This report presents the findings of a research project to explore the factors influencing recruitment and retention of criminal lawyers in Tasmania, and recommend solutions to foster and secure supply. Tasmania’s criminal justice system relies on a dedicated and hard-working legal workforce with distinctive features: it is a fused profession servicing a dispersed population, with most criminal work being legally aided. This workforce is under significant strain. 

The report includes 20 recommendations and options for measures that one or more stakeholders could take to address attraction and retention issues and improve the supply of criminal lawyers in Tasmania.

Key points

• Pressures on lawyers and legal agencies, services and firms are flowing through to the courts, government services and the wider community. 
• Tasmanian solicitors and barristers report significant job demands and varying levels of satisfaction, while judges, magistrates and other senior members of the profession have drawn attention to capacity pressures affecting the sector’s ability to meet legal need and support the timely administration of justice. 
• If not addressed, these issues will continue to inhibit the proper functioning of the criminal justice system and put access to justice for all Tasmanians at risk.