Advocates’ immunity from civil suit. Submission of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Australian Consumers’ Association

Submission to the Standing Committee of Attorneys General of the common law position on advocates’ immunity from civil suit. The joint submission (ACA and PIAC) supports the abolition of the immunity consistent with a commitment to consumer rights. A consumer rights approach means that consumers of advocacy services should be provided with service free from negligence or recklessness. If they are not provided with services by a legal practitioner that meet this standard, and they suffer loss, they should be entitled to recover against the legal practitioner who provided services in a negligent or reckless manner, whether or not those services are provided within a court or outside it.