President's Message

01/05/2020

2020-21 Practising Certificate and Membership Renewals

On Monday the Association will commence the practising certificate and membership renewal process for 2020-21.

The period for renewals will run up until 30 June 2020. If you have not renewed by 30 June 2020 you will need to make a new application for a practising certificate.

Practising certificate renewals will be run through the same online system as last year. Members will receive on Monday an email with their renewal forms, further information about the renewal process and URL access to the renewals portal through which renewal applications are to be lodged.

In order to renew your practising certificate it is necessary to have Professional Indemnity Insurance. I refer members to the list of all approved PII policies offered by Aon, Marsh, Suncorp, Willis Towers Watson and Austbrokers Countrywide, together with contact details, information about stamp duty exemptions and a table comparing the PII policies on the Association's website.

The Bar Association is committed to doing everything it can to assist barristers experiencing financial and other difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council is particularly aware of the effect of these pressures on members of the Junior Bar.

As I have advised members previously, the Bar Council has approved the following measures aimed at assisting practitioners, and in particular members of the Junior Bar, with regard to COVID-19 practice-related issues:

1. Membership fees have been waived for all junior members for 2020-21;

2. All members have the option of paying their certificate fees in two instalments;

3. Practising certificate fees for members who have been practising for 0-2 years at the Bar have been waived and there is no need for those members to specifically apply for that waiver;

4. Practising certificate fees for members who have been practising for 2-5 years at the Bar are at the set rate with the option of a full waiver on the basis of hardship, that hardship to be self-assessed; and

5. Practising certificate fees for juniors of over five years’ seniority are at the set rate with the option of a 25% discount on the basis of hardship, that hardship to be self-assessed.

When completing your online renewal, you will have the opportunity to elect to apply the relevant waiver as part of that process: there is no separate application process. In making your self-assessment, please read carefully the criteria that will be provided as part of the renewal application material.

The waiver for those members of two years’ seniority or less will be automatically applied and there is no need make a specific waiver application in this regard.

As I have previously said, the Bar Council will continue to monitor the situation, with ongoing consideration being given to this issue, including at the time that second instalments are due.

Benevolent Fund

As members would appreciate, at the time of renewal barristers often make donations to the Benevolent Fund and the Mum Shirl Fund, and I encourage barristers who are able to do so to continue that very welcome practice this year. The Benevolent Fund is available to assist members in circumstances of hardship, including significant financial difficulty. Your donations to the Benevolent Fund this year will be directly assisting other barristers and their families experiencing hardship. Applications for assistance from the Benevolent Fund may be made through the Association’s website from Monday.

Ongoing Liaison with the Courts

The Association continues to liaise with Federal and State Courts regarding the operation of remote technologies and other COVID-19-related issues. From my discussions with Heads of Jurisdiction it is apparent that the Supreme and District Courts are looking closely at the prospect of recommencing some face-to-face in-court hearings in a limited number of matters in the not too distant future, subject of course to the satisfactory resolution of all work, health and safety issues and the logistical problems associated with the current health considerations. Members will be kept informed of developments in this regard.

COVID-19-related court arrangements

The New South Wales Bar Association’s consolidated guide to COVID-19-related court arrangements has again been updated in terms of recent developments and includes:

• The Supreme Court's updated Factsheet for the Virtual Courtroom; and

• Updated Stakeholder Information regarding Alternative Dispute Resolution, Settlement and Mediation Services from the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, they should refer to the latest court resources directly as circumstances are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

The Bar Association’s Staff

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Association’s Document Controller/Records Manager Ms Kim Ellis who celebrates her twentieth anniversary of working at the Bar Association today. Over that time Kim has overseen the maintenance of the Association’s records and archives and I thank her for her contribution to the Association over the last two decades. More generally I would like to thank all of the Association’s staff for their hard work and dedication throughout this difficult period.

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