legal services expenditure report 2017-2018 · legal services expenditure report 2017–18 in...

ii| Legal Services Expenditure Report 2017–18

ISBN: 978-1-921725-70-8 (Online)

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iii| Legal Services Expenditure Report 2017–18

Contents

1. Overview .............................................................................................................. 1

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1

Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 1

Key terms ......................................................................................................................................... 2

2. Commonwealth legal services expenditure ..................................................... 3

Internal legal expenditure................................................................................................................. 3

External legal expenditure – professional fees, counsel fees and disbursements .......................... 3

Professional fees ............................................................................................................................. 4

Counsel ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Disbursements ................................................................................................................................. 5

3. Non-corporate Commonwealth entities ............................................................ 6

NCCEs’ internal legal expenditure ................................................................................................... 7

NCCEs’ external legal expenditure .................................................................................................. 7

4. Corporate Commonwealth entities ................................................................... 8

CCEs’ internal legal expenditure ..................................................................................................... 8

CCEs’ external legal expenditure .................................................................................................... 9

5. Equitable briefing ............................................................................................. 10

6. Pro bono legal services ................................................................................... 12

7. Appendix A – Entity legal expenditure tables - (GST exclusive) .................. 13

8. Appendix B – Glossary .................................................................................... 28

iv| Legal Services Expenditure Report 2017–18

Figures Figure 1: Five year Commonwealth legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18 .................... 3

Figure 2: Percentage of professional fees by legal services provider for 2017–18 .............. 4

Figure 3: Comparison of direct and indirect briefing – 2013-14 to 2017-18. ........................ 5

Figure 4: Five year NCCEs’ total legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18 ........................ 6

Figure 5: Ten NCCEs with highest total legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18 .............. 7

Figure 6: Five year total CCEs’ legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18 ........................... 8

Figure 7: Ten CCEs with highest total legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18 ................ 9

Figure 8: Five year trend in number of briefs to male and female counsel ........................ 10

Figure 9: Five year trend in average value of briefs to male and female counsel .............. 11

Tables Table 1: Commonwealth legal services expenditure – 2017–18 .......................................... 1

Table 2: Commonwealth professional fee expenditure – top 10 providers over 3 years ..... 4

Table 3: Legal service providers who met or exceeded the Pro Bono Target in 2017–18 . 12

Table 4: Total legal services expenditure – non-corporate Commonwealth entities .......... 13

Table 5: Internal legal services expenditure – non-corporate Commonwealth entities ...... 16

Table 6: External legal services expenditure – non-corporate Commonwealth entities ..... 19

Table 7: Total legal services expenditure – corporate Commonwealth entities ................. 22

Table 8: Internal legal services expenditure – corporate Commonwealth entities ............. 24

Table 9: External legal services expenditure – corporate Commonwealth entities ............ 26

1| Legal Services Expenditure Report 2017–18

1. Overview Introduction The Legal Services Expenditure Report is produced by the Office of Legal Services Coordination (OLSC) in the Attorney-General’s Department. The report presents an overview of the Commonwealth’s expenditure on legal services in the 2017–18 financial year. It identifies costs and trends for non-corporate Commonwealth entities1 (NCCEs) and corporate Commonwealth entities (CCEs) for the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.

The Legal Services Directions 2017 (the Directions) require entities to report expenditure using a template approved by OLSC. OLSC uses data provided by the following to compile the report: • non-corporate and corporate Commonwealth entity expenditure data, and • legal services providers (law firms) listed on the Legal Services Multi-Use List (LSMUL).

The report considers Commonwealth legal services expenditure as a whole and separately for NCCEs and CCEs under three categories: total, internal and external expenditure. Expenditure across the Commonwealth has been included for five financial years in the body of the report. Appendix A details individual NCCE and CCE expenditure over three financial years. The report also reviews trends in briefing counsel and pro bono legal work.

Summary In 2017–18, the Commonwealth’s total legal services expenditure was $856.78 million (Table 1) an increase of 3.8% over the 2016–17 year. Internal legal expenditure decreased by 5.8% to $384.67 million. External expenditure rose by 13.2% to $472.11 million. The Commonwealth’s expenditure on professional fees to legal services providers increased by 13.4%.to $347.81 million. Expenditure on counsel increased by 7.3% to $72.70 million.

Table 1: Commonwealth legal services expenditure – 2017–18

Total legal services expenditure

Internal legal services expenditure

External legal services expenditure

All Commonwealth entities $856,777,127 $384,669,262 $472,107,865 Non-corporate Commonwealth entity $762,405,071 $341,152,886 $421,252,185

Corporate Commonwealth entity $94,372,056 $43,516,376 $50,855,680

1 On 1 July 2014, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) replaced the Financial Management and Accountability Act (FMA Act) and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act). Under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Rule 2014, certain agencies, normally considered to be CCE, have the obligations of NCCEs for the purposes of the Legal Services Directions 2005 by virtue of previously being an FMA agency. These are: Australian Human Rights Commission, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, Murray-Darling Basin Authority and National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.


Key terms

Internal legal services expenditure

The internal legal services expenditure is the total cost of legal work undertaken by agency in-house lawyers, whether within dedicated legal units or business units. The cost of in-house legal practices is calculated using the methodology in the Australian National Audit Office’s 2006 Better Practice Guide, Legal Services Arrangements in Australian Government Agencies. These costs include: direct and indirect salary costs (leave, superannuation); direct and indirect overheads (for example, computers, rent, electricity); and other costs such as software and professional training.

