1146.0 - Directory of Service Industries Statistics, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 22/02/2002   
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Legal Services Industry, Australia (cat. no. 8667.0)


PURPOSE

To provide key measures on the performance of the Legal Services industry and to identify the nature and structure of the industry/activity in terms of employment, income, costs and its contribution to the Australian economy.

The Legal Services Industry survey is planned to be undertaken three yearly. The collection is a survey of practices mainly engaged in providing legal services.


SCOPE

The scope of the collection was:

  • all businesses whose predominant activity is providing legal services, as defined by Class 7841 of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)
  • Legal Aid Commissions in each state and territory
  • the Federal Solicitor General and Crown Solicitor's in each state and territory

The Australian Legal Directory provided the collection frame (as it has done for the last two Legal Services Surveys). The ABS Business Register has not been used as the frame because of the predominance of service companies, and therefore non-employing businesses in the industry. The unit for which statistics were reported was the practice (combination of business and service companies).


DATA DETAIL

The publication contains summary employment, income, and expenses tables covering ANZSIC Class 7841.

The tables in the publication include:
  • sources of income (by solicitors' practices and barristers practices)
  • legal services income by type of client solicitors' practices
  • items of expenditure (by solicitors' practices and barristers practices)
  • characteristics of employment (by solicitors' practices and barristers practices)
  • main occupation of persons employed solicitors' practices
  • pro bono work (by solicitors' practices and barristers practices)
  • selected performance ratios (by solicitors' practices and barristers practices)
  • income and expenditure items by legal aid authorities and community legal centres
  • legal services by legal aid authorities and community legal centres

The tables contain data at the Australia level with one state table showing:
  • number of practices
  • number of solicitors and barristers
  • total employment
  • wages and salaries
  • total income


GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE

Australia
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
ACT

FREQUENCY OF DATA AVAILABILITY

The survey of the Legal Services Industry for the 1998-1999 reference year is the fourth collection conducted by the ABS for this sector. The three previous being in 1995-1996, 1992-1993, and 1987-1988.

Note: In the three previous surveys Legal Services has been conducted alongside a Survey of Accounting Services and the output of these two surveys has been produced in a single publication. The 1998-1999 Legal Services Survey is the first time the survey has been conducted without a corresponding Accounting Services Survey, and this resulted in a specific Legal Services publication.


ASSOCIATED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

For information on other related products and services visit the Product Information page.


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