsurance recoveries (1,289,000) (7,858,000) (1,144,000) (10,291,000)

Net central estimate 16,716,500 29,643,000 5,521,000 51,880,500

Risk margins 15,004,000

Claims handling 4,692,000

Net claims outstanding 71,576,500

Risk margin

The risk margins included in the net outstanding claims is 36.5% (2014: 28.9%) of the central estimate, with a probability of sufficiency of approximately 90%.

Claims incurred development

Current year claims relate to risks borne in the current reporting year. Prior year claims relate to a reassessment of the risks borne in all previous reporting years and include releases of risk margins as claims are paid.





12. Receivables

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Accounts receivables 520,364 568,973 249,389 175,597

Reinsurance recoverable 772,277 1,031,306 - -

Less: provision for doubtful debts (237,659) (332,792) (84,184) (69,000)

1,054,982 1,267,487 165,205 106,597

Investment redemptions receivable 1,200,000 - - -

Prepaid expenses and other receivables 1,231,293 1,196,848 925,352 989,755

3,486,275 2,464,335 1,090,557 1,096,352

13. Payables

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Creditors 1,222,421 243,804 317,096 243,804

Income in advance 41,207,107 40,398,607 41,253,260 10,281,480

Other payments and accruals 2,381,447 1,785,263 2,067,972 1,191,057

44,810,975 42,427,674 43,638,328 11,716,341

Income in advance relates primarily to receipts for insurance, membership fees and practicing certificates received prior to year end during the renewal period for the upcoming year.





14. Property plant and equipment

Parent entityStrata title

buildingLeasehold

improvementsPlant and

equipmentComputer equipment Software Total

$ $ $ $ $ $

2013-14

Cost or valuation

At the beginning of the year 19,310,000 1,369,232 4,056,492 254,943 1,238,123 26,228,790

Additions - 14,865 10,989 22,905 - 48,759

Disposals - - - - - -

Reclassification - - - - - -

Revaluations/other 231,720 - - - - 231,720

At the end of the year 19,541,720 1,384,097 4,067,481 277,848 1,238,123 26,509,269

Depreciation

At the beginning of the year - (107,969) (1,457,384) (137,817) (152,892) (1,856,062)

Charge for the year (539,610) (34,381) (288,979) (47,572) (140,904) (1,051,446)

Revaluations/other (6,475) - - - - (6,475)

At the end of the year (546,085) (142,350) (1,746,363) (185,389) (293,796) (2,913,983)

Net book value at 30 June 2014 18,995,635 1,241,747 2,321,118 92,459 944327 23,595,286

2014-15

Cost or valuation


Additions - - 32,903 4,038 - 36,941

WIP - - 34,670 - - 34,670

Disposals - - - - - -

Reclassification - - - - - -

Revaluations/other 1,328,837 - - - - 1,328,837


Depreciation

At the beginning of the year (546,085) (142,350) (1,746,363) (185,389) (293,796) (2,913,983)



At the end of the year (1,192,130) (176,953) (2,029,945) (228,255) (434,700) (4,061,983)

Net book value at 30 June 2015 19,678,427 1,207,144 2,105,109 53,631 803,423 23,847,734





14. Property plant and equipment (continued)

Property, plant and equipment is stated as follows:

30 June 2014

At valuation 19,541,720 - - - - 19,541,720

At cost - 1,384,097 4,067,481 277,848 1,238,123 6,967,549

19,541,720 1,384,097 4,067,481 277,848 1,238,123 26,509,269

Depreciation (546,085) (142,350) (1,746,363) (185,389) (293,796) (2,913,983)

18,995,635 1,241,747 2,321,118 92,459 944,327 23,595,286

30 June 2015

At valuation 20,870,557 - - - - 20,870,557

At cost - 1,384,097 4,135,054 281,886 1,238,123 7,039,160

20,870,557 1,384,097 4,135,054 281,886 1,238,123 27,909,717

Depreciation (1,192,130) (176,953) (2,029,945) (228,255) (434,700) (4,061,983)

19,678,427 1,207,144 2,105,109 53,631 803,423 23,847,734






ConsolidatedStrata title

buildingLeasehold

improvementsPlant and

equipmentComputer equipment Software Total

$ $ $ $ $ $

2013-14

Cost or valuation


Additions - 14,865 38,462 25,849 - 79,176

Disposals - - (2,818) - - (2,818)

Revaluations/other 231,720 - - - - 231,720


Depreciation

At the beginning of the year - (107,969) (1,603,544) (257,011) (269,515) (2,238,039)


Disposals - - 2,818 - - 2,818


At the end of the year (546,085) (142,350) (1,900,123) (322,019) (483,445) (3,394,022)

Net book value at 30 June 2014 18,995,635 1,241,747 2,342,840 71,080 1,154,408 23,805,710

2014-15

Cost or valuation

Cost or valuation


Additions - - 35,210 5,674 - 40,884

WIP - - 34,670 - - 34,670

Revaluations/other 1,328,837 - - - - 1,328,837


Depreciation

At the beginning of the year (546,085) (142,350) (1,900,123) (322,019) (483,445) (3,394,022)



At the end of the year (1,192,130) (176,953) (2,193,796) (371,426) (697,286) (4,631,591)

Net book value at 30 June 2015 19,678,427 1,207,144 2,119,047 27,347 940,567 23,972,532

Property, plant and equipment is stated as follows:

30 June 2014

At valuation 19,541,720 - - - - 19,541,720

At cost - 1,384,097 4,242,963 393,099 1,637,853 7,658,012

19,541,720 1,384,097 4,242,963 393,099 1,637,853 27,199,732

Depreciation (546,085) (142,350) (1,900,123) (322,019) (483,445) (3,394,022)

18,995,635 1,241,747 2,342,840 71,080 1,154,408 23,805,710

30 June 2015

At valuation 20,870,557 - - - - 20,870,557

At cost - 1,384,097 4,312,843 398,773 1,637,853 7,733,566

20,870,557 1,384,097 4,312,843 398,773 1,637,853 28,604,123

Depreciation (1,192,130) (176,953) (2,193,796) (371,426) (697,286) (4,631,591)

19,678,427 1,207,144 2,119,047 27,347 940,567 23,972,532






An independent valuation of the strata title building was carried out as at 30 June 2013 by Mr S Fox AAPI and was on the basis of the open market value of Law Society House in vacant possession with all units combined. Mr S Fox is a member of the Institute of Valuers of Australia, and has appropriate qualifications and recent experience in the fair value measurement of properties in the relevant locations. The fair value measurement of the strata title building as at 30 June 2015 was determined by the Society using the Implicit Price Deflator for non-residential buildings indices (2015: 6.8%, 2014: 1.2%).

Categorisation of fair values recognised as at 30 June 2015 (refer to note 1(m)) are as follows:

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Fair value input Type

Level 1 None - - - -

Level 2 Strata title 19,678,427 18,995,635 19,678,427 18,995,635

Level 3 None - - - -

19,678,427 18,995,635 19,678,427 18,995,635

There were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 during the year.

The Society has plant and equipment with an original cost of $785,716 with a written down value of zero still being used in the provision of services.

The revaluation increase of $1,252,934 (2014: increase of $225,245) is reflected as other comprehensive income in the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income. It is shown as the net movement in Note 14 under revaluation under cost and depreciation.