External legal services expenditure

Commonwealth external legal expenditure has three components: professional fees paid to law firms including the Australian Government Solicitor, disbursements, and counsel costs.

Since 2012, Commonwealth entities have procured external legal services from firms on the Legal Services Multi-Use List (LSMUL). The LSMUL expired on 30 June 2018. The replacement procurement arrangement for government legal services is anticipated to start in the second quarter of 2019.

Until a whole of Australian Government Legal Services Panel is finalised, agencies procure legal services by using parcelling arrangements they have established themselves, piggybacking on the parcelling arrangements of other agencies, or through a stand-alone procurement in accordance with Commonwealth Procurement Rules. However, entity legal services expenditure reporting obligations remain under the Directions.

Machinery of Government changes

The footnotes to the Tables in Appendix A identify entities with a relevant Machinery of Government change. Agencies and departments report consistently with the Australian Public Service Commission and Department of Finance’s reporting requirements for financial statements in the Machinery of Government Changes A Guide for Agencies. When agencies report on legal services expenditure for a function, activity or program that was transferred to another agency, the: • transferring agency reports on that function, activity or program to the date of transfer • gaining agency reports on the function, activity or program from the date of transfer, and • agencies include a note to the financial statements explaining the reason for the partial

reporting of a function (such as transferring a function as a result of restructuring and the impact of the restructuring on the agency).


2. Commonwealth legal services expenditure The Commonwealth’s legal services expenditure over the five-year period from 2013–14 to 2017–18 is set out in Figure 1 below. This shows the Commonwealth’s total, internal and external legal services expenditures in each of the five years. Over the five year period, the average annual increase in the total legal service expenditure was 5.7%. The average increase in internal legal expenditure was 3.2%, and for external legal expenditure the increase averaged 8.3% over the five years.

Figure 1: Five year Commonwealth legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18

Internal legal expenditure In 2017–18, Commonwealth internal legal expenditure decreased by $23.79million (5.8%) compared to the 2016–17 reporting period.

External legal expenditure – professional fees, counsel fees and disbursements The Commonwealth’s external legal expenditure is made up of three elements: the professional fees paid to law firms, disbursement costs and the cost of briefs to counsel.


In 2017–18 Commonwealth external legal expenditure increased by $55.05 million (13.2%) when compared to the 2016–17 reporting period. In 2017–18, the Commonwealth’s total professional fees expenditure was $347.81 million (an increase of 13.4%). Professional fees represent 73.7% of the external legal expenditure.

Professional fees The percentage of Commonwealth professional fees earned by the top 10 legal services providers in 2017–18 is set out in Figure 2 below. Figure 2 also shows that one-fifth of Commonwealth legal work is provided by 'other' legal services providers, comprising over one hundred law firms.' In 2017–18, the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) received 34.2% of all Commonwealth professional fees. Table 2 shows the change in share for the past three years for the ten legal services providers with the largest market share in 2017-18.

Figure 2: Percentage of professional fees by legal services provider for 2017–18

Table 2: Commonwealth professional fee expenditure – top 10 providers over 3 years

Legal services provider Per cent (%) in 2017–18

Per cent (%) in 2016–17

Per cent (%) in 2015–16

Australian Government Solicitor 34 35 38

Clayton Utz 10 12 13

Sparke Helmore 8 8 8

Ashurst 6 5 6

Minter Ellison Lawyers 5 5 8

King & Wood Mallesons 5 4 2

Corrs Chambers Westgarth 4 3 2

Maddocks 3 * **

HWL Ebsworth Lawyers 2 2 2

Mills Oakley Lawyers - 2 2 2

Other 21 20 14 * not in top 10 legal service providers for 2016–17 ** not in top 10 legal services providers for 2015–16


Counsel The total expenditure on counsel was $72.70 million, up by $5.0 million (7.3%) when compared to the 2016–17 reporting period. The number of briefs increased by 16.8%, up from 4,128 in 2016–17 to 4,820 briefs in 2017–18.

Counsel may be 'directly' briefed by an agency without engaging a law firm, or 'indirectly' briefed when counsel is engaged by a law firm. Over the last five financial years, direct briefing fell from 61.7% of all briefs in 2013–14 to 29.5% in 2017−18 (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Comparison of direct and indirect briefing – 2013-14 to 2017-18.

Disbursements Agencies also report on the value of the disbursement component of external legal services expenditure. Disbursements are costs incurred for goods and services that are neither professional nor counsel fees. For example, disbursements may include fees paid to expert witnesses, court fees, travel and accommodation costs and administrative fees such as binding and copying. In 2017–18 they were $51.56 million or 10.9% of total external costs.


3. Non-corporate Commonwealth entities The expenditure of NCCEs and CCEs is detailed separately, reflecting differing obligations under the Directions and the frameworks provided for in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (including the Commonwealth Procurement Rules) 2.

Overall, expenditure by NCCEs is 89.0% of all Commonwealth legal expenditure. Total NCCEs expenditure over five years is detailed in Figure 4.

