Legal Aid Commission Amendment Bill 2016 (32 of 2016) [TAS]
Tuesday 21 June 2016 @ 1.12 p.m. | Judiciary, Legal Profession & Procedure | Legal Research
A new bill introduced into the Tasmanian Legislative Assembly on 15 June 2016, has, as its primary purpose, amendments to the Legal Aid Commission Act 1990, in order to reduce the number of Board members.
Background to the Bill
The Legal Aid Commission Amendment Bill 2016 (32 of 2016) [TAS] (the Bill), according to the Second Reading Speech, has as its aim to reduce the membership of the Board of the Legal Aid Commission from 10 to 5 members. This implements one of the recommendations made by the Hon Peter Evans following his review of the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania.
It was Mr Evans’ recommendation that the Legal Aid Board be reduced to smaller, skills-based body. His Honour was of the view that the focus should be on the skills of individual members, not what party has the power to nominate them. Mr Evans’ noted in its current form the Legal Aid Board more closely represents the committee of a not-for-profit organisation rather than a board of management of a corporation, which in the end is what the Legal Aid Commission is.
As noted in the Second Reading Speech:
"In making his recommendation Mr Evans noted that he wasn’t saying that the Legal Aid Board’s current or past members were lacking in skills, but rather that advantages flow from having a smaller board made up of members with specific skills relevant to the management of an organisation such as the Legal Aid Commission."
Amendments Contained in the Bill
According to the Fact Sheet, the Bill makes amendments to the Legal Aid Commission Act 1990 (the Act) to reduce the membership of the Legal Aid Board from 10 to 5 members. The Bill provides that the Board will now be composed of:
- A Chairperson;
- The Director of the Legal Aid Commission;
- A person with substantial experience and expertise in financial management;
- A person with experience in business or government operations; and
- A Law Society of Tasmania nominee.
Under the Act the Chairperson is required to be a former judge, former magistrate or a legal practitioner of at least 5 years standing.
The Bill also provides for transitional arrangements for the membership of the Board. These arrangements will ensure a smooth transition to the new board composition, providing for a continuity of knowledge and expertise.
The Bill may continue to be debated in second reading stage when Tasmanian Parliament resumes sitting today (21 June 2016).
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Sources:
Legal Aid Commission Amendment Bill 2016 (32 of 2016) [TAS] and secondary materials as reproduced on TimeBase LawOne