15. Accrued employee benefits

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Annual Leave

Annual leave – opening balance 576,030 570,227 469,535 475,896

Leave taken (621,150) (707,954) (498,007) (589,460)

Leave accrued 664,760 713,757 532,288 583,099

Annual leave – closing balance 619,640 576,030 503,816 469,535

Long service leave

Provision for long service leave – opening balance 874,834 879,803 688,474 776,297

Leave taken (50,535) (170,333) (50,535) (170,333)

Leave accrued 109,841 165,364 70,013 82,510

Long service leave – closing balance 934,140 874,834 707,952 688,474

Current Long Service Leave 580,432 509,140 506,556 509,140

Non-Current Long Service Leave 353,708 365,694 201,396 179,334

934,140 874,834 707,952 688,474

Number of employees at year end 136 123 123 111

Number of full-time equivalent employees at year end 120 117 108 106

16. Commitments

a. Non-cancellable operating leases

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Within 1 year 210,788 206,215 1,377 6,018

1-5 years 3,441 213,816 - 964

214,229 420,031 1,377 6,982

The Society maintains a motor vehicle under an operating lease. The Group commitments include motor vehicles, a tenancy agreement and provision of computer systems. The leases have varying terms, escalation clauses and renewal rights. On renewal, the terms of the leases are renegotiated.

Lexon has a bank guarantee for $87,813 (2014: $87,813) in favour of the lessor of 307 Queen Street, Brisbane, QLD, 4000 which can be drawn upon in event of a default in accordance with the rental agreement

b. Capital expenditure commitments

Capital expenditure contracted for at 30 June 2015 but not provided for was nil (2014 – nil).





17. Related party transactions

a. The following significant transactions took place between the Consolidated Group and related parties during the financial period on commercial terms agreed by the parties concerned.

2015 2014

$ $

Management fees paid by Lexon to parent entity 240,370 291,400

Management fees paid by LCLF to parent entity 42,315 20,000

Gross premiums paid by Law Claims Levy Fund to Lexon 27,000,000 27,000,000

Professional fees paid to a firm of which a director is a member

Legal fees in the provision of claim defence costs:

• Coyne & Associates 787,449 589,429

• McInnes Wilson 728,937 843,378

Other non-claim professional advice provided:

• Coyne & Associates - 9,320

• McInnes Wilson 6,000 7,500

Consulting fees

• Russell Neville - 106,250

Management fees paid to a firm of which a director is a member

• AON Insurance Managers (Singapore) Pte Ltd 87,550 85,000

Brokerage fees paid to a firm of which a director is a member

• AON Re Australia Limited - 152,000

Commission on reinsurance placement earned by a firm of which a director is a member

• Various AON Group entities - 77,744

Licence and implementation costs paid in relation to insurance IT systems to a firm of which a director is a member

• AON Risk Services Australia Limited 26,668 164,981

Lexon directors’ fees

• Glenn Ferguson (chairman) 89,700 85,427

• Christopher Coyne 52,356 49,860

• Peter Dowling 52,356 49,860

• Michael Meadows 52,356 49,860

• Russell Neville 52,356 49,860

• Paul Tully 52,356 49,860

• Payments to parent entity for directors’ services by Noela L’Estrange 52,356 49,860

Lexon currently has a mandate to provide Professional Indemnity Insurance to Queensland Solicitors via a Master Policy with the Queensland Law Society Inc. The current mandate has an expiry date of 30 June 2016. Prior to expiry, negotiations will be held to renew the mandate for a further term. At present there are no indications that a further mandate renewal will not take place.





17. Related party transactions (continued)

b. Key management personnel

The following details for key management personnel include those positions that had authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the Society during 2014-15. Further information on these positions can be found in the body of the Annual Report.

The role of the president is to lead the Council in setting the corporate direction and goals and monitoring the performance of the Society.

The roles of president, vice-president and deputy president are supported by the elected Council members.

The chief executive officer is responsible for the day to day operations of the Society and is charged with implementing and managing best practice standards and processes in risk management, compliance and governance of the Society. The chief executive officer is accountable to the governing body of elected Council members.

Position Person Appointment date End of term

President Ian Brown 1-1-2014 31-12-2014

Michael Fitzgerald 1-1-2015

Vice President Deborah Awyzio 1-1-2014

Deputy President Michael Fitzgerald 1-1-2014 31-12-2014

Position Person Appointment date End of term

Chief Executive Officer Noela L’Estrange 11-5-2009 30-6-2015

Remuneration policy for the agency’s key management personnel is set by the Council.

Remuneration packages for key management personnel comprise the following components:

• Short-term employee benefits which include:• Base – consisting of base salary, allowances and leave entitlements paid and provided for in the

entire year or for that part of the year during which the employee occupied the specific position. Amounts disclosed equal the amount expensed in the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income.

• Non-monetary benefits – consisting of provision of car parking with fringe benefits tax applicable to the benefit.

• Bonuses – performance payments recognised as an expense during the year.

• Long term employee benefits include long service leave accrued during the period.

• Post-employment benefits include superannuation contributions.

• No redundancy payments were made during the year requiring disclosure.

• Other than disclosed below, council members do not receive any remuneration.





17. Related party transactions (continued)

b. Key management personnel (continued)

1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015

Position (dates if applicable)

Short-term employee benefits

Base

Non-monetary

benefits Bonuses

Long-term employee

benefits

Post-employment

benefitsTotal

remuneration

President (1 July 2014 – 31 December 2014) 127,712 - - - 12,133 139,845

President (1 January 2015 – 30 June 2015) 131,033 - - - 16,492 147,525

Deputy President (1 July 2014 – 31 December 2014) 42,571 - - - 3,938 46,509

Vice President (1 January 2015 – 30 June 2015 ) 47,348 - - - - 47,348

Chief Executive Officer 268,332 7,734 13,250 - 26,703 316,019

1 July 2013 – 30 June 2014

Position (dates if applicable)

Short-term employee benefits

Base

Non-monetary

benefits Bonuses

Long-term employee

benefits

Post-employment

benefitsTotal

remuneration

President (1 July 2013 – 31 December 2013) 125,000 - - - 11,562 136,562

President (1 January 2014 – 30 June 2014) 127,712 - - - 11,813 139,525

Vice President (1 July 2013 – 31 December 2013) 45,521 - - - - 45,521

Deputy President (1 January 2014 – 30 June 2014) 42,571 - - - 3,938 46,509

Chief Executive Officer 265,000 6,252 7,714 4,865 25,298 309,129

18. Contingent liabilities and events occurring after balance date

There are no known contingent liabilities as at 30 June 2015. There are no events subsequent to reporting date requiring disclosure in the financial report.





19. Notes to the statement of cash flows

a. Cash and Cash Equivalent

Cash includes cash on hand and in banks and investments in money market instruments, net of outstanding bank overdrafts. Cash at the end of the financial year as shown in the Statement of Cash Flows is reconciled to the related items in the Statement of Financial Position as follows:

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Cash at bank 2,879,446 32,107,255 725,372 1,124,787

Cash deposit accounts 58,508,938 6,540,686 55,285,373 3,312,944

Term deposit 5,000,000 28,050,000 - 18,050,000

Total cash and cash equivalents 66,388,384 66,697,941 56,010,745 22,487,731

b. Reconciliation of operating surplus to net cash provided by operating activities.

