Rural, Regional and Remote Committee
The Law Council’s Rural, Regional and Remote Committee (RRR Committee) advises the Law Council in the development of its strategies and policies addressing the challenges faced by RRR lawyers and the communities they service.
In 2020, the RRR Committee worked with the Law Council’s Constituent Bodies to develop the RRR National Strategic Plan, which it continues to work towards implementing with the assistance of the Law Council Secretariat. In 2021, the Committee assisted in the establishment of the RRR Digital Treechange Pilot Initiative. In 2023, the Committee led the development of a Position Paper, titled HELP debt reduction and indexation relief for legal practitioners working in RRR locations.
Issues
The key issues of focus for the Committee are:
- investigating the legal needs of RRR communities and advocating for access to justice for individuals who live outside of metropolitan areas;
- developing and advocating for policy options to promote and incentivise the recruitment, retention and succession of lawyers in RRR areas;
- raising awareness of the critical role of the private legal profession in the delivery of legal aid services and pro bono legal services in RRR areas;
- developing resources and guidance materials to support prospective RRR lawyers and their employers, such as the RRR Law Webpage, and the Small Business Employer’s Checklist;
- promoting the inclusion of RRR legal practice in tertiary legal education, and related subjects, such as wills and estates, mining law, agri-business and farming law, energy and water security law, insurance law, and natural disaster policy; and
- encouraging and promoting mental health and wellbeing for RRR lawyers.
Members
The members of the RRR Committee are as follows:
- Crystal Archer (Co-Chair) – Law Society of Tasmania
- Mark Fenlon (Co-Chair) – Queensland Law Society
- Anneka Ferguson – Law Society of New South Wales
- Jenna Hampton – Law Society of Western Australia
- Merissa Martinez – Bar Association of Queensland
- Simon Molesworth AO KC – Victorian Bar
- Jonathan Parry – Law Society Northern Territory
- Amy Schulz – Law Society of South Australia
- Juliana Smith – Law Institute of Victoria
- Mark Woods – Law Council Access to Justice Committee representative
- Paul Boylan – Law Society of South Australia (Alternate member)
Contact
Natalie Cooper
T. 02 6246 3724
E. natalie.cooper@lawcouncil.au
Last Updated on 27/02/2025
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