Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund Grants

The Government has completed the implementation of new, robust procedures to ensure grants from the Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund are spent in accordance with the terms of the grant.

In July last year I asked the Department of Justice to develop formal processes around the provision of grants from the Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund, after concerns were raised about the use of a $190,000 grant by Unions Tasmania for a purpose other than that which was originally approved. It emerged that under the previous government, there were no measures in place to ensure that grant funds were properly acquitted.

To ensure that funds are spent appropriately, it will now be a condition of the grant that successful applicants enter into a grant deed prior to the provision of funds.

The new process also provides for a formal application process, in place of the previous informal procedure of the Attorney-General of the day inviting and approving applications from selected organisations.

While the principal purpose of the Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund is to compensate clients who suffer losses due to the misbehaviour of their lawyer, if the Guarantee Fund is in surplus the Attorney-General may call for applications for grants from the Fund.

With the fund now in surplus and the new processes to assure the proper use of funds now in place, applications for grants from the Fund are now invited.

Organisations that provide legal services, undertake legal research, and/or raise community awareness of the law in Tasmania can apply for grants.

Priority will be given to applications that will achieve any of the following outcomes:

• an increase in the number of people receiving free or low cost legal services;
• an improvement in the quality of legal services provided to the public;
• an improvement in the range of legal services provided to the public;
• an improvement in the operation of the justice system; and
• an increase in community awareness of the law, legal services or the justice system, including the provision of education and training.

Full details of the application process have been advertised in the Public Notices section of The Mercury, The Examiner and The Advocate today.

Applications close on 23 March 2015.
Vanessa Goodwin, Attorney-General