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Operating surplus after income tax 15,542,910 9,724,741 540,987 1,730,690

Adjustments for investment income (6,731,857) (10,723,120) - -

Add/(less) non-cash items

Depreciation & amortisation 1,161,666 1,152,326 1,072,097 1,051,446

Change in assets and liabilities

(Increase)/decrease in assets

Accounts receivables 178,060 (94,383) 5,795 308,033

Increase/(decrease) in liabilities

Accounts payables & unearned income 2,383,301 (1,374,215) 31,921,987 (2,460,675)

Employee benefits 102,917 834 53,759 (94,184)

Provision for outstanding claims (3,654,575) 9,809,498 - -

Tax related balances 3,896,306 890,760 - -

Net cash generated from operating activities 12,878,728 9,386,441 33,594,625 535,310





20. Income tax expense

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Tax expense attributable to profit is made up of:

Current income tax 3,295,247 - - -

Deferred income tax (Note 22) 697,179 890,760 - -

3,992,426 890,760 - -

(Over)/under provision in preceding financial years

Deferred income tax 123,443 - - -

4,115,869 890,760 - -

Lexon has dual tax residency in Australia and Singapore. In relation to offshore insurance business, the Company has been granted tax exempt status for a period of 10 years from April 2010 under the tax exemption scheme for captive insurers by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The tax expense on results differs from the amount that would arise using the standard tax rate due to the following:

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Profit before tax 19,658,779 10,615,501 540,987 1,730,690

Tax calculated at a tax rate of 30% (2014: 30%) 5,897,634 3,184,650 162,296 519,207

Effects of:

Income not subject to tax (1,512,667) (2,091,137) (162,296) (519,207)

Franking credits available (269,098) (202,753) - -

4,115,869 890,760 - -

21. Current income tax liability

Consolidated Parent entity

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Income tax at the beginning of the financial year (74,919) - - -

Income tax refunded/(paid) (219,563) (74,919) - -

Current year income tax 3,295,247 - - -

Income tax at the end of the financial year 3,000,765 (74,919)





22. Deferred income tax balances

The movement in the deferred income tax accounts are as follows:

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Net deferred tax asset at beginning of the financial year 920,502 1,811,261 - -

Current year tax charge to profit or loss (697,179) (890,759) - -

Under Provision in preceding financial years (123,443) - - -

Net deferred tax asset at the end of the financial year 99,880 920,502 - -

The balance comprises temporary differences attributable to:

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Deferred tax assets

Balance at beginning of the financial year 2,546,327 2,441,618 - -

Charge to profit or loss:

– Claims handling provision (174,900) (76,200) - -

– Other timing differences 33,963 40,615 - -

– Income losses utilised (939,667) 206,752 - -

– Allowance for impairment of receivables (33,095) (66,458) - -

1,432,628 2,546,327 - -

Deferred tax liabilities

Balance at beginning of the financial year (1,625,825) (630,357) - -

Charge to income statement:

– Unrealised investment movements 588,210 (995,468) - -

– Tax-free distribution on Investments (295,133) - - -

(1,332,748) (1,625,825) - -

Net deferred tax asset at end of the financial year 99,880 920,502 - -

Deferred income tax assets are recognised for tax losses carried forward to the extent that realisation of the related tax benefits through future taxable profits is probable. Lexon has income tax losses of $Nil (2014: $3,132,223) at the balance sheet date which can be carried forward and used to offset against future taxable income subject to meeting certain statutory requirements. The tax losses have no expiry date.





23. Insurance disclosure – contribution to profit from insurance activities

Consolidated Parent

2015 2014 2015 2014

$ $ $ $

Insurance levies 31,357,853 30,295,664 - -

Outwards reinsurance premium expenses (767,927) (1,229,758) - -

Net premium revenue 30,589,926 29,065,906 - -

Claims expense (13,686,617) (29,591,320) - -

Reinsurance and other recoveries 668,503 4,307,840 - -

Net claims incurred (note 24) (13,018,114) (25,283,480) - -

Stamp duty (1,361,972) (1,358,873) - -

Underwriting expenses (4,580,362) (4,807,517) - -

Underwriting result 11,629,478 (2,383,964) - -





24. Insurance contract liabilities

Current year claims relate to risks borne in the current reporting year. Prior year claims relate to a reassessment of the risks borne in all previous reporting years and include releases of risk margins as claims are paid.

For the year ended 30 June 2015 For the year ended 30 June 2014

Current year Prior years Total Current year Prior years Total

$ $ $ $ $ $

Gross claims incurred

Undiscounted 16,409,335 (6,851,064) 9,558,271 20,166,417 3,325,770 23,492,187

Discounted (972,473) 2,335,137 1,362,664 (1,619,000) 1,432,000 (187,000)

15,436,862 (4,515,927) 10,920,935 18,547,417 4,757,770 23,305,187

Reinsurance recoveries

Undiscounted - 1,072,905 1,072,905 - (2,751,024) (2,751,024)

Discounted - (468,285) (468,285) - (183,683) (183,683)

- 604,620 604,620 - (2,934,707) (2,934,707)

Net claims

Undiscounted 16,409,335 (5,778,159) 10,631,176 20,166,417 574,746 20,741,163

Discounted (972,473) 1,866,852 894,379 (1,619,000) 1,248,317 (370,683)

15,436,862 (3,911,307) 11,525,555 18,547,417 1,823,063 20,370,480

Risk Margins 5,542,860 (3,467,301) 2,075,559 6,911,000 (1,744,000) 5,167,000

Claims handling expenses 1,068,267 (1,651,267) (583,000) 1,344,691 (1,598,691) (254,000)

Net incurred claims 22,047,989 (9,029,875) 13,018,114 26,803,108 (1,519,628) 25,283,480



Declaration of Queensland Law Society Incorporated

These general purpose financial statements have been prepared pursuant to section 62(1) of the Financial Accountability Act 2009 (the Act), section 43 of the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009 and other prescribed requirements. In accordance with Section 62(1)(b) of the Act we certify that in our opinion:

a. the prescribed requirements in respect of the establishment and keeping of accounts have been complied with in all material respects; and

b. the financial statements have been drawn up so as to present a true and fair view, in accordance with prescribed accounting standards, of the transactions of the Queensland Law Society Incorporated and its controlled entities for the financial year ended 30 June 2015 and of the financial position of the Society as at the end that year; and

c. these assertions are based on an appropriate system of internal controls and risk management processes being effective, in all material respects, with respect to financial reporting throughout the reporting period.

President Chief Executive Officer

Michael Fitzgerald Amelia Hodge

27 August 2015



Report on the Financial Report

I have audited the accompanying financial report of Queensland Law Society Incorporated, which comprises the statements of financial position as at 30 June 2015, the statements of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, statements of changes in equity and statements of cash flows for the year then ended, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, and certificates given by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the entity and the consolidated entity comprising Queensland Law Society Incorporated and the entities it controlled at the year’s end or from time to time during the financial year.

The Council’s responsibility for the financial report

The Council is responsible for the preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view in accordance with prescribed accounting requirements identified in the Financial Accountability Act 2009 and the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009, including compliance with Australian Accounting Standards. The Council’s responsibility also includes such internal control as the Council determines is necessary to enable the preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view and is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditor’s responsibility

My responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on the audit. The audit was conducted in accordance with the Auditor-General of Queensland Auditing Standards, which incorporate the Australian Auditing Standards. Those standards require compliance with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and that the audit is planned and performed to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial report is free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control, other than in expressing an opinion on compliance with prescribed requirements. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the council, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report including any mandatory financial reporting requirements approved by the Treasurer for application in Queensland.

I believe that the audit evidence obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my audit opinion.

Independence

The Auditor-General Act 2009 promotes the independence of the Auditor General and all authorised auditors. The Auditor-General is the auditor of all Queensland public sector entities and can be removed only by Parliament.

The Auditor-General may conduct an audit in any way considered appropriate and is not subject to direction by any person about the way in which audit powers are to be exercised. The Auditor-General has for the purposes of conducting an audit, access to all documents and property and can report to Parliament matters which in the Auditor-General’s opinion are significant.

To the Council of Queensland Law Society Incorporated

Independent Auditor’s report



Opinion

In accordance with s40 of the Auditor-General Act 2009 –

(a) I have received all the information and explanations which I have required; and

(b) in my opinion –

(i) the prescribed requirements in relation to the establishment and keeping of accounts have been complied with in all material respects; and

(ii) the financial report presents a true and fair view, in accordance with the prescribed accounting standards, of the transactions of Queensland Law Society Incorporated and the consolidated entity for the financial year 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 and of the financial position as at the end of that year.

