The Commissioner for Equal Opportunity was tasked by the Attorney-General on behalf of the Parliament to conduct an independent review into harassment in the legal profession, following a motion which passed the Legislative Council in October 2020.

The review report was provided to the Attorney-General on Friday 9 April 2021.

Final report

The report made 16 recommendations aimed at supporting the development of safe and inclusive workplaces in the legal profession.

Report of the Review of Harassment in the South Australian Legal Profession (PDF, 1.9 MB)

Methodology

The review considered the existing regulatory framework, policies and procedures that apply to members of the legal profession and staff who work in a legal workplace, as well as best practice in responding to and preventing workplace harassment.

The review also considered whether an independent complaints body was required to allow a person to make an anonymous complaint about a legal practitioner.

The experiences and views of those who work or who have previously worked in a workplace that provides legal services were vital to this review.

This included those who practise the law as well as those who provide legal administrative services.

People were invited to contribute by: