Legal Services

Ms Roxon asked the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, in writing, on 2 December 2004:

1. What sum did the Minister's department spend during 2003-2004 on outsourced (a) barristers and (b) solicitors (including private firms, the Australian Government Solicitor, and any others).
2. What sum did the Minister's department spend on internal legal services.
3. What is the projected expenditure on legal services for the 2004-2005 for the Minister's department.

Mrs Kelly - The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

1. (a) and (b) $38.7m was spent on outsourced legal services during 2003-04. Defence's accounting systems do not allow the figure to be broken down as barristers are retained by external solicitors, who handle each particular matter on behalf of Defence.
2. $22.3m, which include salaries and operating costs, during 2003-04.
3. $49m, consisting of $27.5m on external legal services, which includes disbursements and professional fees, and $21.5m on internal legal services, which includes salaries and operating costs. This projection is based on usage to date and the same rate of expenditure is extrapolated across the remainder of the financial year. The demand for external legal services is variable and projections can change during the course of the financial year.

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