Other matters – electronic presentation of the audited financial report

Those viewing an electronic presentation of these financial statements should note that audit does not provide assurance on the integrity of the information presented electronically and does not provide an opinion on any information which may be hyperlinked to or from the financial statements. If users of the financial statements are concerned with the inherent risks arising from electronic presentation of information, they are advised to refer to the printed copy of the audited financial statements to confirm the accuracy of this electronically presented information.

R W Hodson CPA

Delegate of the Auditor-General of Queensland Queensland Audit Office Brisbane

31 August 2015


Law Claims Levy Fund






Declaration of Law Claims Levy Fund 124

Independent auditor’s report 125

Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund 127


2015 2014

Notes $ $

Revenue

Insurance levies 2 31,357,853 30,295,664

Total levies 31,357,853 30,295,664

Other income

Investment income 2,159,336 1,974,043

Realised gains (losses) on financial assets – fair value through profit or loss (1,032,228) 145,003

Fair value gains (losses) on financial assets – fair value through profit or loss 1,200,788 1,189,758

Total other income 2,327,896 3,308,804

Total revenue 33,685,749 33,604,468

Expenses

Administration expenses 152,484 144,872

Audit fees 18,000 17,500

Insurance premium expense 2 28,361,972 28,358,873

Total expenses 28,532,456 28,521,245

Operating surplus 5,153,293 5,083,223

Other comprehensive income - -

Total comprehensive income for the year 5,153,293 5,083,223



Queensland Law Society Incorporated Law Claims Levy Fund


2015 2014

Notes $ $

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents 7(a) 2,520,846 32,694,000

Receivables 5 29,299,942 15,224

Total current assets 31,820,788 32,709,224

Non-current assets

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 7(b) 46,857,537 42,864,806

Total non-current assets 46,857,537 42,864,806

Total assets 78,678,325 75,574,030

Current liabilities

Income in advance 4 28,019,308 30,117,128

Payables 53,674 4,852

Total current liabilities 28,072,982 30,121,980

Net assets 50,605,343 45,452,050

Equity

Accumulated surplus 50,605,343 45,452,050

Total equity 50,605,343 45,452,050





2015 2014

$ $

Accumulated surplus

Balance at 1 July 45,452,050 40,368,827


Balance at 30 June 50,605,343 45,452,050

2015 2014

$ $

NotesInflows

(outflows)Inflows

(outflows)


Receipts from the profession 1,194,571 31,403,712

Payments to suppliers (28,484,864) (28,550,158)

Interest receipts 229,871 230,180

Net cash provided by operating activities 6(c) (27,060,422) 3,083,734

Cash flows from investing activities

Proceeds from disposal of investments 1,850,000 -

Payments for investments (5,400,000) (2,900,000)

Cash distributions received 437,268 151,081

Net cash flows used in investing activities (3,112,732) (2,748,919)

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents held (30,173,154) 334,815

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the financial year 32,694,000 32,359,185

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year 7(a) 2,520,846 32,694,000











The Queensland Law Society Incorporated (‘the Society’), pursuant to s232 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (‘the Act’) is authorised to establish and maintain a fund for the purposes of providing insurance to the legal profession of Queensland.

The Law Claims Levy Fund (‘The Fund’) was created in 1987 to provide professional indemnity insurance to Queensland solicitors. The Fund is responsible for the management of professional indemnity claims of practitioners for the years 1987 to 1995, and the administration of insurance matters (jointly with Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd) in accordance with the Queensland Law Society Indemnity Rule 2005.


a. Statement of compliance

The Fund has prepared these financial statements in compliance with section 43 of the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009. These financial statements are general purpose financial statements and have been prepared on an accrual basis in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and interpretations. In addition, the financial statements comply with the Queensland Treasury’s Minimum Reporting Requirements for the year ended 30 June 2015 and other authoritative pronouncements.

With respect to compliance with Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations, the Fund has applied those requirements applicable to not-for-profit entities, as the Fund is a not-for-profit body. Except where stated, the historical cost convention is used.

b. Revenue

Insurance levies are recognised as revenue at the commencement of the risk period covered by the policy and accrued proportionally over the period of coverage.

Additional levies may be imposed in accordance with the indemnity rules and are accounted for separately and disclosed as income of the Fund. Investment revenue is recognised as it accrues, taking into account the effective yield on the financial asset and is also recognised net of bank charges.

c. Taxation

The Fund is exempt from income tax by virtue of Section 50-25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 with the exception of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of GST, except where the amount of GST incurred is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In these circumstances, the GST is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset or as part of the expense.

The net amount of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO is included as a current asset or liability in the Statement of Financial Position.

Cash flows are included in the Statement of Cash Flows on a gross basis. The GST components of cash flows arising from investing activities and financing activities which are recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO are classified as operating cash flows.






d. Cash and cash equivalents

For the purposes of the Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Cash Flows, cash assets include all cash and cheques receipted but not banked at 30 June as well as deposits on call with financial institutions.

e. Other receivables

Interest receivable represents interest earned on funds held up to balance date which has not yet been received.

These financial assets are initially recognised at fair value plus transaction cost and subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method. They are presented as current assets, except for those maturing later than 12 months after the reporting date which are presented as non-current assets.

The Fund assesses at each reporting date whether there is objective evidence that these financial assets are impaired and recognises an allowance for impairment when such evidence exists. Allowance for impairment is calculated as the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash flows, discounted at the original effective interest rate.

f. Financial instruments

Recognition

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the Statement of Financial Position when the Fund becomes party to the contractual provisions of the financial instrument.

Classification


• Receivables – held at amortised cost

• Payables – held at amortised cost

The Fund does not enter into transactions for speculative purposes, nor for hedging.

g. Provision for outstanding claims

Claims are actuarially assessed and the movement in the actuarial assessment is disclosed in the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income as movement in outstanding claims. Actual claim payments are separately disclosed.






h. Financial assets, at fair value through profit or loss

Financial assets designated as at fair value through profit or loss at inception are those that are managed and their performances are evaluated on a fair value basis, in accordance with a documented Funds investment strategy. Assets in this category are presented as current assets if they are either held for trading or are expected to be realised within 12 months after the reporting date.

i. Income in advance

Income in advance relates to insurance levies collected from the profession in relation to the upcoming insurance year. (i.e. current year levies in advance relate to collections for the insurance year 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016).

j. Payables


k. Employee benefits

The fund has no employees and as such no benefits are payable

l. Professional indemnity insurance

The Queensland Law Society Incorporated entered into a Master Policy agreement with Professional Indemnity Insurers to limit the maximum liability of the Fund for both individual claims and aggregate amounts. The Fund incurs all expenses up to a prescribed amount per individual claim until such time as the aggregate amount has been reached at which time the Professional Indemnity Insurers incur all future costs. The respective individual liability per claim is listed in Note 8.

m. Judgements and assumptions

Full provision is made for the estimated cost of all claims admitted or intimated but not settled at the reporting date as determined by the actuary, less reinsurance recoveries, using the best information available at that time.

The Fund has made no other judgements or assumptions which may cause a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

n. Audit fees

The audit fees paid and payable to the Queensland Audit Office to perform the audit of the Fund’s transactions for 2014-15 are estimated to be $18,000 (2014: $17,500) This amount is included in the profit or loss and other comprehensive income.

o. Fair value measurement

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date under current market conditions (i.e. an exit price) regardless of whether that price is directly derived from observable inputs or estimated using another valuation technique.






o. Fair value measurement (continued)

Observable inputs are publicly available data that are relevant to the characteristics of the assets/liabilities being valued.