The total, internal and external expenditure information for each NCCE is at Tables 4 to 6 of Appendix A. Not all legal services expenditure is published.3

Figure 4: Five year NCCEs’ total legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18

2Further information about the Commonwealth’s governance arrangements is available at the Department of Finance’s website at https://www.finance.gov.au/resource-management/governance/overview/. 3For security reasons, expenditure by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service is not included. Other information may be omitted where inclusion could prejudice the Commonwealth’s legal interests.


Total NCCE legal services expenditure for 2017-18 was $762.41 million, a 2.2% increase on 2016–17. The average annual increase in total NCCE expenditure was 3.8% over the five year period since 2013–14.

NCCEs’ internal legal expenditure In 2017–18, internal legal services expenditure for NCCEs was $341.15 million, a decrease of 7.4%4 over the previous year. Over the five years from 2013–14, the average annual change in internal legal expenditure was 1.1%, with the largest increase of 4.6% occurring in the 2016–17 year.

NCCEs’ external legal expenditure In 2017–18, external legal expenditure for NCCEs was $421.25 million, an increase of 11.6% on the previous year. Over the five years from 2013–14, the average annual increase in external legal expenditure was 6.5%, with the largest increase of 14.5% occurring in the 2015–16 year.

The five-year expenditure trend for NCCEs with the highest total legal services expenditure is shown at Figure 5 below. This shows the 10 NCCEs with the highest total legal services expenditure from 2013–14 to 2017–18. Abbreviations are in the Glossary at Appendix B.

Figure 5: Ten NCCEs with highest total legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18

4 Commonwealth internal legal expenditure was impacted by a change in ASIC’s calculation of its internal legal services expenditure in 2017–18. ASIC adopted a different costing methodology, testing in more detail the amount of legal work undertaken by ASIC staff. This resulted in a decrease in internal legal expenditure compared with previous years.


4. Corporate Commonwealth entities Overall, in 2017–18, expenditure by corporate Commonwealth entities (CCEs) was approximately 11.0% of all Commonwealth legal expenditure.

Total expenditure for CCEs over five years is at Figure 6. The total, internal and external expenditure information for each CCE are at Tables 7 to 9 of Appendix A.

Figure 6: Five year total CCEs’ legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18

Total CCE legal expenditure in 2017–18 was $94.37 million, an 18.5% increase over 2016-17. The average annual increase in total CCE expenditure was 4.3% over the five year period since 2013–14.

CCEs’ internal legal expenditure Internal legal expenditure for CCE in 2017-18 was $43.52 million, a 9.0% increase over 2016–17. The average annual change in internal CCE expenditure was an increase of 2.0% over the five year period since 2013–14.


CCEs’ external legal expenditure External CCE expenditure was $50.86 million, a 28.0% increase over 2016–17. The average annual change in external CCE expenditure was an increase of 7.1% over the five year period since 2013–14.

The five-year expenditure trends for CCEs with the highest total legal services expenditure is shown at Figure 7 below. This shows the 10 CCEs with the highest total legal services expenditure from 2013–14 to 2017–18. Abbreviations are in the Glossary at Appendix B.

Figure 7: Ten CCEs with highest total legal expenditure – 2013–14 to 2017–18


5. Equitable briefing The Legal Services Directions 2017, which encourage agencies to brief a broad range of counsel, were amended on 1 July 2018 to include equitable briefing targets. The amendments encourage agencies to use all reasonable endeavours to brief or select senior female barristers for at least 25% of all briefs (or 25% by value) and junior female barristers for at least 30% (or 30% by value) of all briefs. The Commonwealth policy supports the Law Council of Australia’s Equitable Briefing Policy. Reporting against these targets will be implemented in the 2018–19 year.

Of the Commonwealth’s total expenditure on counsel of $72.70 million in 2017–18, briefs to female counsel accounted for approximately $21.93 million (30.2%) and male counsel $50.77 million (69.8%) of total counsel expenditure. In 2016–17, the value of briefs to female counsel was approximately $17.8 million (26.2%) of total counsel expenditure in that year.

Figure 8 shows the five year trend in the number of briefs to male and female counsel. Of the 4,820 briefs to counsel in the 2017–18 year, approximately 31.0% were briefs to female counsel.

Figure 8: Five year trend in number of briefs to male and female counsel


Figure 9 shows the changes in average value of briefs to female counsel over the past five years. In 2017–18, the average value of briefs to female barristers was 97.2% of the overall average value, up from 85.7% in 2013–14.

Figure 9: Five year trend in average value of briefs to male and female counsel


6. Pro bono legal services Appendix F of the Directions encourage legal services providers to the Commonwealth to undertake pro bono work. Agencies consider law firms’ current and future pro bono activities and whether the firm is a signatory to the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target (the Target). The Target is a voluntary commitment of at least 35 hours of pro bono work per lawyer per annum. Information on the Target is available at https://www.probonocentre.org.au/.

In 2017–18, Commonwealth legal services providers performed a total of 571,830 hours of pro bono work, an increase of 69,211 hours (13.8%) since 2016–17 (502,619 hours).

