The Eleventh annual performance report on the Australian pro bono target
Published 16/11/2018 by Roisin O'Connell
The eleventh annual performance report on the Australian pro bono target has just been released by the Australian pro bono centre detailing the progress of the pro bono lawyers in Australia.
On the 11th of October 2018, the annual Australian pro bono performance report was released. Within this report, the work of pro bono lawyers in Australia was assessed and the hours of work spent were counted.
Thought the report revealed that the hours spent on pro bono work in Australia had fallen from 420,195 in 2017 to 414,843, the ongoing commitment of lawyers in the country to pro bono was commended as an impressive performance nonetheless.
Using these figures and the learnings from Asia pro bono conference, the Australian Pro Bono Centre looked to how they could improve in their performance. For example, it was identified that there were certain legal needs that were not being met in Australia such as the lack of identity documents, statelessness, and the plight of exploited workers. It was also seen that the business and human rights agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are becoming more visible and applied in pro bono practice and project development. Also showing how the centre’s regional influence and its resources have had a positive impact on the development of legal pro bono culture in several other countries.
We expect these ideas and more to be discussed at the next National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference in March 2019.