Unobservable inputs are data, assumptions and judgements that are not available publicly, but are relevant to the characteristics of the assets/liabilities being valued. Significant unobservable inputs used by the Fund include, but are not limited to, subjective adjustments made to observable data to take account of the characteristics of the Fund’s assets/liabilities. Unobservable inputs are used to the extent that sufficient relevant and reliable observable inputs are not available for similar assets/liabilities.

A fair value measurement of a non-financial asset takes into account a market participant’s ability to generate economic benefits by using the asset in its highest and best use.

All assets and liabilities of the Fund for which fair value is measured or disclosed in the financial statements are categorised within the following fair value hierarchy, based on the data and assumptions used in the most recent specific appraisals:

• Level 1 – represents fair value measurements that reflect unadjusted quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities;

• Level 2 – represents fair value measurements that are substantially derived from inputs (other than quoted prices included within level 1) that are observable, either directly or indirectly; and

• Level 3 – represents fair value measurements that are substantially derived from unobservable inputs.

All of the Fund’s valuations of assets or liabilities are categorised into level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. There were no transfers of assets between fair value hierarchy levels during the period.

More specific fair value information about the Fund’s Financial Assets are outlined in Notes 7(b) and 9(f) respectively.

p. New and revised AASBs affecting amounts reported and/or disclosures in the financial statements.

i. New and revised accounting standards

The Fund did not voluntarily change any of its accounting policies during 2014-15. Australian Accounting Standard changes applicable for the first time for 2014-15 have had minimal effect on the Fund’s financial statements.

ii. Standards in issue not yet adopted

At the date of authorisation of the financial report, the expected impacts of new or amended Australian accounting standards with future commencement dates are either not applicable to the Fund’s activities, or have no material impact on the Fund

2. Insurance levies and premium

All insurance levies collected via the Queensland Law Society (QLS) renewal process were transferred to the Law Claims Levy Fund. The surplus collection can only be used in accordance with the Indemnity Rules for insurance purposes.

Insurance premiums are paid to Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd a wholly owned entity of QLS.

The fund continues to accumulate reserves in accordance with actuarial assessments for the benefit of all practitioners who have contributed to the fund.

The insurance expense represents the amount payable to Lexon under the Master Policy in accordance with the Indemnity Rules.





3. Provision for outstanding claims

The Fund has a policy with Lexon Insurance Pte Ltd which capped its liability for future payments to $5,000,000 from1 July 2002.

4. Income in advance

Income in advance relates to insurance levies collected from the profession during the renewals cycle which relate to insurance cover to be provided in the next financial year.

Income in advance 2015 2014

$ $

Levies received in advance 28,019,308 30,117,128

5. Receivables

2015 2014

$ $

Current

Interest and distributions receivable 32,813 14,787

Investment redemptions receivable 1,200,000 -

Levies receivable from QLS 28,065,462 -

GST receivable 1,667 437

29,299,942 15,224





6. Notes to the cash flow statement

a. Reconciliation of cash

For the purposes of the Statement of Cash Flows, cash includes cash on hand and in banks and investments on money market instruments, net of outstanding bank overdrafts. Cash at the end of the financial year as shown in the Statement of Cash Flows is reconciled to the related items in the Statement of Financial Position as disclosed in Note 7a.

b. Financing facilities

The Fund has no external non-cash financing or any standby credit facilities or any other loan facilities.

c. Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to operating surplus for the year

2015 2014

$ $


Adjustments for:

Net investment income (2,079,999) (3,114,085)

Changes in assets and liabilities:

(Increase)/decrease in receivables (28,084,718) 35,898

Increase/(decrease) in payables 48,822 (29,350)

Increase/(decrease) in income in advance (2,097,820) 1,108,048

Net cash provided by operating activities (27,060,422) 3,083,734

7. Cash and financial assets

2015 2014

$ $

7(a) Current assets:

Cash at bank 1,114,969 30,404,854

Short-term deposits 1,405,877 289,146

Term deposit - 2,000,000

Total cash and cash equivalent 2,520,846 32,694,000

7(b) Financial assets, at fair value through profit or loss:

Collective investment schemes 46,857,537 42,864,806





7. Cash and financial assets (continued)

The portfolio of financial instruments held consists of collective investment schemes. The fair value of the financial instruments is determined using net asset value of the collective investment schemes.

Managed funds include units in various funds with the following managers:

• Queensland Investment Corporation

• UBS Global Asset Management

• AMP Capital Investors

• MFS Investment Management

• Zurich Investments Management

• Nikko Asset Management

• Schroder Investment Management

• Denning Pryce

8. Contingent liabilities

Under the present insurance agreements the total liability of the Fund for the respective years of insurance is limited to $100,000 (1987-1994) and $500,000 (1995) per individual claim and this amount is reduced by the amount of the solicitors’ deductible. Also an aggregate limit per respective year of insurance applies and this limits the total liability of the Fund. As at 30th June 2015, there are no claims outstanding against the fund.

Based on actuarial advice in respect of the position of the Fund as at 30 June 2015 (Finity –August 2015), the insurance in place with regard to the limits per file, and the overall Fund’s aggregate limit as at 30 June 2015, the Council is of the opinion that the funds on hand together with future investment income and deductibles, and in conjunction with Stop Loss Cover (see Note 3) will ensure that all future claims will be met as and when they fall due.

9. Financial risk

The Fund’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: market risk (currency risk, price risk and interest rate risk) and liquidity risk.

a. Currency risk

The Fund is not exposed to significant foreign currency risk as the majority of the Fund’s transactions, assets and liabilities are denominated in Australian dollars.

The Fund outsources its investment activities to respected fund managers who use defined risk management techniques as part of the funds mandates.

All investments in income securities are predominately hedged where a currency exposure exists.

As part of the Fund’s investment mandate it may hold units in funds which hold unhedged international securities. Any unhedged position will be in accordance with the strategic asset allocation, and is monitored regularly by management.





9. Financial risk (continued)

b. Price and interest rate risk

The Fund is exposed to equity securities price risk arising from the investments classified as other financial assets. These securities are held with Australian fund managers.

The Fund seeks to reduce risk by diversifying across a range of securities, maturities and counterparties. Investments of funds are subject to risk control limits and constraints.

Duration and tracking error limits (interest rate management)

• The Modified Duration of the funds are constrained within a specified period either side of the Modified Duration of the Benchmark.

• Rolling year ex post tracking error will be limited to a specified number of basis points. The ex-ante tracking error of the funds is not expected to exceed a specified number of basis points.

Sector exposure bands

• The weighting of each sector (eg domestic, international – government, non-government) within the funds will be maintained in specified limits

Credit limits

• The funds will be invested in a broad and diversified range of securities across the credit spectrum.

Credit risk limits for individual security investments

• Individual security limits apply for direct physical holdings based on their credit rating and inclusion in the benchmark

Management regularly review the performance and ensure all investments held are within the approved mandate.

c. Liquidity risk

In the management of liquidity risks, the Fund monitors and maintains a level of cash and cash equivalents deemed adequate by management to finance the Fund’s operations and mitigate the effects of fluctuations in cash flows. The Fund also constantly reviews its investment to ensure that there are sufficient cash and liquid deposits to meet its estimated outflows.

The Fund manages its expected cash flow requirements using the latest actuarial valuations detailing projected cash flows. These are monitored in conjunction with available cash and investments readily convertible to cash.

As at reporting date, the Fund’s financial liabilities are all current.

During the year ending 30 June 2014, one property fund held units with fair value of $430,304 which had limited redemption as a result of the Global Financial Crisis. As at 30 June 2015, the fund was closed, with cash distributions of $432,583 received during the period.






d. Sensitivity analysis

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss have had the following sensitivity analysis applied, which are based on the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority’s (APRA) General Insurance Prudential Standard GPS 114.