Table 3 below shows the pro bono work undertaken by more than 20 legal service providers who met or exceeded the Target in the 2017–18 financial year

Table 3: Legal service providers who met or exceeded the Pro Bono Target in 2017–18

Legal Services Provider Pro bono hours per lawyer 2017–18

Salvos Legal 499

Wisewould Mahony 169

Arnold Bloch Leibler 70

Terri Janke and Company 61

DLA Piper 54

Gilbert + Tobin 52

Clayton Utz 50

Mills Oakley Lawyers 46

Allens 45

Herbert Smith Freehills 43

Baker & McKenzie 42

Ashurst 41

Lander & Rogers 41

Katemaru Legal and Investigation 40

Lexbridge Lawyers 40

Proximity Legal 39

Minter Ellison Lawyers 37

Harris Carlson 36

Russell Kennedy 36

Sparke Helmore 35

Corrs Chambers Westgarth 35

King & Wood Mallesons 35

https://www.probonocentre.org.au/


7. Appendix A – Entity legal expenditure tables - (GST exclusive)

Table 4: Total legal services expenditure – non-corporate Commonwealth entities

Non-corporate Commonwealth entity 2017–18 $ 2016–17 $ 2015–16 $

Administrative Appeals Tribunal5 3,902,860 4,083,472 3,632,489

Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency 9,300 27,430 54,296

Attorney-General's Department 32,852,356 27,442,760 26,930,554

Australian Aged Care Quality Agency 533,165 109,709 279,665 Australian Building and Construction Commission6 7,129,238 13,435,207 11,451,363

Australian Bureau of Statistics 335,595 388,825 420,747 Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 51,581 23,494 9,659

Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity 1,207,161 750,373 769,121

Australian Communications and Media Authority 3,630,531 3,699,213 3,968,004

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission 38,881,373 33,049,044 38,065,833

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission 6,339,089 5,377,073 3,736,586

Australian Electoral Commission 1,359,692 1,303,211 2,441,448

Australian Federal Police 28,255,069 25,683,303 23,148,363

Australian Financial Security Authority 894,182 875,251 646,365

Australian Fisheries Management Authority 774,763 782,550 788,319

Australian Human Rights Commission 1,165,406 1,121,734 1,118,851

Australian Institute of Criminology - - 4,539

Australian Institute of Family Studies 92,661 22,509 26,832

Australian Law Reform Commission 6,836 7,558 -

Australian National Audit Office 879,219 121,328 127,086

Australian Office of Financial Management 35,969 13,285 25,100 Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority 1,180,973 1,399,084 1,708,807

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority 6,101,652 5,273,619 4,963,103

Australian Public Service Commission 685,605 710,278 439,498 Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency 280,082 411,705 253,480

Australian Research Council 167,378 147,497 164,979

5 On 1 July 2015, the Migration Review Tribunal, and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, merged with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 6 From 2 December 2016, the Australian Building and Construction Commission replaced the Fair Work Building and Construction Commission.


Non-corporate Commonwealth entity 2017–18 $ 2016–17 $ 2015–16 $ Australian Securities and Investments Commission7 58,332,684 87,901,849 77,206,722

Australian Skills Quality Authority 1,955,961 2,158,912 1,551,947

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority 1,096,394 922,154 1,258,291

Australian Taxation Office 88,541,546 86,465,170 88,523,607

Australian Trade and Investment Commission 1,276,845 1,347,892 1,528,886 Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre 3,459,004 3,123,226 3,412,493

Australian Transport Safety Bureau 276,685 256,658 285,777

Bureau of Meteorology 1,991,086 1,058,334 791,571

Cancer Australia 37,252 101,201 17,820

Clean Energy Regulator 1,797,943 2,035,611 1,866,270

Climate Change Authority 13,307 - -

Commonwealth Grants Commission 11,702 - 702 Department of Agriculture and Water Resources 9,122,006 8,248,145 6,138,011

Department of Communications and the Arts 3,302,408 4,866,740 6,536,626

Department of Defence 102,771,722 99,425,105 91,499,731

Department of Education and Training 11,368,555 10,373,931 7,554,792

Department of Finance 36,548,138 38,762,013 36,980,877

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 18,593,133 17,722,495 24,268,397

Department of Health 25,178,351 20,791,194 21,616,521

Department of Home Affairs8 92,449,405 79,128,991 72,375,901

Department of Human Services 44,016,390 41,512,649 35,928,601 Department of Industry, Innovation and Science 12,760,438 9,700,537 9,276,285

Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development 8,999,443 12,370,953 13,916,194

Department of Jobs and Small Business9 22,315,548 19,633,226 17,557,687

Department of Parliamentary Services 906,695 1,103,666 1,186,647

Department of Social Services 8,328,098 8,373,180 9,356,609

Department of the Environment and Energy 11,451,912 9,654,506 9,761,269

Department of the House of Representatives 195,502 61,062 64,795 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 5,781,536 6,591,130 5,932,066

Department of the Senate 12,370 32,283 90,017

Department of the Treasury 5,573,713 3,862,688 3,529,609

Department of Veterans' Affairs 13,262,357 10,268,727 10,625,014

Digital Transformation Agency 1,289,291 272,920 36,680

Fair Work Commission 1,101,038 2,758,541 1,790,903

Fair Work Ombudsman & Registered 10,290,373 10,417,094 9,603,972

7In 2017–18, ASIC adopted a different methodology to calculate its internal legal services expenditure, testing in more detail the amount of legal work undertaken by staff. This has resulted in a decrease in the internal legal services expenditure compared with previous financial years. 8 On 20 December 2017, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection was renamed the Department of Home Affairs 9On 20 December 2017 Department of Employment was renamed the Department of Jobs and Small Business.


