Annual Report 2011/2012 Professional Standards Councils
Tabled paper 112
Tabled Papers for 12th Assembly 2012 - 2016; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
2012-11-01
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Tabled papers
Professional Standards Council
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C01520
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/273264
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/427064
41Professional Standards Councils Annual Report 201112 College of Investigative and remedial Consulting engineers, Australia Inc. The College of Investigative and Remedial Consulting Engineers, Australia, Inc. (CIRCEA) compliance report for 2011 was not received by the Professional Standards Council of NSW by 31 March 2011. Solicitors law Society of new South Wales The Law Society of NSW (the Society) reported that as a part of the COAG National Legal Profession Reform, the Society has been involved in ongoing development of national uniform legislation, rules and regulations. It expects a final of the draft legislation in June 2012. Continuing professional development The Society has a points system for mandatory continuing legal education, requiring members to demonstrate completion of a certain number of CPD activities each year. It also has schemes of accreditation. Complaints data Solicitors are regulated as a profession under the Legal Profession Act 2004 (NSW), which allows for inspection and investigation of legal practitioners and law practices. During the year, the Professional Standards Department opened 545 complaint files (20 per cent decrease on last year) and the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner received 2,394 written complaints (three per cent decrease). Of these, 458 (19 per cent) were referred to the Law Society (23 per cent decrease). Seven solicitors were reprimanded. Twenty-five, including one clerk, were referred to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal 10 of whom had their practising certificate suspended, and seven had their names removed from the Supreme Court Roll. Trends in professional indemnity insurance The Society has a long-standing arrangement of organising PII cover for its members under the name LawCover Insurance Pty Limited. It places an emphasis on family law risk management and, in particular, on providing advice for binding financial agreements. LawCover has also been conducting country roadshows for regional law societies. Insurance remains available to all firms from LawCover for the compulsory layer of $2 million. All its reinsurance is arranged with Australian Prudential Regulation Authority regulated or approved reinsurers. monitoring of claims LawCover Insurance Pty Limited advised there were 676 notifications (an increase of 7.6 per cent on the previous period) against members, with the majority of claims in the commercial area. An overall conclusion is that it appears that family law may be a growing area of claims due to the introduction of binding financial agreements in 2001. Statistics on cause of loss continue to reflect long-term trends. The number of notifications for the year continues to remain low in the context of historical trends. Surveyors Professional Surveyors occupational Association nSW Inc. The Professional Surveyors Occupational Association NSW Inc. (PSOA) submitted its 2011 compliance report to the Professional Standards Council of NSW. Continuing professional development The PSOA notifies its CPD compliance to the OPSC annually following the membership renewal process. On renewal, members are required to provide a signed CPD summary report which the administration officer reviews and then recommends action. As at 30 December 2011, 92 per cent of members advised CPD requirements for their staff had been met. The remainder are currently undertaking procedures to meet their obligations. c o m p lia n c e r e p o r t in g