• Interest rate sensitivity

Interest rate sensitivity measures the changes on the capital base from changes in real interest rates. The sensitivity has been determined by multiplying the nominal risk-free interest rate by -0.20 (downward stress) and 0.25 (upward stress), with a maximum stress adjustment of 200 basis points in either direction.

• Inflation risk sensitivity

Expected inflation sensitivity measures the changes on the capital base from changes to expensed consumer price index inflation rates. The sensitivity has been determined by adjusting the expected inflation rates by adding 125 basis points (upward movement) and subtracting 100 basis points (downward movement).

• Currency sensitivity

Currency sensitivity measures the changes in the capital base due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The sensitivity has been determined by applying a 25% increase and 25% decrease in exchange rates. An increase in the Australian Dollar is divided by 1.25 (or multiplied by 0.8) while a decrease is divided by 0.75 (or multiplied by 1.333).

• Equity sensitivity

Equity sensitivity measures the change on the capital base of a fall in equity and other asset values. For listed equities, the fall is determined by increasing the dividend yield on the ASX 200 index by 2.5 per cent. For unlisted equities, the fall is determined by increasing the dividend yield on the ASX 200 index by 3.0 per cent.

• Property stress

Property sensitivity measures the change on the capital base of a fall in property and infrastructure asset values. The fall is determined by increasing the rental yield (for property assets) or earnings yield (for infrastructure assets) by 2.75 per cent.






d. Sensitivity analysis (continued)

• Credit spread stress

Credit spread sensitivity measures the change on the capital base of an increase in credit spreads and the risk of default. The sensitivity has been determined by adding a spread (based on APRA credit spread and default factors) to the current yield on the asset and multiplying the reduced value of the asset by (1 – default factor).

The below details the impact to financial assets at fair value through profit or loss before tax and before any aggregation benefits.

Stress test Upward impact

2015 2014

$ $

Interest rate (133,995) 71,648

Inflation 345,725 351,385

Currency (396,158) (678,199)

Downward impact

Interest rate 123,108 (65,217)

Inflation (266,473) (395,086)

Currency 660,264 1,130,331

Stress test Impact

Equity (4,107,946) (4,641,952)

Property (445,829) (400,535)

Credit spread (1,281,006) (875,295)






e. Fair value

The following table presents assets measured at fair value and classified by level of the following fair value measurement hierarchy as at balance sheet date.

a. quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1);

b. inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (i.e. as prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices) (Level 2); and

c. inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs) (Level 3).

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total

As at 30 June 2015

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss - 46,857,537 - 46,857,537

Total assets - 46,857,537 - 46,857,537

As at 30 June 2014

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss - 42,864,806 - 42,864,806

Total assets - 42,864,806 - 42,864,806

10. Related party transactions

2015 2014

$ $

Administration fees paid to Queensland Law Society 42,315 20,000



b. the financial statements have been drawn up so as to present a true and fair view, in accordance with prescribed accounting standards, of the transactions of the Law Claims Levy Fund for the financial year ended 30 June 2015 and of the financial position of the Fund as at the end that year; and



PresidentQueensland Law Society

Chief Executive Officer Queensland Law Society

27 August 2015

Declaration of Law Claims Levy Fund



I have audited the accompanying financial report of Law Claims Levy Fund which comprises the statement of financial position as at 30 June 2015, the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows for the year then ended, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, and certificates given by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Law Society Incorporated.





An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control, other than in expressing an opinion on compliance with prescribed requirements. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the Council, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report including any mandatory financial reporting requirements approved by the Treasurer for application in Queensland.


Independence






Opinion

In accordance with s40 of the Auditor-General Act 2009:

a. I have received all the information and explanations which I have required; and

b. in my opinion –

i. the prescribed requirements in relation to the establishment and keeping of accounts have been complied with in all material respects; and

ii. the financial report presents a true and fair view, in accordance with the prescribed accounting standards, of the transactions of the Law Claims Levy Fund for the financial year 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 and of the financial position as at the end of that year



R W Hodson CPA


31 August 2015



Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund






Declaration of Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund

137

Independent Auditor’s report 138




2015 2014

Notes $ $

Revenue

Practitioner fees 2 3,750,092 3,510,924

Interest on investments 927,861 920,789

Costs recovered 76 142,193

Net reversal of notified claims 8 166,911 2,112,035

Total revenue 4,844,940 6,685,941

Expenses

Administration expenses 3 52,206 52,430

Notified claims 8 1,597,694 591,924

Claim costs 127,416 115,696

Expenses reimbursed to the Queensland Law Society 4 171,491 148,372

Receivership costs - 60

Total expenses 1,948,807 908,482


Other comprehensive income - -




Queensland Law Society Incorporated Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund



2015 2014

Notes $ $

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents 9(a) 28,932,833 27,916,105

Receivables 5 1,838,137 142,961

Total current assets 30,770,970 28,059,066

Total assets 30,770,970 28,059,066

Current liabilities

Payables 6 145,758 101,543

Income in advance 7 1,804,200 3,411,730

Provision for notified claims 8 2,340,506 961,420

Total current liabilities 4,290,464 4,474,693

Total liabilities 4,290,464 4,474,693

Net assets 26,480,506 23,584,373

Equity

Accumulated surplus 26,480,506 23,584,373

Total equity 26,480,506 23,584,373







2015 2014

$ $

Accumulated Surplus

Balance at 1 July 23,584,373 17,806,914


Balance at 30 June 26,480,506 23,584,373

2015 2014

Notes $ $

Inflows (Outflows)

Inflows (Outflows)


Contributions by practitioners and cost recoveries 329,225 3,886,807

Claim payments and administration expenses (358,595) (1,710,572)

Interest received 1,046,098 917,782

Net cash provided by operating activities 9(c) 1,016,728 3,094,017

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents held 1,016,728 3,094,017

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the financial year 27,916,105 24,822,088

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year 9(a) 28,932,833 27,916,105








Notes


The Queensland Law Society Incorporated (‘the Society’), pursuant to s359 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (‘the Act’) is required to continue the existence of a fund called the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund (the ‘Fund’) as was required under s12 of the Queensland Law Society Act 1952. The Fund has been established for the purposes of providing a source of compensation for defaults by law practices arising from acts or omissions of associates of the law practices. The major source of income for the Fund is contributions from legal practitioners.


a. Statement of compliance

The Fund has prepared these financial statements in compliance with section 43 of the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009.

These financial statements are general purpose financial statements and have been prepared on an accrual basis in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and interpretations. In addition, the financial statements comply with the Queensland Treasury’s Minimum Reporting Requirements for the year ending 30 June 2015 and other authoritative pronouncements.

With respect to compliance with Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations, the Fund has applied those requirements applicable to not-for-profit entities, as the Fund is a not-for-profit body. Except where stated, the historical cost convention is used.

b. Taxation

The Fund is exempt from income tax by virtue of Section 50-25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 with the exception of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of GST, except where the amount of GST incurred is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In these circumstances, the GST is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset or as part of the expense.

The net amount of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO is included as a current asset or liability in the Statement of Financial Position.

Cash flows are included in the Statement of Cash Flows on a gross basis. The GST components of cash flows arising from investing activities and financing activities which are recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO are classified as operating cash flows.

c. Revenue

Revenues are recognised at fair value of the consideration received net of any amount of GST payable to the ATO. Practitioner Fees are recognised when payment is received. Interest revenue is recognised as it accrues, taking into account the effective yield on the financial asset and is also recognised net of bank charges.






d. Use and revision of accounting estimates

The preparation of the financial report requires the making of estimations and assumptions that affect the recognised amounts of claims liabilities. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, including likely assessments of each claim based on facts present. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

e. Cash and cash equivalents

For the purposes of the Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Cash Flows, cash assets include all cash and cheques receipted but not banked at 30 June as well as deposits on call with financial institutions. The Cash Deposit Account and Term Deposit Account are interest bearing accounts which are readily convertible to cash on hand at the Fund’s option.

f. Receivables

Interest receivable represents interest accruals for amounts received in the month after balance date.