Non-corporate Commonwealth entity 2017–18 $ 2016–17 $ 2015–16 $ Organisations Commission Entity10

Federal Court of Australia11 223,643 155,160 -

Future Fund Management Agency 3,283,553 3,418,059 3,223,191

Geoscience Australia 306,249 258,041 325,015

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 1,749,100 2,975,328 3,044,035

Independent Hospital Pricing Authority 39,871 26,860 66,161 Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority 184,650 53,115 -

Inspector-General of Taxation 4,160 21,622 13,342

IP Australia 2,469,792 2,023,560 1,170,201

Murray-Darling Basin Authority 1,871,140 1,759,954 1,811,276

National Archives of Australia 907,982 819,142 574,762

National Blood Authority 289,831 255,996 504,890

National Capital Authority 201,821 152,223 246,854

National Competition Council 77,032 250,564 178,069

National Health and Medical Research Council 501,569 488,322 440,729

National Health Funding Body 110,161 31,828 15,267

National Mental Health Commission 34,674 15,430 - National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority 689,748 713,536 752,473

Office of National Assessments 37,291 85,468 38,523

Office of Parliamentary Counsel 22,357 25,177 31,006 Office of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and Office of the Auditing Assurance Standards Board

66,106 62,973 174,549

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 820,676 725,140 386,496

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman 594,530 598,702 194,034

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions 141,707 151,620 38,377 Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security 200,298 80,582 62,578

Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General 32,329 8,481 -

Organ and Tissue Authority 105,448 25,954 23,536

Parliamentary Budget Office - - 359

Productivity Commission 35,899 16,615 -

Professional Services Review Agency 1,862,897 1,562,823 1,727,643

Royal Australian Mint 209,282 153,812 123,228

Safe Work Australia 1,085,197 610,212 478,175

Seacare - - - Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency 1,038,821 762,476 672,572

Workplace Gender Equality Agency 14,653 13,670 8,320

10 The Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission Entity was established on 1 May 2017 upon the commencement of the Registered Organisations Commission. 11 From 1 July 2016, the corporate services functions of the Federal Court, Family Court and Federal Circuit Court merged into a single administrative entity.


Table 5: Internal legal services expenditure – non-corporate Commonwealth entities


Administrative Appeals Tribunal 3,868,298 4,051,830 3,493,45612

Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency - - -


Australian Aged Care Quality Agency - - 11,903 Australian Building and Construction Commission13 3,102,184 2,633,783 3,070,040

Australian Bureau of Statistics - - - Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research - - -

Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity 1,196,395 738,553 722,649

Australian Communications and Media Authority 3,554,604 3,526,991 3,755,057


Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission 4,282,734 3,980,503 3,318,577

Australian Electoral Commission 1,113,840 1,092,000 1,503,233




Australian Human Rights Commission 1,165,406 1,108,858 1,105,810

Australian Institute of Criminology - - -

Australian Institute of Family Studies - - -

Australian Law Reform Commission - - -

Australian National Audit Office 271,500 - -

Australian Office of Financial Management - - - Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority 617,064 745,864 1,468,580

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority 4,823,864 4,954,547 4,616,691


Australian Research Council 155,360 138,660 149,409 Australian Securities and Investments Commission14 31,112,386 67,450,002 58,617,945

Australian Skills Quality Authority 776,218 787,538 723,291

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority 914,032 711,830 888,245


Australian Trade and Investment Commission 768,699 773,551 666,732 Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre 1,729,595 1,879,748 2,129,292

12 On 1 July 2015, the Migration Review Tribunal, and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, merged with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 13 On 2 December 2016, the Australian Building and Construction Commission replaced the Fair Work Building and Construction Commission. 14 In 2017–18, ASIC adopted a different costing methodology, testing in more detail the amount of legal work undertaken by ASIC staff. This resulted in a decrease in internal legal expenditure compared with previous years.




Bureau of Meteorology 506,096 316,356 169,807

Cancer Australia - - -

Clean Energy Regulator 1,494,065 1,726,057 1,611,407

Climate Change Authority - - -

Commonwealth Grants Commission - - - Department of Agriculture and Water Resources 4,946,650 4,401,469 3,421,318

Department of Communications and the Arts 2,597,927 2,234,738 3,055,371






Department of Home Affairs 15 33,525,318 32,215,320 31,452,778




Department of Parliamentary Services 485,113 525,704 934,019



Department of the House of Representatives - - - Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 3,192,286 3,919,124 4,010,385

Department of the Senate - - -



Digital Transformation Agency - - -

Fair Work Commission 847,140 1,191,829 873,913 Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission Entity17 7,186,981 7,809,446 7,317,641

Federal Court of Australia18 - - -

Future Fund Management Agency 3,019,214 3,131,598 2,862,206

Geoscience Australia - - -

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 1,118,015 1,042,621 1,047,369

Independent Hospital Pricing Authority 20,118 - - Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority 122,000 53,115 -

15 On 20 December 2017, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection was renamed the Department of Home Affairs. 16 From 20 December 2017 the Department of Employment has been renamed the Department of Jobs and Small Business. 17 The Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission Entity was established on 1 May 2017 upon the commencement of the Registered Organisations Commission. 18 From 1 July 2016, the corporate services functions of the Federal Court, Family Court and Federal Circuit Court merged into a single administrative entity.



