Call to Parties 2025
Shaping Australia’s future: Protecting the rule of law and promoting access to justice.
Image: Parliament House
The Law Council of Australia is the peak national representative body of the Australian legal profession. Through its Constituent Bodies—the 16 state and territory law societies and bar associations and Law Firms Australia—the Law Council represents more than 107,000 Australian lawyers. On matters of federal, national and international significance, the Law Council’s key objectives include promoting and defending the rule of law, the administration of justice, access to justice, a strong legal profession and improvement of the law.
We are living at a time of challenges to the rule of law across the globe—in which maintaining trust in public institutions is critically important. There is an increasing emphasis on ‘law and order’ in domestic discourse, unmet legal need remains widespread, and emerging technologies are creating new opportunities and challenges.
As such, there has never been a more important time to consider how law reform and government investment can best promote the rule of law, the administration of justice, good lawmaking and the exercise of rights under the law.
Ahead of the 2025 Federal Election, the Law Council has prepared this Call to Parties, which outlines a set of what the Australian legal profession has identified as key policy priorities. Through this Call to Parties, we seek the commitment of the various political parties and independent candidates to the reforms needed to improve law and policy for the betterment of the Australian community and our democracy.
Responses received by parties and independent candidates will be published below to allow consideration by the legal profession and the public.
Our key policy positions fall under the following themes:
- Meaningful consultation, transparency and accountability
- Legal assistance delivery
- Supporting rural, regional and remote lawyers
- Courts and Tribunals
- Establishment of a Federal Judicial Commission
- Mandatory sentencing
- Commonwealth criminal law institutions
- First Nations justice
- National child justice response
- Federal human rights response
- Vulnerable Australians
- Family law and family violence
- Migration law and policies
- Regulation of artificial intelligence technology
- Privacy reforms
- Regulation of the legal profession
- Client legal privilege
- Corporations and financial services standing law reform advisory body
- The environment and climate change
- Supporting the rule of law and administration of justice in the Pacific
Responses recieved
- Australian Labor Party (PDF).
- Senator David Pocock (PDF).
- Australian Greens (PDF).
- The Coalition (PDF).
Please note, the Law Council will publish all responses from political parties and independent candidates once received.
Last Updated on 02/05/2025