The Fund has brought to account Fines and Cost Recoveries receivable from practitioners. These receivables have been recognised on an accrual basis and are carried at actual amounts and the collectability of trade debtors is assessed at reporting date and with allowance being made for impairment.

g. Payables


h. Financial instruments

Recognition

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the Statement of Financial Position when the Fund becomes party to the contractual provisions of the financial instrument.

Classification


• receivables – held at amortised cost

• payables – held at amortised cost.

The Fund does not enter into transactions for speculative purposes, nor for hedging.






i. Employee benefits

The Fund has no employees and as such there are no employee entitlements outstanding.

All employees are employed by the Queensland Law Society Incorporated and salary costs are reimbursed based on actual expenditure.

j. Provision for notified claims

Claims are brought to account in the year they are notified.

k. Income in advance

Income in advance relates to Fidelity Fund Levies collected from the profession in relation to the upcoming financial year. (i.e. current year levies in advance relate to collections for the financial year 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016).

l. Judgments and assumptions

Other than that disclosed in Note 1(d), the entity has made no judgements or assumptions which may cause a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

m. New and revised AASBs affecting amounts reported and/or disclosures in the financial statements

i. New and Revised Accounting Standards

The Fund did not voluntarily change any of its accounting policies during 2014-15. Australian Accounting Standard changes applicable for the first time for 2014-15 have had minimal effect on the Fund’s financial statements.

ii. Standards In Issue not yet adopted

At the date of authorisation of the financial report, the expected impacts of new or amended Australian Accounting Standards with future commencement dates are either not applicable to the Fund’s activities, or have no material impact on the Fund





2. Practitioner fees

With a view to ensuring that the Fund is able to meet its financial commitments when they fall due, the Council of the Queensland Law Society Incorporated resolved to levy each practitioner $200 (2014 – $390) in accordance with s156 of the Act.

3. Administration expenses

2015 2014

$ $

Audit fees – Fidelity Fund 9,800 9,400

Bank charges 14,859 24,641

Catering - 441

Payroll tax 5,221 5,083

Printing and stationery - 64

Professional consulting fees 9,000 -

Rent and electricity 12,000 12,000

Registration and memberships 627 -

Telephone 699 801

52,206 52,430

Total audit fees paid and payable to the Queensland Audit Office to perform an audit of the fund’s financial statement for 2014-15 are estimated to be $9,800 (2014: $9,400). There are no non-audit services included in this amount.

4. Expenses reimbursed to Queensland Law Society Incorporated

The Fund, pursuant to s152 of the Act, is required to reimburse the Society for all costs and expenses incurred in the administration of the Fund. The Society performs all managerial and administrative tasks on behalf of the Fund.

2015 2014

$ $

Administration fees 58,354 37,500

Administration fees – reimbursement of payroll costs 113,137 110,872

171,491 148,372





5. Receivables

2015 2014

$ $

Interest receivable 22,360 140,597

Practitioner fees receivable from Queensland Law Society 1,814,145 -

Other receivables 1,632 2,364

1,838,137 142,961

6. Payables

2015 2014

$ $

Approved claims - 4,330

Other payables and accruals 86,761 38,991

Payable to Queensland Law Society for annual leave entitlements

17,018 18,103

Payable to Queensland Law Society for long service leave entitlements

41,979 40,119

145,758 101,543

7. Income in advance

2015 2014

$ $

Fidelity guarantee fee for upcoming year 1,804,200 3,411,730

Levies are collected by the Queensland Law Society Incorporated on behalf of the Fund. The levies collected in May and June 2015 relating to the 2015-16 year were paid to the fund by Queensland Law Society in July 2015. As a result, this is shown as income in advance.

8. Provision for notified claims

2015 2014

$ $

Opening notified claims 961,420 3,909,040

Add notified claims received 1,597,694 591,924

Less reversal of notified claims (166,911) (2,112,035)

Less payment of notified claims (51,697) (1,427,509)

2,340,506 961,420

Notified claims represent the estimated liability in relation to claims which have been notified but not yet admitted as a claim. Once the claim has been admitted, they are disclosed as approved claims included in Note 6.





9. Notes to the statement of cash flows

a. Reconciliation of cash

For the purposes of the Statement of Cash Flows, cash includes cash on hand and in banks and investments in money market instruments, net of outstanding bank overdrafts. Cash at the end of the financial year as shown in the Statement of Cash Flows is reconciled to the related items in the Statement of Financial Position as follows:

2015 2014

$ $

Cash assets 401,821 3,590,260

Cash deposit account 25,731,012 1,775,845

Term deposit account 2,800,000 22,550,000

28,932,833 27,916,105

b. Financing facilities

The Fund has no external non-cash financing or any standby credit facilities or any other loan facilities.

c. Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to the operating surplus for the year

2015 2014

$ $


Changes in assets and liabilities:

(Increase)/decrease in receivables (1,695,176) (3,282)

(Decrease)/increase in payables 44,215 33,495

(Decrease)/increase in income in advance (1,607,530) 233,965

(Decrease)/increase in provision for notified claims 1,379,086 (2,947,620)

Net cash provided by operating activities 1,016,728 3,094,017

10. Contingent liabilities

As at 30 June 2015 there is an outstanding appeal filed by a claimant with the Supreme Court against rejection of claims by the Fund. It is alleged that the claimant suffered a default in accordance to section 356 of the Legal Practitioners Act. The claims are estimated at $700,000 in total. The fund does not expect any material liability to arise out of these claims.





b. the financial statements have been drawn up so as to present a true and fair view, in accordance with prescribed accounting standards, of the transactions of the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund for the financial year ended 30 June 2015 and of the financial position of the Fund as at the end that year; and



PresidentQueensland Law Society

Chief Executive Officer Queensland Law Society

27 August 2015

Declaration of Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund




I have audited the accompanying financial report of Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund which comprises the statement of financial position as at 30 June 2015, the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows for the year then ended, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, and certificates given by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Law Society Incorporated





An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control, other than in expressing an opinion on compliance with prescribed requirements. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the Council, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report including any mandatory financial reporting requirements approved by the Treasurer for application in Queensland.


Independence







Opinion

In accordance with s40 of the Auditor-General Act 2009 –

a. I have received all the information and explanations which I have required; and

b. in my opinion –

i. the prescribed requirements in relation to the establishment and keeping of accounts have been complied with in all material respects; and

ii. the financial report presents a true and fair view, in accordance with the prescribed accounting standards, of the transactions of the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund for the financial year 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 and of the financial position as at the end of that year.