Inspector-General of Taxation - - -

IP Australia 1,146,475 935,575 585,709

Murray-Darling Basin Authority 1,204,163 1,173,490 821,212

National Archives of Australia - 121,369 394,818

National Blood Authority 266,029 255,996 211,283

National Capital Authority - - -



National Health Funding Body - - -

National Mental Health Commission - - - National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority 626,225 637,737 578,861

Office of National Assessments - - -

Office of Parliamentary Counsel - - - Office of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and Office of the Auditing Assurance Standards Board

- - -



Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions - - - Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security 200,298 74,879 62,578

Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General - - -

Organ and Tissue Authority - - -

Parliamentary Budget Office - - -

Productivity Commission - - -

Professional Services Review Agency 1,713,479 1,393,016 1,183,177

Royal Australian Mint - - -

Safe Work Australia 1,029,050 581,132 386,651

Seacare - - - Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency 618,686 503,358 558,490

Workplace Gender Equality Agency - - -


Table 6: External legal services expenditure – non-corporate Commonwealth entities

Non-corporate Commonwealth entity 2017–18 2016–17 2015–16

Administrative Appeals Tribunal19 34,562 31,642 139,033

Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency 9,300 27,430 54,296


Australian Aged Care Quality Agency 533,165 109,709 267,762 Australian Building and Construction Commission20 4,027,054 10,801,425 8,381,322

Australian Bureau of Statistics 335,595 388,825 420,747 Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 51,581 23,494 9,659

Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity 10,766 11,820 46,472

Australian Communications and Media Authority 75,927 172,222 212,947


Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission 2,056,355 1,396,570 418,009

Australian Electoral Commission 245,852 211,211 938,215




Australian Human Rights Commission - 12,877 13,041

Australian Institute of Criminology - - 4,539

Australian Institute of Family Studies 92,661 22,509 26,832

Australian Law Reform Commission 6,836 7,558 -

Australian National Audit Office 607,719 121,328 127,086

Australian Office of Financial Management 35,969 13,285 25,100 Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority 563,909 653,220 240,227

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority 1,277,788 319,072 346,412


Australian Research Council 12,018 8,836 15,571 Australian Securities and Investments Commission 27,220,298 20,451,847 18,588,777

Australian Skills Quality Authority 1,179,743 1,371,373 828,656

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority 182,362 210,324 370,046


Australian Trade and Investment Commission 508,146 574,341 862,154 Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre 1,729,409 1,243,478 1,283,201


Bureau of Meteorology 1,484,990 741,978 621,764

19 On 1 July 2015, the Migration Review Tribunal, and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, merged with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 20 From 2 December 2016, the Australian Building and Construction Commission replaced the Fair Work Building and Construction Commission.



Cancer Australia 37,252 101,201 17,820

Clean Energy Regulator 303,878 309,554 254,862

Climate Change Authority 13,307 - -

Commonwealth Grants Commission 11,702 - 702 Department of Agriculture and Water Resources 4,175,355 3,846,676 2,716,693

Department of Communications and the Arts 704,481 2,632,001 3,481,255






Department of Home Affairs 21 58,924,087 46,913,671 40,923,123




Department of Parliamentary Services 421,582 577,962 252,628



Department of the House of Representatives 195,502 61,062 64,795 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 2,589,250 2,672,006 1,921,681

Department of the Senate 12,370 32,283 90,017



Digital Transformation Agency 1,289,291 272,920 36,680

Fair Work Commission 253,898 1,566,712 916,990 Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission Entity23 3,103,393 2,607,648 2,286,331

Federal Court of Australia24 223,643 155,160 -

Future Fund Management Agency 264,338 286,461 360,985

Geoscience Australia 306,249 258,041 325,015

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 631,085 1,932,707 1,996,666

Independent Hospital Pricing Authority 19,753 26,860 66,161 Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority 62,650 - -

Inspector-General of Taxation 4,160 21,622 13,342

IP Australia 1,323,317 1,087,985 584,493

Murray-Darling Basin Authority 666,977 586,464 990,064

21 On 20 December 2017, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection was renamed the Department of Home Affairs. 22 From 20 December 2017 the Department of Employment has been renamed the Department of Jobs and Small Business. 23 The Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission Entity was established on 1 May 2017 upon the commencement of the Registered Organisations Commission. 24 From 1 July 2016, the corporate services functions of the Federal Court, Family Court and Federal Circuit Court merged into a single administrative entity.



National Archives of Australia 907,982 697,773 179,944

National Blood Authority 23,802 - 293,607

National Capital Authority 201,821 152,223 246,854



National Health Funding Body 110,161 31,828 15,267

National Mental Health Commission 34,674 15,430 - National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority 63,523 75,799 173,612

Office of National Assessments 37,291 85,468 38,523

Office of Parliamentary Counsel 22,357 25,177 31,006 Office of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and Office of the Auditing Assurance Standards Board

66,106 62,973 174,549



Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions 141,707 151,620 38,377 Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security - 5,702 -

Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General 32,329 8,481 -

Organ and Tissue Authority 105,448 25,954 23,536

Parliamentary Budget Office - - 359

Productivity Commission 35,899 16,615 -

Professional Services Review Agency 149,418 169,807 544,466

Royal Australian Mint 209,282 153,812 123,228

Safe Work Australia 56,147 29,079 91,524

Seacare - - - Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency 420,135 259,118 114,082

Workplace Gender Equality Agency 14,653 13,670 8,320


Table 7: Total legal services expenditure – corporate Commonwealth entities

Corporate Commonwealth entity 2017–18 $ 2016–17 $ 2015–16 $

Agrifutures25 105,823 119,505 62,758

Airservices Australia 5,706,336 3,943,161 6,564,102

Anindilyakwa Land Council 510,638 277,008 750,164

Army and Air Force Canteen Service 4,619 100,605 145,116

Australia Council 334,116 361,874 398,676 Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care 41,101 88,724 326,812

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 220,532 347,794 136,735

Australian Digital Health Agency26 1,194,369 1,052,055 -

Australian Film, Television and Radio School 68,014 189,258 185,820

Australian Hearing Services 506,888 588,097 723,613 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 37,611 63,938 27,793

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 141,593 67,973 121,520

Australian Institute of Marine Science 751,566 630,760 566,585

Australian Maritime Safety Authority 2,162,592 2,669,754 1,859,497

Australian Military Forces Relief Trust Fund - - -

Australian National Maritime Museum 284,949 184,471 179,905 Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation 2,017,373 1,791,287 2,503,846

Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation 119,072 69,714 185,559

Australian Renewable Energy Agency 3,156,907 3,451,086 2,976,691

Australian Sports Commission 705,996 535,490 450,056

Australian War Memorial 64,451 57,713 94,331

Central Land Council 2,408,736 2,651,732 1,989,797

Civil Aviation Safety Authority 4,566,582 4,554,337 3,496,326

Clean Energy Finance Corporation 3,694,260 3,493,076 2,587,512 Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation 746,964 376,083 -

Comcare 22,681,619 22,942,611 21,166,714 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) 7,806,048 4,487,129 5,255,677

Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation 1,653,144 2,155,039 1,874,833 Cotton Research and Development Corporation 74,428 23,173 64,372

Director of National Parks 830,544 248,834 555,203

Export Finance and Insurance Corporation 2,661,429 2,068,006 2,309,548 Fisheries Research and Development Corporation 72,246 19,696 27,792

Food Standards Australia New Zealand 838,922 675,749 709,677 Grains Research and Development Corporation 1,176,679 868,449 610,011

Indigenous Business Australia 1,667,866 1,438,728 1,672,292

25 AgriFutures Australia is the trading name for Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation. 26 The Australian Digital Health Agency commenced operations on 1 July 2016.



Indigenous Land Corporation 1,105,584 918,485 1,556,670

Infrastructure Australia 131,067 271,022 63,785

National Disability Insurance Agency 9,201,472 4,317,171 3,064,517

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia 135,180 84,678 405,721

National Gallery of Australia 36,607 107,501 104,440

National Library of Australia 329,101 334,698 181,013

National Museum of Australia 202,638 222,966 187,577

National Portrait Gallery of Australia 14,012 17,026 37,762

National Transport Commission 100,200 81,529 152,673

Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility 1,322,124 685,484 -

Northern Land Council 4,451,931 3,164,924 2,873,041

Old Parliament House 43,473 21,211 47,297

Regional Investment Corporation 130,395 - -

Reserve Bank of Australia 2,620,498 3,017,919 3,516,712 Royal Australian Air Force Veterans' Residences Trust Fund 15,465 866 882

Royal Australian Air Force Welfare Trust Fund - - -

Royal Australian Navy Central Canteens Board 35,241 40,942 146,302

Royal Australian Navy Relief Trust Fund - - -

Screen Australia 1,375,776 1,336,530 1,469,637

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust 342,907 188,150 230,309

Tiwi Land Council 200,636 207,041 214,116

Torres Strait Regional Authority 2,633,803 1,681,144 1,982,988

Tourism Australia 391,135 100,213 67,472

Wine Australia27 328,463 200,655 213,016

Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council 198,632 52,423 69,138

27 From 7 November 2017, the Australian Grape and Wine Authority became Wine Australia.


Table 8: Internal legal services expenditure – corporate Commonwealth entities


Agrifutures28 - - -


Anindilyakwa Land Council - - -

Army and Air Force Canteen Service - - 22,873

Australia Council 309,226 307,901 325,526

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care - - -

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority - - -

Australian Digital Health Agency29 377,337 382,549 -

Australian Film, Television and Radio School - 120,845 153,337

Australian Hearing Services 167,422 310,732 477,264

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies - - -

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - - -

Australian Institute of Marine Science 715,991 630,760 525,603

Australian Maritime Safety Authority 2,004,732 2,449,061 1,740,824


Australian National Maritime Museum - - -

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation 835,015 781,250 1,542,717

Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation - - -

Australian Renewable Energy Agency - - -


Australian War Memorial - - -

Central Land Council 2,278,574 2,362,720 1,980,452

Civil Aviation Safety Authority 4,372,257 4,303,977 3,453,418

Clean Energy Finance Corporation 2,773,259 2,913,642 2,333,769

Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation 191,190 - -

Comcare 6,626,818 6,730,402 5,971,312

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) 4,955,328 3,696,997 4,446,656

Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation 776,395 775,936 599,175