R W Hodson CPA


31 August 2015



AGM Annual General Meeting

AHRI Australian Human Resources Institute

AIC Audit and Investment Committee

AICD Australian Institute of Company Directors

AILA Australian Insurance Law Association

AML/CTF Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing

ALP Australian Labor Party

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Apps Mobile software applications

APRA Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority

ASCR Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules

ATO Australian Taxation Office

BAQ Bar Association of Queensland

BAU Business As Usual

BCIPA Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004

BF Bornhuetter-Fergusson

Call to Parties Queensland Law Society’s pre-election document outlining the professions’ concerns and priority areas

CBD Central Business District

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CHE Claims Handling Expenses

Click through rate

The amount of clicks on an electronic mail-out

CPD Continuing Professional Development

CPI Consumer Price Index

Cth Commonwealth

DLA District Law Association

ECL Early Career Lawyer

EDM Electronic Direct Mail

E-newsletter Electronic newsletter

FGF Fidelity Guarantee Fund

FLPA Family Law Practitioners’ Association

FRR Financial Reporting Requirements

FTE Full-time equivalent

Guidance Statements

Documents that outline Queensland Law Society’s guidance on particular subjects

IAMA The Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia

IBNER Incurred But Not Enough Reported

IBNR Incurred But Not Reported

ICD Incurred Claims Development

ILP Incorporated Legal Practice

Glossary

KPI Key Performance Indicator

Law Week An annual event held across Australia promoting the legal profession

LCA Law Council of Australia

Legislation Update

A weekly update on Queensland legislation sent out by Queensland Law Society

LNP Liberal National Party

LPA Legal Profession Act 2007

LPO Legal Process Outsourcing

LSC Legal Services Commission

MAIA Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994

MBA Member Benefits Australia

MBTI Myers Briggs Type Indicator Step II™

MHFA Mental Health First Aid

NARS The Law Council of Australia’s National Attrition and Re-engagement Study

Open rate The number of times an email has been opened

PAE Post-Admission Experience

Permanent separation rate

Number of employees who separated out of the number of permanent employees

PIPA Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002

PMC Practice Management Course

PPC Principal Practising Certificate

PPSA Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth)

Proctor Queensland Law Society’s monthly magazine

QCAT Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal

QDAN Queensland Disposal Authority Number

QLS Queensland Law Society

QLS Update Queensland Law Society’s weekly e-newsletter

QPILCH Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House

QSA Queensland State Archives

RAILS Refugee and Immigration Legal Service

REIQ Real Estate Institute of Queensland

RTI Right to Information

STEP Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

TJMF Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation

UCPR Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999

VLAD Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013

WATL Wellbeing and the Law Foundation

WCRA Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003

WH&S Workplace Health and Safety


Index

A

About us, i

Advocacy, i, 1, 6, 7, 30-34, 55, 56

Audit and Investment Committee, 45, 46

Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules, 10, 35, 37

Awards, 28

B

Beaton Benchmarks Associations Report, 5, 6, 7, 57, 58

Business supporters, 54

C

Call to Parties, 8, 30, 31, 32, 55

CEO’s review, 10-11

Committees, 16, 17, 18, 19, 31, 34, 35, 38

Corporate Governance, 45-47

Corporatisation, 8

Council, 1, 45-47

Culture, 42-44

D

DLAs, 23

Domestic violence guidelines, 32

E

E-Conveyancing, 15

Environment, 52

Essentials Series, 14

Ethics, 35-36

Events, 2-3, 4, 14-16, 21-22, 23

F

Fidelity Guarantee Fund, i, 10, 38, 45, 55

Finances, 55

Financial performance, 59-60

Financial statements, 62-139

Financial targets, 5

Flexibility, 39, 40, 42

Future, 57-58

G

Glossary, 140

Guidance Statements, i, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 30, 37

G20 Summit, 2, 9, 21, 53

H

Harper Review, 33

Highlights, 4

History, i

Human Resources, 42-44

I

Information privacy, 50

L

Law Society House, 54

LawCare, i, 28, 40, 59

Law week, 24-25

Love Law, Live Life, 25, 30, 39

M

Masterclass Series, 14

Media, 8, 34

Member benefits, 27

MemberConnect, 21

Membership snapshot, 12

Mental health, 14, 25, 39-40, 44

Mentoring, 18

Mission, i

O

Open day, 24

Organisation structure, 46

Q

Queensland Legal Walk, 25

R

Recordkeeping, 50

Regional events, 23

Regional members, 8

Revenue, 5

Right to information, 50

Risk management, 46

S

Segmentation, 6, 27, 56, 57, 58

Senior Counsellors, 35

Small Practice Portal, 17

Specialist accreditation, 19-20

Staff engagement, 4, 43

Strategic Culture Gauge survey, 10, 43

Strategy, 55-56

Students, 10, 11, 26

Student ambassador program, 11

Submissions, 33

Sustainability, 52-53

T

Trust account investigations, 37, 38

V

Values, i

Vision, i

Y

Year in review, 2-3


Appendix 1: Compliance checklist

Summary of requirementBasis for requirement

Annual report reference

Letter of compliance

• A letter of compliance from the accountable officer or statutory body to the relevant Minister/s

ARRs – section 8 Page i

Accessibility • Table of contents

• Glossary

ARRs – section 10.1 Page 1

Page 140

• Public availability ARRs – section 10.2 Page 1

• Interpreter service statement Queensland Government Language Services Policy

ARRs – section 10.3

Page 1

• Copyright notice Copyright Act 1968


Page 1

• Information Licensing QGEA – Information Licensing


N/A

General information

• Introductory Information ARRs – section 11.1 Page i, 1, 8-11

• Agency role and main functions ARRs – section 11.2 Page i-1

• Operating environment ARRs – section 11.3 Page i, 1, 46, 55-58

• Machinery of government changes ARRs – section 11.4 NA

Non-financial performance

• Government’s objectives for the community

ARRs – section 12.1 NA

• Other whole-of-government plans/specific initiatives


• Agency objectives and performance indicators

ARRs – section 12.3 Page 4-7, 14-28, 30-40, 54-55, 56

• Agency service areas and service standards

ARRs – section 12.4 Page 4-7, 14-28, 30-40, 54-55, 56

Financial performance

• Summary of financial performance ARRs – section 13.1 Page 5, 59-60, xx

Governance – management and structure

• Organisational structure ARRs – section 14.1 Page 42, 46

• Executive management ARRs – section 14.2 Page 45-49

• Government bodies (statutory bodies and other entities)


• Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 Public Sector Ethics Act 1994


NA

Governance – risk management and accountability

• Risk management ARRs – section 15.1 Page 45-46

• External scrutiny ARRs – section 15.2 Page 107-108, 125-126, 138-139

• Audit committee ARRs – section 15.3 Page 45-46

• Internal audit ARRs – section 15.4 NA

• Information systems and recordkeeping

ARRs – section 15.5 Page 50


Summary of requirementBasis for requirement

Annual report reference

Governance – human resources

• Workforce planning and performance

ARRs – section 16.1 Page 42-44

• Early retirement, redundancy and retrenchment

Directive No.11/12 Early Retirement, Redundancy and Retrenchment


Page 42

Open Data • Consultancies ARRs – section 17


data.qld.gov.au

• Overseas travel ARRs – section 17


data.qld.gov.au

• Queensland Language Services Policy

ARRs – section 17


N/A

• Government bodies ARRs – section 17


Data.qld.gov.au


• Certification of financial statements FAA – section 62

FPMS – sections 42, 43 and 50


Page 106, 124, 137

• Independent Auditors Report FAA – section 62

FPMS – section 50


Page 107-108, 125-126, 138-139

• Remuneration disclosures Financial Reporting Requirements for Queensland Government Agencies


Page 100

FAA Financial Accountability Act 2009

FPMS Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009

ARRs Annual report requirements for Queensland Government agencies



QLS Family Law Residential 7-9 August 2014

Cover

QLS Symposium by Night 20 March 2015

Serving our members

QLS Legal Profession Dinner 20 February 2015

QLS Legal Profession Dinner 20 February 2015


QLS Symposium 20-21 March 2015

Law Claims Levy Fund


Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund



QLS Symposium 20-21 March 2015



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Annual reportsqls.com.au/annual-reports

http://www.qls.com.au

http://www.facebook.com/qldlawsociety

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http://www.twitter.com/qldlawsociety

http://http://www.qls.com.au/About_QLS/Queensland_Law_Society/Resources_publications/Corporate_documents/Annual_Reports