Cotton Research and Development Corporation - - -


Export Finance and Insurance Corporation 1,655,218 1,351,420 1,649,356

Fisheries Research and Development Corporation - - -

Food Standards Australia New Zealand 802,789 630,118 646,244




Grains Research and Development Corporation 546,905 395,326 202,968

Indigenous Business Australia 1,018,576 1,009,071 1,075,991

Indigenous Land Corporation 940,384 759,696 819,650

Infrastructure Australia 63,931 240,940 -


National Film and Sound Archive of Australia 42,455 - 173,000

National Gallery of Australia - - -



National Portrait Gallery of Australia - - -


Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility 721,196 321,219 -

Northern Land Council 2,785,550 2,303,576 2,129,844

Old Parliament House - - -

Regional Investment Corporation - - -

Reserve Bank of Australia 1,816,416 1,737,001 1,719,316

Royal Australian Air Force Veterans' Residences Trust Fund - - -


Royal Australian Navy Central Canteens Board - - -


Screen Australia 1,323,747 1,182,583 1,369,688

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust - - -

Tiwi Land Council - 110,000 107,800

Torres Strait Regional Authority 381,177 436,354 214,387

Tourism Australia 282,634 - -

Wine Australia30 - - 86,135

Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council - - -



Table 9: External legal services expenditure – corporate Commonwealth entities


Agrifutures31 105,823 119,505 62,758


Anindilyakwa Land Council 510,638 277,008 750,164

Army and Air Force Canteen Service 4,619 100,605 122,243

Australia Council 24,890 53,973 73,150 Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care 41,101 88,724 326,812

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 220,532 347,794 136,735

Australian Digital Health Agency32 817,032 669,506 -

Australian Film, Television and Radio School 68,014 68,414 32,483

Australian Hearing Services 339,466 277,365 246,349 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 37,611 63,938 27,793

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 141,593 67,973 121,520

Australian Institute of Marine Science 35,575 - 40,982

Australian Maritime Safety Authority 157,860 220,693 118,673


Australian National Maritime Museum 284,949 184,471 179,905 Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation 1,182,358 1,010,037 961,129

Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation 119,072 69,714 185,559

Australian Renewable Energy Agency 3,156,907 3,451,086 2,976,691


Australian War Memorial 64,451 57,713 94,331

Central Land Council 130,162 289,012 9,345

Civil Aviation Safety Authority 194,325 250,360 42,908

Clean Energy Finance Corporation 921,001 579,434 253,743 Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation 555,774 376,083 -

Comcare 16,054,801 16,212,209 15,195,402 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) 2,850,720 790,131 809,022

Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation 876,749 1,379,102 1,275,658 Cotton Research and Development Corporation 74,428 23,173 64,372


Export Finance and Insurance Corporation 1,006,210 716,587 660,192 Fisheries Research and Development Corporation 72,246 19,696 27,792

Food Standards Australia New Zealand 36,132 45,631 63,433 Grains Research and Development Corporation 629,774 473,123 407,043




Indigenous Business Australia 649,290 429,657 596,301

Indigenous Land Corporation 165,201 158,789 737,019

Infrastructure Australia 67,136 30,082 63,785


National Film and Sound Archive of Australia 92,725 84,678 232,721

National Gallery of Australia 36,607 107,501 104,440



National Portrait Gallery of Australia 14,012 17,026 37,762


Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility 600,928 364,266 -

Northern Land Council 1,666,381 861,348 743,197

Old Parliament House 43,473 21,211 -

Regional Investment Corporation 130,395 - -

Reserve Bank of Australia 804,082 1,280,917 1,797,396 Royal Australian Air Force Veterans' Residences Trust Fund 15,465 866 882


Royal Australian Navy Central Canteens Board 35,241 40,942 146,302


Screen Australia 52,029 153,947 99,949

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust 342,907 188,150 230,309

Tiwi Land Council 200,636 97,041 106,316

Torres Strait Regional Authority 2,252,626 1,244,790 1,768,601

Tourism Australia 108,501 100,213 67,472

Wine Australia33 328,463 200,655 126,881

Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council 198,632 52,423 69,138



8. Appendix B – Glossary ACCC AFP AGD AMSA ANTSO ARENA ASIC ATO CAC Act CASA CCE CEFC CSIRO Defence Directions DFAT DHA DHS Efic Finance FMA Act Health Infrastructure LSMUL

NCCE

NDIA

NLC

OLSC PGPA Act RBA Target TSRA

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Australian Federal Police

Attorney-General’s Department

Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

Australian Renewable Energy Agency

Australian Securities & Investments Commission

Australian Taxation Office

Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997

Civil Aviation Safety Authority Corporate Commonwealth Entity

Clean Energy Finance Corporation

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Department of Defence

Legal Services Directions 2017 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Department of Home Affairs

Department of Human Services

Export Finance and Insurance Corporation

Department of Finance

Financial Management and Accountability Act

Department of Health

Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development

Legal Services Multi-Use List

Non-Corporate Commonwealth Entity

National Disability Insurance Agency

Northern Land Council

Office of Legal Services Coordination, Attorney-General’s Department

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013

Reserve Bank of Australia

National Pro Bono Aspirational Target

Torres Strait Regional Authority

legal services expenditure report 2017-2018 · legal services expenditure report 2017–18 in...

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